Hair Oil vs Serum

What is hair serum

A styling hair serum is a light liquid that coats the outside of each strand to smooth it and add shine. Think of it as a topcoat.

The short answer to what is hair serum: it sits on top of your hair. Many smoothing serums are built on silicones, which spread into a thin, slippery film. That film makes hair feel silky right away, helps a brush glide and helps keep humid air from puffing strands up.

Silicone serums work mostly on the surface. Hair looks smoother and shinier while the serum is on, and the effect lasts until you wash it out. Many add little moisture of their own, so very dry hair can still feel thirsty underneath. Scalp serums are a different product, made for the skin under your hair, so this post sticks to the smoothing kind.

• Good at: instant slip, glassy shine, humidity control
• Feels like: silky, sometimes a little slick
• Watch for: buildup from heavier silicones with daily use, which can leave hair limp
• Best on: blowouts, sleek styles and fine hair in tiny amounts

Serums are a fair choice, and plenty of people love theirs. Ceremonia's formulas are 100% silicone-free, so we get our shine from plant oils instead. That is the space hair oil fills.

What hair oil does

Oil softens and smooths strands, helps hold moisture in and adds shine.

The biggest hair oil benefits show up on dry, rough ends. Frizz often starts when hair is missing moisture and the outer layer of each strand turns rough, then humidity does the rest. You can read more in our top reasons you get frizzy hair. Oil softens that rough layer so strands lie flatter and catch the light.

• Shine that looks soft and healthy
• Softer ends that tangle less
• Less puff on sticky, humid days
• Split ends that look neater until your next trim

Oil suits some hair more than others. The Cleveland Clinic on oiling hair notes that dry, coarse or tightly curled hair can benefit from oil, while fine, straight hair may feel weighed down. Their advice is to use a small amount on dry hair. We agree.

Fine hair can still wear oil. Start with one drop, warmed in your palms, and keep it on the very ends. Oil also makes split ends look smoother and neater, but a split end that is already there only goes away with a trim.

How to use hair oil

Most days, use hair oil as your last step, a few drops at a time, on the mid-lengths and ends.

Knowing how to use hair oil well is mostly about the amount. On wash day, lay down moisture first with our Guava Leave-In Conditioner on damp hair, then style or air-dry. Oil goes on last, over the top, to smooth and shine.

• Warm 2 to 3 drops between your palms
• Smooth over the mid-lengths and ends, away from the roots
• Pat what is left over flyaways
• On curls, scrunch it in once dry to soften any gel cast
• Add one more drop only where hair still feels rough

You can use it on damp hair too. Smooth a few drops through clean, towel-dried lengths right after your leave-in, then air-dry or blow-dry as usual.

The basics of how to use hair serum are almost the same: a small amount, on the lengths, away from the roots. Smooth it through damp hair before a blow-dry for slip, or touch a tiny bit onto dry hair to finish. Too much of either is the most common mistake. If your ends look stringy or flat, use less next time.

Tip: For an overnight treat, massage a full dropper of Guava Hair Oil into your ends before bed and wash it out in the morning.