- Using 1/4 cup of olive oil or vegetable oil, add 1 tbsp. of hair conditioner. (If you prefer to have different scents in your treatment, you can add a few drops of rosemary oil, lavender oil or sesame oil, but the basic hot oil treatment made of ingredients everyone has in their homes consists of oil and conditioner.) Heat the mixture on low heat in a saucepan on the stove, stirring as you heat. Heat the oil just to the point where it's warm and mixes with the conditioner, as oil heats quickly and can burn. Once warm and mixed, test the heat of the oil on your wrist, making sure it won't burn your scalp and hair.
- Immediately apply the warm oil to your hair. Use a wide-tooth comb and work the oil through the length of the hair, covering every strand, especially the damaged ends of the hair. After all your hair is covered with oil, wrap your head in plastic wrap. Leave the plastic wrap on your head for a half hour (for shorter, less damaged hair, five minutes is enough). When time is up, shampoo twice to remove all oil from your hair. If you prefer, you can just apply the mixture to your ends and remove as described above after the appropriate time.
- Extremely damaged hair or very long hair can benefit from use of hot oil treatments twice weekly. Shorter, less damaged hair can be treated once weekly or every other week. After you see improvement in the condition of your hair, you can reduce treatments to once a month.
