Let me guess — your hair has been shoulder-length for the past 10 years, and even though you’ve grown accustomed to having your medium-length hair styles, you just aren’t willing to give up on your dream of naturally having Khaleesi-length locks. Instead of resorting to itchy extensions and pricey volumizing products, may I suggest grape seed oil?
One of my natural beauty besties, grape seed oil is made by cold-pressing grape seeds after it’s been used to make wine. Not only does it make an excellent oil for salads, it also acts as an odorless sealant that locks in moisture — which makes it a miracle worker for your hair. Like coconut oil, grape seed oil contains antioxidants and linoleic acid — an Omega-6 fatty acid that’s essential for healthy skin and cell membranes.
If you have thin hair and are therefore understandably wary of dumping greasy oils onto your strands, grape seed will probably surprise you. It's way more lightweight than olive or castor oils, so as long as you apply it mainly to the ends of your hair, it won't make you look like you went one day too long without washing.
Plus, grape seed oil isn't just for healthy hair — here are three of my favorite ways to use this natural beauty wonder.
Treat Spider Veins
Standard stuff: you've been doing a grueling boot camp all winter and as soon as the temperature rises above 60 degrees, you are ready to put on those booty shorts from high school just to prove you still can. But...what's this? Spider veins?!
Fill up a bottle with grape seed oil and lather your bod up with this essential oil after you get out of the shower and before bed. The antioxidants in grape seeds help strengthen your veins, which prevents them from swelling and breaking and causing spidery marks. Bonus tip: Grape seed oil absorbs best on damp skin.
Heat Protector
Before you get ready to turn up the heat, you need to protect your hair to avoid split ends and major frizzies. For finer locks, try filling up a spray bottle with 3 parts grape seed oil and 1 part water, or ditch the water and just use straight up oil on coarser hair. Smooth your concoction on to small sections of your hair before you apply heat. You'll be impressed with how moisturized and healthy — not fried — your hair looks!
Eliminate Dark Circles
Dark circles under your eyes can be unsightly. They make us look older, tired, and personally? I'm not trying to put an ice-cold spoon on my eye lids every morning for 15 minutes. According to Wellness Today, gently placing grape seed oil under the delicate skin beneath your eyes twice daily can eliminate unpleasant dark circles. I've been doing it for a few weeks and, swear to Beyonce, I'm looking fresher every day.
