Ingredients
What is Ayurvedic hair oil?
A plain definition of the category — what these oils are made of, how a herbal blend differs from a mineral-oil one, and what the word on the label is not a guarantee of.
The definition
An Ayurvedic hair oil is a hair oil in which herbs drawn from the Ayurvedic tradition are infused into or blended with a base oil. The base — typically coconut, sesame or castor — is what makes up most of the bottle; the herbs are what distinguish one blend from another.
The term describes the tradition a formulation draws on. It is a description of composition and lineage, not a category of medicine, and on a cosmetic label it is not by itself a certification of anything.
What does the base oil do?
The base oil, sometimes called the carrier oil, is the medium: it makes up the bulk of the product, carries the herbal content, and determines how the oil feels, how heavy it is and how easily it washes out. It is the single biggest factor in the character of a hair oil and it is usually the first ingredient listed.
KESHME Ayurvedic Hair Oil is built on a coconut oil base, with castor oil also listed among its ingredients. Coconut is the common base across South Indian hair-oiling traditions and is comparatively light; castor is notably thicker and is generally present as a component rather than as the whole base.
Herbal blend or mineral oil?
Both are sold as hair oil and they are not the same product. This is a difference of composition — neither column is a claim about results.
| Herbal / plant-oil blend | Mineral-oil blend | |
|---|---|---|
| Base | A plant oil such as coconut, sesame or castor | Liquid paraffin — a refined petroleum fraction |
| Why it is used | Traditional practice; carries herbal content | Very cheap, colourless, odourless and extremely stable |
| How the label reads | Plant oils and botanical names near the top of the list | 'Mineral oil', 'paraffinum liquidum' or 'liquid paraffin', often first |
| Typical feel | Varies a great deal by base oil | Consistent and slippery; sits on the surface |
| In KESHME hair oil | Coconut oil base, 22 herbs listed on the pack | None — the pack carries a 'No Mineral Oil' statement |
Composition as printed on the KESHME Ayurvedic Hair Oil pack.
What the word on the label does not tell you
'Ayurvedic' on a cosmetic label tells you what tradition the formulation draws on. It does not tell you how much of each herb is present, in what form it was added, or that any particular outcome has been tested — and no ingredient list, ours included, can tell you those things either.
So the useful habit is to read past the word to the list underneath it. A pack that names its herbs individually is telling you more than one that says 'a blend of Ayurvedic botanicals', and a pack that states what it leaves out is telling you more than one that does not.
That is the standard we would like to be judged by rather than an exception we are asking for. Every herb on the KESHME packs is named on the pack and listed on this site, with its botanical name wherever that name is unambiguous.
What is in KESHME Ayurvedic Hair Oil?
A coconut oil base blended with 22 herbs named on the pack, among them amla, bhringraj, brahmi, jatamansi, neem, hibiscus, methi, tulsi, ashwagandha and rosemary. It is a 100 ml bottle, and the pack carries No Paraben, No Mineral Oil, No Silicone, No Colour and Cruelty Free statements.
The complete list, with Devanagari and botanical names, is published on our ingredients page — including which of the two packs each herb appears on.
What this page deliberately does not say
You will notice no claims here about what any of these herbs do. That is on purpose. Individual benefit lines are printed on our packaging, and we have chosen not to republish them as website claims until we can substantiate them ourselves.
What we will state is what is in the bottle, how much of it there is, and how to use it.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Ayurvedic hair oil the same as herbal hair oil?
- In everyday use the terms overlap heavily. 'Herbal' says the product contains plant material; 'Ayurvedic' says the herbs and the formulation draw specifically on the Ayurvedic tradition. Both describe composition, and neither is a certification on a cosmetic label.
- Does 'Ayurvedic' mean the product is certified?
- No. On a cosmetic hair oil the word describes the tradition the formulation draws on. Read the ingredient list rather than the descriptor — a pack that names each herb individually is telling you considerably more than one that does not.
- How many herbs are in KESHME Ayurvedic Hair Oil?
- 22, each named individually on the pack and listed on our ingredients page with its botanical name where that name is unambiguous.
- Does KESHME hair oil contain mineral oil?
- No. The pack carries a 'No Mineral Oil' statement, along with No Paraben, No Silicone, No Colour and Cruelty Free.
This guide describes a cosmetic hair-care practice and what is in our products. It is not medical advice. If you have a scalp condition, persistent irritation, sudden hair loss or any other medical concern, speak to a doctor or a qualified trichologist.
The products in this guide
Read next
- How to read a hair oil label in IndiaSix things worth checking on any hair oil pack before you buy it, including ours — and the two that most people never look at.
- How to oil your hairHow much oil to use, how to work it into the scalp, how long to leave it on, whether overnight is necessary, and how often to repeat it.