Hair Mask or Hot Oil Treatment - what’s the difference and which is better?

Hair Mask or Hot Oil Treatments:

How are they different?

In a word: heat.  The hot oil treatment exclusively utilizes heat to assist with hair penetration, whereas a hair mask on the other hand, does not typically include heat. 

The other major difference is/are the ingredients.  A hot oil treatment formula consists almost exclusively of hair oil or a blend of hair oils.  Hair mask ingredients, however, can include anything from honey to avocado, banana, egg, lemon juice, coconut milk, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, oatmeal, mayonnaise, and more. 

You can probably appreciate how you might not want to heat many of the ingredients found in natural hair masks!  Hence, a hair mask (sometimes called a hair masque) differs greatly to a hot oil hair treatment in both its formula/composition, as well as its absence of heat.

Are these Hair Masks and Hot Oil Treatments Effective?

Whether you prefer a hair mask over a hot oil treatment, or vice versa, either one can be an effective wау tо kеер your hаіr nourished and mоіѕturіzеd all year round.  A good analogy of their importance might be how most of us care for the skin on our faces differently than the skin on the rest of our bodies. 

Our faces are almost always exposed to more of the elements - such as UV/sunlight, heat, cold, moisture, dryness, pollution (dust, dirt, toxins), wind, salt, rain and so on; unlike the rest of our skin which is often covered up and protected from these elements.  And this is in addition to other major ongoing factors that can vary or even shift wildly in our day-to-day lives; things like diet & nutrition, hydration (and dehydration) sleep levels, stress levels, and more. 

As you might expect, the very same applies to our hair, as it’s only logical that our hair too, as a living organism, is greatly affected by all of the above.  Whether you have curly hair, straight hair, dry hair or oily hair, you will probably agree that your hair behaves quite differently in different conditions. 

A good example might be how hair can get dry, frizzy or brittle during cold winter months or climates, or become oily & suffer UV/Heat damage & split ends in summer months or hot climates.

That’s where deep conditioners can play a big role in overall hair health & beauty; as they can help level the playing field described above.  A good hot oil treatment, or hair mask, can dо more than рrоvіdе added moisture & hydration when needed, they can provide essential vitamins and mіnеrаlѕ which hair nееdѕ to become healthier and more аlіvе, possessing what we like to call the 5 “S’s” of healthy hair: Smооth, Soft, Silky, Strong and Shiny hair.

So, Which is Better?

While it’s not easy to give a definitive answer, and personal preference can certainly play a role, we believe that nothing can replace the value of real heat in a true deep conditioning hair treatment. 

The reason for this is that, to truly nourish your hair, any treatment formula must actually penetrate the hair shaft, getting past the hair cuticle and into the hair cortex… therefore repairing dry or damaged hair “from the inside out” – which is really the root of all hair damage. 

And heat is what makes that possible.  So the winner is… the hot oil treatment since hair masks are limited to treating just the hair’s exterior or outermost layer: the hair cuticle.

Having said that, all of us may not agree that the hot oil treatment ingredients, which are hair oils or blends thereof, are the first and last word in total hair nourishment. 

By way of example, thе base оf оur human hair ѕtruсturе іѕ рrоtеіn, sо hаvіng a рrоtеіn-rich dіеt for уоur hair is highly beneficial to solving common hair problems.  And as great as they are, some hair oils are not known for having protein-rich profiles, so you may not be getting all of the benefits made possible by the favorable heat penetration factor of a hot oil treatment. 

And while many hair mask ingredients can in fact be protein-rich, they can’t be heated to really get to where they need to go to give the most hair benefits and results.  This leaves us at somewhat of a crossroads, right!? 

Ready for Some Great News?

Enter a highly unique new deep conditioning hair treatment, which, ironically seems to understand this dilemma and has finally solved the problem for all of us.

ST. TROPICA hair care has developed the best of both worlds with its new Hair Mask, dubbed “The Ultimate Hair Mask”.  Yes, you read right!  It’s not a hot oil treatment, nor is it a hair mask.  It’s both. 

It’s called a hot oil hair mask...  and guess what?  It has both the real heat of a hot oil treatment which is so critical, as well as the amazing ingredients of a high-quality hair mask, which includes the single best hair oil available: virgin coconut oil.  Then they botanically infuse the coconut oil with hair superfoods which are protein, vitamin, and nutrient-rich: such as Biotin, Amla, and Horsetail (all famous and widely known as hair superfoods). 

So now for the first time, a hair treatment is available which has the “best-of-the-best” ingredients/formula, in addition to real heat previously only found in any hot oil treatment for hair.  If that’s not enough, it’s also the only specialty hair treatment on the market that is also organic: 100% of the ingredients are Certified USDA Organic – something “unheard of” in hair care as you may well know. 

You can find seemingly endless 5-star reviews on the ST. TROPICA Beach Goddess Hot Oil Hair Mask here!