# Indian (Asian) product that makes hair glossy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-asian-product-that-makes-hair-glossy/616663 "2012-03-24T02:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-asian-product-that-makes-hair-glossy/616663/1 "2012-03-24T02:20:01Z")
There aren’t many Indian people in the area where I live (rural South Texas). But the few I’ve seen put something on their hair that makes it very glossy. The place I first I noticed it was on this utterly gorgeous man, [Naveen Andrews](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710/), when he appeared as Ashok Ramsey on _Law & Order: SVU_. (I see he was also in _Lost_, but I never watched that.) What is this substance? Olive oil? Argan oil? How does one apply it (wet hair, dry hair)? Would it work on stick-straight hair? I’m guessing it would be better on curly hair. ETA: OMG, he was Kip in _The English Patient_?? Holy crap, I’ve been into him longer than I thought. Lord… wrapping that turban around his head while Juliette Binoche watched from the bushes. Whew. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-asian-product-that-makes-hair-glossy/616663/2 "2012-03-24T02:46:37Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > There aren’t many Indian people in the area where I live (rural South Texas). But the few I’ve seen put something on their hair that makes it very glossy. The place I first I noticed it was on this utterly gorgeous man, [Naveen Andrews](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710/), when he appeared as Ashok Ramsey on _Law & Order: SVU_. (I see he was also in _Lost_, but I never watched that.) > > What is this substance? Olive oil? Argan oil? How does one apply it (wet hair, dry hair)? Would it work on stick-straight hair? I’m guessing it would be better on curly hair. > ETA: OMG, he was Kip in _The English Patient_?? Holy crap, I’ve been into him longer than I thought. Lord… wrapping that turban around his head while Juliette Binoche watched from the bushes. Whew. Various types of oils. Mustard, almond etc. Known as “sarsoun ka tail”. It’s applied during combing. It’s works best on very dark hair and ideally darker complexion, bit of which Mr Andrews boasts. Less so on people with lighter hair colour. It also gives of a rather pungent odor. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-asian-product-that-makes-hair-glossy/616663/3 "2012-03-24T05:50:06Z")
Coconut oil is the one I’ve always seen used mostly by older indian women, younger ones are put off by the rancid/pungent odor it gives your hair eventually and use store bought stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-asian-product-that-makes-hair-glossy/616663/4 "2012-03-24T23:24:46Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Coconut oil is the one I’ve always seen used mostly by older indian women, younger ones are put off by the rancid/pungent odor it gives your hair eventually and use store bought stuff. I use coconut oil on my ends and it smells like coconut 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-asian-product-that-makes-hair-glossy/616663/5 "2012-03-25T00:05:37Z")
People in modeling and on television use shine spray to get their hair glossy, and it seems to be most striking on very dark, very straight hair. Shine spray is usually applied shortly before shooting, on top of any styling products. It’s usually a blend of oily and/or waxy ingredients, frequently silicones, that coat the hair without drying; spraying it on keeps the coating thin enough that it doesn’t weigh the hair down as much as pomades or hair oils. Like those products, it can be messy, which is why they have limited appeal. The natural oils described in previous posts function the same way, but both weight and odor can be problems. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-asian-product-that-makes-hair-glossy/616663/6 "2012-03-26T01:58:13Z")
This is the most common brand of (coconut) hair oil used by Indians: > **[Amazon.com : Parachute Coconut Hair Oil -100 ml : Grocery & Gourmet Food](https://www.amazon.com/Parachute-Coconut-Hair-Oil-100/dp/B00VUNM216)** > > Amazon.com : Parachute Coconut Hair Oil -100 ml : Grocery & Gourmet Food