What Is KuKui or Candlenut Oil / Butter? What Are Its Benefits To Natural Hair?

Kukui oil is extracted from the nut of the Aleurites moluccana tree. It orginated from Hawaii.

Benefits of Kukui Butter to Hair:

All butters that can be used for hair have more or less the same benefits. They:

• Nourish hair and the scalp with vitamins and minerals thereby helping to keep both healthier for longer. This nourishing feature makes oil great for treating dry, damaged and frizzy hair in hot oil treatments and for massaging the scalp. 
• Have moisture sealing properties thereby keeping hair softer for longer. However, all liquid oils (except coconut oil (which is actually solid anyway) and jojoba (which is actually a wax and not an oil)) can seal hair better than butters because they have a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fats – the type that cannot penetrate the hair cuticle.
• Penetrate the hair cuticle to fortify hair from the inside; they do this better than oils because they have a higher amount of saturated fats and monounsaturated fats.
  
• Help to boost hair’s shine but not as well as liquid oils.

Click to enlarge

Different butters perform each of these functions to a different degree. 

Compared to other butters kukui butter is super soft and has a very non-greasy feel.

Good Substitutes For Kukui

Rice bran oil and sesame seed oil have the same balance of oleic acid and linoleic acid so you can substitute between the three. You can also use kukui oil instead of grapeseed oil or hempseed oil because it has a longer lifespan.

• Being a light oil kukui is great in products designed for thin hair. 
• Due to the high proportion of polyunsaturated fats the oil is also great for sealing hair.
• Because kukui oil/butter is easily absorbed by skin it's an awesome ingredient for dual function hair and body butters.

Apparently kukui is/was popular amongst Hawaiians who's dry hair had been overexposed to sun and was therefore sun damaged; kukui is therefore a useful input in any of my "Love Me" DIY Hair Recipes which are designed for weak, brittle and damaged hair.

Because of its regenerative effect kukui would also be a great ingredient in my "Soothe Me" Hair Recipes. Kukui is a relatively new discovery for me but it's becoming one of my favourites. I already prefer it to castor oil and grapeseed oil.

Shelf Life is 12 to 18 months.

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SATURATED c.9%

• Palmitic (5-8%)
  
• Stearic acid (2-5%)
  

MONOUNSATURATED c.22%

• Oleic acid (15-30%)
  

POLYUNSATURATED c.69%

• Linoleic acid (35-45%) 
  
• Linolenic acid (24-34%)
  

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You might also like: 

• Neno Natural's DIY Hair Recipes
• THE Best Oil For Natural Hair. A Mega Summary!

Ref: Wayne's World, swiftcraftymonkey on kukui-nut-oil, wikipedia (Candlenut_oil), naturallythinking (Kukui Nut Butter), 
gardenofwisdom.com/butters, livestrong.com (Benefits Of Kukui Nut Oil)

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