What is Moska Oil?

Sep 4, 2011
Faye Davison

Mineral oil is the primary ingredient in Moska oil. - Angela Mabray/Flickr

Learn about the blue-colored, hair oil called "Moska oil" and how it's commonly used.

Moska oil (Aceite de Moska) is a blue-colored, manufactured hair oil. It is most often sold and used in the Caribbean in places like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, however it is gaining popularity in the United States among members of the natural hair care community.

Moska Oil’s Ingredients

The ingredients in the oil are largely up for debate. While it is sometimes purported that Moska oil derives from the nuts of the Macadamia tree, the oil produced from the tree, or Macadamia oil, a popular fatty-acid oil commonly used in hair and skin care products, is not listed among the ingredients in any blends of the oil. Some commercially sold blends do list an ingredient called “Essential Moska oil,” however, this essential oil is not recognized by most mainstream aromatherapists.

So what is in Moska oil? Well, minus macadamia oil and essential Moska oil, most commercially sold blends of the oil contain a mix of other ingredients, including mineral oil, lavender essential oil and blue/green dyes.

Moska Oil and Hair Growth

Along with making the hair shiny, many users of Moska oil believe that it can and does encourage faster hair growth. This claim, however has yet to be proven scientifically, as rather than being influenced by external factors, such as products used and styling habits, most in the scientific community agree that hair growth is pre-determined by genetics.

So, you're probably now wondering, "Well, what about the users of the oil who allege to have experienced hair growth?" Well, while we cannot change our genetics to make our hair grow faster, we can change our hair care regimens to ensure that the hair growth that we do have is retained and hair breakage is minimal. And, is Moska oil a good oil to do these two things? Yes.

Research on the leading oil in Moska oil, mineral oil, shows that it can be used to successfully prevent hair breakage, which is one factor in retaining hair growth. Some blends of the oil also contain coconut oil, which is another oil that, according to research, can prevent hair breakage, thus leading to more retained hair growth. So, it is possible that rather than observing faster hair growth, users of the oil who purport its benefits in that department are observing retained hair growth.

Using Moska Oil

Given that it's primary ingredient, mineral oil, is an oil that cannot penetrate the cortex layer of the hair, Moska oil is best for daily styling and shine. It can also, however, be used as a pre-shampoo treatment.