Catherine’s quandary: Hi there! I recently bought a product in a London Indian grocery Store called “Jasmin Hair Oil”. This product is made by a company called KTC and the ingredients are listed as “paraffinum liquidum” and “parfum.” I thought it may be good for my dry split ends. What is your take on this product?
The Left Brain’s reply:
While it might sound like a spell that Harry Potter would use, Paraffinum liquidum is actually just another name for mineral oil. Yes, mineral oil. As regular readers of the Beauty Brains know, many people seem to think mineral oil is the spawn of the devil, even though it’s a great skin moisturizer. (In case you missed them, here are our previous posts on mineral oil and cancer.)
There’s nothing wrong with using mineral oil on your split ends but you’d probably see more of a benefit from coconut oil because it’s been proven to penetrate into the cortex of the hair. Or for that matter, use a good silicone-based anti-frizz product, like Tresemme Anti-frizz Secret. And if you want to learn how to avoid split ends in the first place read about our Top 10 Split Ends Busters.