Essential oils for hair growth are excellent allies for growing healthier hair. Whether you are looking to stimulate hair growth for thicker, more lustrous hair or are combatting hair loss, they can help stimulate growth, improve the overall health of your scalp, and reduce hair loss.
On average, hair grows about 6 inches every year, or about a half an inch per month. Your hair follicles create a protein called keratin which it then pushes out through the skin to become hair. While not much can be done to speed up the natural growth rate (short of getting extensions), there are factors that contribute to slower hair growth, and essential oils provide a natural tool for stimulating healthy hair growth.
Hair loss and thinning hair is referred to as Alopecia, which also can be caused by a number of different factors. Bear in mind that we naturally shed about 80 to 100 strands of hair a day, so there is no need for alarm when you are seeing hair in your comb or brush or coming out while you shower. Some hair loss is perfectly natural and is what keeps Roto-Rooter in business!
Causes of Hair Loss and Slow Hair Growth:
Hair care products and styling tools:
Chemical hair treatments such as perms and dyes wreak havoc on hair, weakening your hair and cause drying and breakage. Excessive shampooing, using hair products with damaging chemicals and using heat for styling all cause damage to the hair and scalp that affect hair growth. This is most often temporary and will reverse when the cause is removed. Read the labels on your products and choose those that are natural. Some things to look out for are: Propylene Glycol, Sodium Laurel or Laureth Sulfate, and Oleyl Betaine. These chemicals may cause irritation and drying of the hair and scalp and corrode hair follicles. Also be aware of the chlorine content in your shower water, which can also cause drying and irritation. You may want to invest in a filter for your shower, too.
Genes:
Like it or not, your parents made you who you are and passed on lots of gifts to you. Some of them you probably are very grateful for, others, perhaps not so much. A genetic predisposition to hair loss may be one of the ones that you would prefer they kept to themselves, but, sadly, it’s not returnable.
Stress:
You keep hearing that stress kills, right? Well, it usually takes its time about it and along the way, it slowly eats away at our health on many levels. Guess what? Hair loss is one of them. If you start listening to all the wisdom out there about how important it is to reduce stress in your life and take steps to take good care of yourself and build resiliency, you and your hair will be much better off. Luckily, stress related hair loss is temporary once the stress is managed. Essential oils are GREAT for helping to reduce stress, too! If you are looking for other ways to reduce stress you can try these breathing techniques for anxiety relief.
Illness, Disease and Medical Treatment:
Autoimmune disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, eating disorders and anemia can lead to hair loss. In many cases the hair loss is temporary and your hair will grow back when the condition is treated. Medical treatments for some diseases can also lead to temporary hair loss. Chemotherapy, certain blood pressure medications, and birth control are a few examples. As always, talk to your doctor about possible side effects of treatments you are receiving.
Diet, sleep and exercise:
I’m sure you know that having a healthy diet, staying hydrated, sleeping well and exercising are all essential ingredients to good overall health. What you put into your body and how you treat your body matters. Hair loss has been directly linked to all of these. Nutritionally, hair loss has been linked to having too little protein as well as to diets that severely restrict calories. Fortunately, hair loss related to poor diet, exercise and sleep is often temporary and can be reversed once the cause is addressed.
Essential Oil Home Remedies for Hair Growth:
The good news in all of this is that, in many cases, hair loss is temporary and can be treated. Essential oils for hair growth provide a natural, chemical free way to treat your hair and scalp. Even better, the treatments can be very soothing and relaxing for the rest of your body, too!
Here are some general recommendations and guidelines when using essential oils for hair growth:
- You want to choose high quality, therapeutic grade essential oils. Young Living or DoTerra both offer high quality essential oils.
- Essential oils should be combined with a carrier oil rather than applied directly to the skin and hair. There are a number of carrier oils that work great. Here are some that have their own beneficial qualities for treating your hair and scalp:
- Grapeseed Oi: Excellent for oily hair conditions.
- Coconut Oil: Used to stimulate hair growth and is cooling to the scalp. Contains vitamins and nutrients beneficial for healthy hair growth.
- Hemp Oil: Contains essential fats, has anti-inflammatory qualities and is highly nutritive.
- Sesame Oil: Used to stimulate hair growth, is a strong anti-oxidant, and is cooling to the scalp. Contains vitamins and nutrients beneficial for healthy hair growth.
- Evening Primrose Oil: Used to heal a variety of scalp conditions, has anti-inflammatory qualities and contains vitamins and nutrients beneficial for healthy hair growth.
- Jojoba Oil: Great for hydrating the scalp and hair.
- Rosehip Seed Oil: Promotes hair growth and skin regeneration.
- General recommended ratio is 6 to 8 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil.
Essential Oils for Hair Growth:
Below is list of some of the essential oils that are commonly used to promote hair growth and to combat hair loss.
Carrot Root Oil:
Carrot Root Oil has been referred to as one of the best oils for hair loss. It is high in carotenes, antioxidants, and Retin A, which stimulate skin cells and hair follicles.
Geranium Oil:
Geranium Oil is used to strengthen hair.
Cedarwood Oil:
Cedarwood Oil has been used to successfully treat hair loss caused by autoimmune deficiencies. It works well in conjunction with Thyme, Rosemary and Lavender Essential Oils.
Clary Sage Oil:
Clary Sage Oil is known to balance cellular estrogen and is helpful with hormone related hair thinning in women.
Thyme Oil:
Thyme Oil stimulates blood circulation and supports nutrient absorption which can stimulate hair growth. It is also used to thicken hair and reduce hair loss.
Lavender Oil:
Lavender Oil is frequently used for stress reduction and has an overall soothing and balancing effect. It also has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial qualities.
Rosemary Oil:
Rosemary Oil is excellent for enhancing hair growth through increasing cellular metabolism.
Clove Oil:
Clove Oil has potent antioxidant and antiseptic qualities. It helps to increase circulation which stimulates hair growth.
Myrtle Oil:
Myrtle Oil is antiseptic and regenerative. It helps to rebalance the oils of the scalp, and can help clear clogged pores and hair follicles.
Ylang Ylang Oil:
Ylang Ylang Oil is often used for stress reduction. It helps balance the oils in the scalp, and had been used to increase the thickness of the hair shaft. It is also helpful in repairing split ends.
Essential Oil Recipe for Hair Growth:
Given the variety of essential oils available to treat hair growth, as well as numerous causes, there are many combinations of oils that may be used to treat your individual needs. We recommend consulting a practitioner trained in the medicinal uses of essential oils to help determine the best options to meet your personal needs. Here is one recipe that you may be interested in trying out. Below is a common combination that is often used to help stimulate healthy hair growth.
As we mentioned earlier, use 6 to 8 drops of essential oils per ounce of carrier oil.
- 4 oz bottle of Jojoba Oil
- 12 drops Rosemary Oil
- 4 drops Clary Sage Oil
- 4 drops Lavender Oil
- 4 drops Thyme Oil
Add the appropriate drops of each essential oil directly into the bottle of Jojoba Oil, being careful not to contaminate the oil by touching the rim. Replace the lid on the Jojoba Oil bottle and roll it lightly back and forth on a flat surface to gently mix the oils.
Wet your hair with warm water and squeeze out excess water.
Apply the oil to your roots and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. (Wrapping your hair in a warm towel feels really good when you do this!) Rinse out and shampoo your hair as usual.
Using these essential oils for hair growth should help boost your hair health giving you longer stronger hair.
Health Coach Drew
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