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The Hair Oil My Silky-Haired Friend Made Me Buy Is Extremely Good

Photo: Olivia Kooyman

Back in April, I interviewed Charlotte Cho, the founder of Korean beauty site Soko Glam, about her all-time favorite beauty items. During our conversation, she told me that her Holy Grail product for achieving shiny, soft hair was a rich oil from Korean brand British M; she swore it was an absolute game changer. Considering Charlotte has some of the most beautiful, full-bodied, silky hair I’ve ever seen, I wanted to get my hands on the stuff as soon as possible. But then I looked it up: It was $67, and I had a bottle of Ouai’s Rose Hair Oil sitting at home. I couldn’t do it.

Until a few months ago. I was droning on to a friend about the horrible things New York’s humidity had done to my damaged hair; when I finally stopped talking she told me I had to try a hair oil by a company called British M. It was incredible for eliminating summertime frizz, she said, and didn’t leave any greasiness behind. If two people whose beauty acumen I trust separately recommend the same product to me, I have to buy it. So I promptly bought the British M.

Let me just get this out of the way: This is the best hair oil I’ve ever tried in my life. The texture is thick, which makes it really easy to work it into your hair evenly. And it works like an actual dream: Every morning, after I’ve showered and let my hair dry a bit, I run a pea-size amount through, focusing mostly on my perpetually dry ends. Immediately, my hair is smoothed, feels softer and more hydrated, and looks extra, extra shiny. And as it drys, it stays that way, instead of looking like it usually does after it air-dries: like a broom. In sum, it is just far superior to all the other hair oils I’ve tried: It’s more hydrating than Ouai’s or MoroccanOil’s (it contains green tea and aloe extract, which strengthen and nourish), and it never, ever weighs my hair down or makes it look wet or sticky, even if I use a touch too much.

Yes, this product is expensive. But here’s the thing: It comes in a giant, 140-ml glass pump jar, and a teeny-tiny bit goes a long way. As in, a grain-of-rice-size amount is enough to coat my entire head of hair. Unlike my Ouai, which I go through every few months, this product might last me years.

I recently recommended this product to my mom, who is a bit of a hair connoisseur. (She even wrote about her favorite products for the Strategist a couple years back.) A week or so later, I got a furious text from her saying: “Why didn’t you tell me about this before!!!!” Do you see those exclamation points? If that doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what will.

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The Oil My Silky-Haired Friend Made Me Buy Is Extremely Good