Looking for an alternative for Kevin Murphy hair oil!

August 7, 2023 12:31 PM

I'm looking for a dupe for Kevin Murphy "Young Again" leave in hair oil. That stuff is too expensive!

I absolutely love Kevin Murphy Young Again hair oil (but ughhhh hate the name....)

It costs anything from $36-$50 a bottle and goes pretty quickly. What I do is put it on my wavy frizzy hair when its wet, and then it dries into nice, unfrizzy waves. It smells nice, it doesnt feel greasy, it doesnt leave my hair crunchy when it dries.... Its just the best stuff. Alas, the price.

Can anyone suggest a similar product that's an oil i can put in wet or dry hair? Nothing else I've found even comes close. I know people love Moroccanoil but I cant stand it - strong smell and leaves my hair limp and greasy feeling.

posted by silverstatue to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

I looked at the ingredients list and I believe that the oils themselves are a red herring. I think your magic ingredient is likely the dimethicone, which is a slightly controversial ingredient in skin and haircare because it doesn't really "do" anything beneficial/healing, but it makes things FEEL great.

For instance, dimethicone is a main ingredient in a lot of "protecting" body lotions, because it has a sealing effect over the actual moisturizing ingredients. It gives skin a softer feel. Dimethicone is a main ingredient in pore-filling primers because of that same ability to create a smooth barrier. In your hair oil, it's filling in all those microscopic gaps in your hair cuticle, which literally smooths each individual strand.

Personally I think dimethicone is great, because I like for things to feel nice. I don't care if it feels nice because it's fake.

If I were you I would go down the haircare aisle at a Target and look for hair oils in your price range that have dimethicone in the top 5 ingredients, and pick the one with the least offensive smell.
posted by phunniemee at 1:33 PM on August 7, 2023 [8 favorites]

I’m also #teamdimethicone and think you might want to try Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine- the serum, not the oil- as a first stop on the drug store aisle, if you are ok with the fragrance. The first two ingredients are (variations on) the same as the Kevin Murphy oil and it’s super cheap.
posted by MadamM at 2:22 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

The 1st 4 ingredients listed are silicone. I mix a silicone product with gel to get this result. I just get whatever strong gel is cheap, use a big blob of gel, small squirt of silicone curl/ shine stuff. This or this might do the same.

My hair is super-wavy & frizzy, this works better than anything I've tried.
posted by theora55 at 2:26 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Sounds similar to the Bed Head Hydrating Jelly Oil (also a bit pricey at $23.50 but your local drugstore may have it and coupons.)

The Frizz Ease Dream Curls foam has dimethicones and silicones. I've used it before. It's around $12.

If you like the pump/oil then I'd try the Garnier one mentioned above. It's around $7.

Although not dimethicone based I've also had luck with this Shea Moisture curling foam on damp hair to help ease frizz and encourage waves. And that's about $12, very light scent.

+1 to the dimethicones and similar being the key. I have type 2b, low porosity hair and it helps keep frizz down.
posted by Crystalinne at 2:49 PM on August 7, 2023

If dimethicone is the trick, I love Verb's Ghost hair oil.

Have also personally found other oils way too thick or heavy. This is super light and has no strong fragrance.

I mix it with a little leave in conditioner.
posted by dazedandconfused at 3:03 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

Jojoba oil!
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:42 PM on August 7, 2023

I was also coming to suggest Ghost Oil.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:49 PM on August 7, 2023

I found this stuff on hair tik tok (@abbeyyung on tik tok if you want a deep dive into why it's great) and I LOVE it. It's a good mix of silicone and oils and smells amazing, like, summer and warmth but better but the scent doesn't linger once it dries in. About ten bucks canadian at drug stores, and lasts for ages.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 11:07 AM on August 8, 2023