Oi Hair Butter lands on the counter at our downtown Boise studio more than almost any other styling cream, and the reason is simple. People want softer hair without the greasy weight that usually comes with it. We sell it at our retail shelf, but more often a client picks up a jar after watching us use it on them in the chair and asking how to get the same finish at home. This is exactly how our stylists at Sølvi work with it, step by step, so you can do the same.
What Oi Hair Butter actually does
This is a Davines product built around roucou oil, which softens and smooths the hair without sitting heavy on top of it. That single trait is why it has become a staple behind the chair for us. It leaves an antioxidant finish that calms flyaways and frizz, and the signature Oi scent hangs around through the day. It works across hair types, from fine to coarse, which matters in a city like Boise where the dry high-desert air pulls moisture out of everyone's hair the same way. The Standard 8.45 ounce jar runs $52, there is a Travel 2.5 ounce size at $20 if you want to test it first, and a Liter at $127 if you already know you love it.
Step one: start with clean, damp hair
Oi Hair Butter is meant to go on damp hair, not soaking wet and not bone dry. After you wash, towel your hair until it stops dripping. We tell clients to think of it as that in-between stage where the hair is still cool to the touch but not leaving water marks on your shoulders. Putting it on hair that is too wet dilutes it, and putting it on dry hair can make it harder to spread evenly.
Step two: use less than you think
This is the part most people get wrong at home. Scoop a small amount, roughly the size of a pea for fine to medium hair, maybe a little more if your hair is long or coarse. Warm it between your palms first so it melts into more of an oil than a paste. Then work it through the mid-lengths and ends, where dryness and frizz actually live. Keep it off the scalp. You can always add a touch more, but you cannot pull it back out once your hair goes flat and greasy.
Step three: comb through and style
Once it is distributed, run a wide-tooth comb from roots to ends so the product spreads evenly and your hair is detangled. From here you can air dry for a soft, natural finish or blow dry for more polish. Either way the roucou oil gives you that smooth, touchable result without the crunch. We use it as a finishing step too, smoothing a tiny bit over dry hair at the end of a blowout to knock down frizz before someone walks back out into the Idaho wind.
Who it is not for
We will be honest, because that is how we talk to clients in our chairs. If your hair is very fine and tends to go limp by mid-afternoon, Oi Hair Butter can be too much. Even a careful amount may leave your roots looking weighed down or a little oily by the end of the day. Those clients usually do better with a lighter spray or a serum. And if you are someone who genuinely dislikes fragrance, the Oi scent is noticeable and it lingers, so this is not the product for you. For most everyone else, especially anyone fighting dryness or frizz, it earns its spot.
How we fold it into a routine
For a lot of our clients this is a daily product, a small amount on damp hair every morning. For others with healthier or coarser hair, a couple of times a week is plenty. There is no wrong answer. Pay attention to how your hair looks the next day and adjust the amount before you adjust the frequency. If you want us to dial in the exact amount for your hair, we walk through it during any styling appointment. You can see everything we offer on our services page, or book an appointment and we will show you in person at 104 S Capitol Blvd. Bring your jar and we will get you set.
Oi Hair Butter is one of the few products we genuinely reach for every single day at Sølvi, and used the right way it makes home styling feel a lot closer to what you get in our chair. Start small, keep it to the mid-lengths and ends, and let the roucou oil do the work.