Key Sources of Ceramides

Hey ladies. Happy Friday!

Last week I touched on the reasons why you need ceramides in your regimen. In a very brief summary, ceramides are lipids which protect and repair the cuticle. They strengthen the shaft and make your strands more resilient to breakage and damage.

Like i promised last week,  here is the breakdown of the best sources of ceramides.  As I was researching the oils with the best sources of ceramides, I stumbled on this list from Just Grow Already. Jennifer went the extra mile to even include products which are ceramide rich.  However once you have this list of oils you just have to compare them to the ingredients list of any product to determine it's ceramide content. 

Safflower oil — 78%
Grape seed oil — 73%
Poppyseed oil — 70%
Sunflower oil — 68% (as in cooking oil)
Hemp oil — 60%
Corn oil — 59%
Wheat germ oil — 55%
Cottonseed oil — 54%
Soybean oil — 51%
Walnut oil — 51%
Sesame oil — 45%
Rice bran oil — 39%
Pistachio oil — 32.7%
Peanut oil — 32%
Canola oil — 21%
Linseed oil — 15%
Olive oil — 10%
Palm oil — 10%
Macadamia oil — 2%
Coconut oil — 2%


Now it is important to note that studies have indicated that oils in  which  linoleic acid is present also have a strong indication that ceramides are there too.  The percentage indicates the amount of  linoleic acid contained in the oil. From the percentage you can gage the amount of ceramides. The higher the percentage, the more ceramides are present.

What oils are you using ?

Why You Need Ceramides in Your Regimen Today!

Hi ladies,  happy FriYAY!

How is your hair doing? The actual strands...right at the cuticle?Have you done anything lately that is likely to damage your cuticle?  Strange question to start a post with right?  Well it's what happens at microscopic level on our hair that matters just as much as what happens on macroscopic level.

Remember that the outer layer of the hair consists of "scales" called the cuticle. These are raised and lowered depending on what products your hair is exposed to and the state of health of your hair.

A healthy cuticle layer should be lowered and undamaged with few raised scales. This is very important as it keeps the shaft of the hair intact. When the cuticle layer of your hair is lowered,  your hair is smoother, stronger, shinier and less prone to tangling.

Which is where ceramides come into play. Ceramides are lipids found in certain plant based oils which form a protective layer over the cuticle. Thus shielding it and strengthening your hair. This also means that your hair will be much less prone to breakage and better able to withstand damage. A study on damaged hair showed that the damage was due to a loss of lipids and ceramides which protected the cuticle layer. Which is why it is so important that you include ceramides in your regimen if you want better hair. Another fun fact is that is that you don't need a large amount of them. A small amount deposited on the cuticle will restore and protect your hair.

I definitely have woken up to the fact that I need them in my regimen as my hair is not where I want it to be in terms of optimal health and length. 

So where do I get ceramide rich oils? 

Luckily, hemp seed oil, grapeseed oil, wheatgerm oil and rice bran oil are all packed with ceramides for stronger hair. Next week i'll bring a more comprehensive list of oils and products that contain ceramides. Stay tuned!

If you have fine or thin hair, you definitely want to incorporate these into your regimen as your hair is especially prone to damage due to the thin circumference of your strands.

How can one incorporate ceramides into their regimen? 

Add a ceramides rich oil to your deep conditioner 

Preshampoo with a products containing ceramides

Mix some of your sealing oil with it

Use the oil as a hot oil treatment

DO YOU INCORPORATE CERAMIDES RICH OILS/PRODUCTS IN YOUR REGIMEN? COMMENT BELOW!