Well bathe me in oil and call me grease 
lightning! Today I’m channeling my inner fry cook with a look at a slick hair styling product called Amika Obliphica Oil.
Now, should I ever find myself longing for more grease in my life, I’ll be able to turn to Amika’s (Sea Buckthorn Berry) Obliphica Pure Oil ($38), a hair oil treatment with a texture so greasy, it rivals KFC!
Amika, makers of great flat irons and curlers, designed Obliphica to hydrate, de-frizz and condition medium weight to thick hair. I’ve used and liked other oil treatments before, so I had pretty high hopes for this.
What’s an obliphica anyway?
Exotic-sounding oils like Argan and Moroccan have been all the rage lately. Obliphica, Amika’s star ingredient, is sometimes referred to by its other name, sea buckthorn berry, and it, like other trendy oils, also hails from distant lands, in this case Europe and Asia. The plant is a shrub whose oil supposedly provides anti-aging, sun protecting and healing benefits.
Of course, obliphica is listed as the second item in the list of ingredients…right behind mineral oil, an inexpensive lubricant used in a host of different beauty products.
Over the last few years, mineral oil has fought some pretty tough image problems. Some consider it bad for skin and hair, but others insist that it’s safe and performs well (here’s an interesting, detailed look at mineral oil over at naturallycurly.com).
I’ve had mixed results from products containing mineral oil, so now I file it under the “different strokes for different folks” category.
Some like it hot
After testing Amika’s Obliphica Oil, which has a delicious cozy vanilla-amber scent, a number of times on both wet and dry hair, it seems to work best on my thick, wavy hair when I apply a very small amount (2-3 drops) before blow drying and using a brush. When I use it this way, I do feel my hair looks somewhat smoother, shinier and even straighter than usual, with just a little added weight.
If you do end up giving it a try, I recommend having a good clarifying shampoo on hand because I had a tough time washing this out of my hair. It took two rounds with my regular, non-clarifying shampoo.
I’d probably like Amika Obliphica Oil more if it wasn’t quite so greasy and hard to remove (oh, and cheaper too), but gals with extremely thick, unruly hair might still want to give it a try.
PRICE: $34
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Sephora stores and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Jessi (Lacquered, Painted, Polished) says
March 28th, 2011 at 3:59 pmI’m on the fence about mineral oil. I mean, if it works for you, then by all means go for it. But I think it’s ridiculous to charge so much for something that is mostly mineral oil when it is one of the cheapest ingredients. But then again, if this had been a miracle product I would buy it even if it were made of cat pee.
Jessi (Lacquered, Painted, Polished) recently posted … China Glaze DV8
Karen says
March 28th, 2011 at 6:06 pmHa! If a miracle product made out of cat pee comes along, I’m sure Tabs would be happy to offer his services.
Elaine says
March 28th, 2011 at 7:29 pmreminds me of Sweeny Todd:
“it smells like piss… it’s probably piss” – in reference to a miracle hair elixir! ha ha
Kim says
March 29th, 2011 at 6:00 amOr Snail Slime. 🙂 Curse my bad memory, but did you ever end up trying that?
Tracy says
March 28th, 2011 at 4:11 pmIt’s kind of a shame that they’d have Sea Buckthorn Oil and then ruin it with mineral oil being the main ingredient.
Tracy recently posted … FairyDrops Scandal Queen Mascara
Karen says
March 28th, 2011 at 6:07 pmI was really surprised to find that it was the first ingredient!
Nina says
March 28th, 2011 at 7:29 pmill probably pass on this one too. im relatively happy with josie maran’s argan oil. 🙂
Donna says
March 28th, 2011 at 10:19 pmI got this too. Not impressed. The viscosity is so thin. It smells ok. I used what I thought was a tiny amount and it made my hair look crazy porkchop greasy. And I have really dry curly hair. I’ll stick with my moroccanoil.
Kim says
March 29th, 2011 at 6:02 amRegular conditioner weighs my hair down, so I’m definitely not the hair oil demographic. On a positive note, I like the package design. 🙂
Monica says
March 29th, 2011 at 8:24 amIf you’d like to try some oils for your hair, try Moroccan Oil!! it is virtually weightless, dry hair sops it up like a sponge, and at the end of application you can rub the leftovers on your hands into your skin and double it up as body oil!
It has a nice scent, kind of nutty, and does WONDERS for dry hair. I have really thick, course curly hair, and my hair has softened up so much since I started using the Moroccan Oil shampoo and conditioner. My hair isn’t quite course enough to use the oil, but the stylists at my salon use it on a majority of our clients and their blowouts are incredible!!
Molly says
March 29th, 2011 at 5:42 pmI just tried, and discovered that I really like, coconut oil. It is cheap, and really easy to use. I just followed a YouTube tutorial, and I love it. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a wonderful conditioner that won’t break the bank.
PS says
April 2nd, 2011 at 9:49 amI use coconut oil. I put a ton on & leave it on for a half an hour & then wash it out. Gets rid of the dry & makes my hair super soft & shiny. like to do this on weekends when I’m not doing anyting and can give my hair a rest by not styling it at all!
Madelin says
April 7th, 2011 at 8:39 amHi! I have been thinking of buying Obliphica line of Amika… but i have been reading your comments and its making me change my mind….
So do you guys really don’t recommend it?
Betty says
April 20th, 2011 at 9:44 amTry mixing a 50-50 ratio of pure vegetable glycerine with water, and using that in your hair. The glycerine is a natural humectant and has so far worked very well in my wavy hair. All shine and no frizz! Don’t use too much or you’ll weigh your hair down. You can even add a couple drops of peppermint oil or even sea buckthorn.
Shirley says
December 26th, 2012 at 11:53 amI tried this product and I think it’s great. I received it as a sample with some hair clips I purchased. After trying it I really liked the results. Of course you only should use a small little bit and it makes my hair soft and shiny and really helps with frizz and I used it on my whole head and it was not greasy.