by Lory Blessed
Here will look at the most effective oils for hair care — both essential oils (like Lavender and Rosemary) and carrier oils (like Evening Primrose and Jojoba) — with details about each so you can create a specific formula to suit your personal hair type. The recipes are easy to make, and you can even just add a few of the oils to conditioners or shampoos you may already be using. And though easy to make, these can be profoundly effective herbal treatment formulas for stimulating hair growth, both for those with healthy hair and those experiencing some hair loss.
The oils used for hair growth are also those used for skin care in general — the health of the follicles is of course closely related to the health of the scalp and skin. Essential oils for your most effective, custom recipe can be selected from one of four general categories. These are: stimulating (increasing cellular metabolism and/or new cell generation), nutritive (offering vitamins, other co-factors and essential fats necessary for healthy follicle function), balancing (returns over-oily or over-dry skin to a balanced state, balances over- or under-active hormones at a cellular level, and/or reduces excess inflammation from any number or sources), and immune-supportive (heal scalp/skin infections that may inhibit optimal hair growth).
To make a basic scalp treatment blend, the essential oils are based in carrier oils–these are long-chain ‘fixed’ oils, in the families of cooking oils we’re familiar with. The term ‘carrier oil’ is used as these oils ‘carry’ the essential oils into the skin and scalp. The also provide nutritive co-factors, antioxidants and essential fatty acids that are very important for healthy hair. The essential oils are added to the carriers (one or more carrier can be blended together to make the formula’s ‘base’) at what seems to be very low dilutions–on the order of 1% each essential oil in the overall formula. It is really best not to use higher amounts of most of the essential oils (a couple may be increased, and we’ll note these specifically). Essential oils are VERY concentrated plant extracts, and many of their therapeutic actions result from signaling cells what to do. Like sending a text message, it only needs to happen once to get the point across–repeating the message over and over doesn’t help and can be irritating. This really is like how certain essential oils function, so remember, in most cases with pure essential oils: less is more!
We’ll start with the stimulating essential oils. These essential oils are used in skin and hair care to stimulate cellular metabolism (increasing the oxygen and nutrients used by the cell) or stimulate the growth of new cells. Specifically for hair growth, we’d like to stimulate the activity of the hair follicles and grow more hair, thicker and faster. Two essential oils are used most often for this: Rosemary and Sage. Both of these herbs have a long history in hair care, with teas made from their leaves being used as a stimulating hair rinse for hundreds of years. Of all the Rosemary essential oil varieties available, you should find the specialty-oil for skin and hair: Rosemary c.t. verbenone. The verbenone ‘chemotype’ has unique molecules in it that tells the scalp cells to speed up their activity and even produce new cells. Rosemary verbenone is the safest and most commonly-used of the stimulating oils (though it should be avoided by expectant mothers, children, and those with nervous system conditions — check with your doctor if you’re unsure about the safety of essential oils for yourself just in case).
Sage essential oil, like Rosemary, is also highly regarded for hair care and stimulating hair growth. It is considered the most potent of the regenerative oils, though also the one with the most cautions. Like Rosemary, it should be avoided if pregnant, by children, and by those with epilepsy. Some therapists think it should be just generally avoided by the lay-practitioner, while others believe it is safe at therapeutic dilutions. Sage does have a long history in hair care, mostly as a tea from the leaves of common Sage. The essential oil is relatively new on the scene, and needs to be used in an entirely different manner than the hair-wash tea. The oil should only be used in very low concentrations in a carrier oil–at 1% or less. Kurt Schnaubelt in Advanced Aromatherapy includes it in a recipe for skin regeneration at .25%. This is only 2 drops per ounce of carrier oil!
Nutritive essential oils supply vitamins and vitamin-like molecules which enhance cell functions, including hair growth. Vitamin A co-factors have been found particularly beneficial to the follicles. The most nutritive essential oils supplying these co-factors are Sea Buckthorn Berry and Helio-Carrot (or Carrot Root). Both these essential oils are actually made by a high-tech process called carbon-dioxide extraction, at a lower temperature than the steam distillation used for most essential oils. This process preserves the nutrients in the oils, and brings a broader spectrum of the therapeutic plant molecules into the oil. Both these oils should be used at about 1% of the overall blend.
Next, the balancing essential oils — balancing oils should make up a part of everyone’s blend. Even if you just add a little bit of Lavender, you’re hair will be happy! The balancing oils bring about a balance of the scalp’s natural oil production, and/or cool the scalp and reduce inflammation (inflammation at the cellular level is directly implicated in hair loss). Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) is the premier balancing oil for skin, scalp and hair care, and has many helpful properties — it is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and regenerative all at the same time. If one needs to balance the scalp’s natural oils, Green Myrtle is an excellent choice, also with antibacterial and regenerative properties. Myrtle can reduce excessive oil production (which has been implicated in hair loss and slow hair growth) and can help a flaky, itchy scalp. For women, Clary Sage can be especially balancing, particularly where regular hormone production is the source of hair loss or slow hair growth. Proper estrogen metabolism on the cellular level is critical for beautiful hair, and older women in particular may really benefit from one-half of one percent Clary Sage included in their personal recipes.
Some hair loss is directly related to mild-to-severe scalp infections, and even auto-immune conditions where the body seems to reject its own hair follicles and suppress growth. This auto-immune condition is called alopecia areata, and has been successfully treated with essential oils of Rosemary, Lavender, Cedarwood and Thyme, each at .5% concentrations based in Jojoba and Grapeseed oils. If the scalp is over-oily and irritated, with general thinning or slow hair growth, a gentle antiseptic oil should be included in your formula. This may be as simple as a small amount of Tea Tree, Myrtle, Cedarwood or Palmarosa to your blend.
To make a topical formula using these aromatic oils, they should be based (dissolved or diluted) in carrier oils, also known as ‘fixed’ oils. Carrier oils differ from essential oils in that they are in-fact fatty acids, do not easily evaporate, and have relatively little aroma. Olive oil is an example everyone is familiar with. The carrier oils we’ll look at have distinct therapeutic properties themselves. First is Evening Primrose — Evening Primrose has two primary actions: It is nutritive in that it supplies excellent amounts of vitamins for hair growth, and offers a very high amount of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. These should be exceptional for any scalp and hair condition where growth is limited by inflammation (use at up to 100% of the base). Next is Rosehip Seed: this oil has been widely studied for its anti-aging effects, reducing scar formation and wrinkles, plus stimulating regeneration (use at up to 30% of the base). Jojoba oil has a long history of use in hair care, particularly for dry hair, or where one would like their hair to be more shiny and lustrous (use at up to 100% of the base). Coconut oil is highly regarded in cases of hair loss, as in it nutritive and anti-inflammatory. Coconut and Sesame (also anti-inflammatory and nutritive) are used in Ayurvedic medicine to stimulate hair growth (use Coconut at up to 50% and Sesame at up to 100%). Finally, Grapeseed oil is an excellent choice for a ‘light’ oil base, with slightly astringent qualities for oily scalp and hair.
Making and using your own recipe to stimulate growing beautiful hair is really very easy (and yet remarkably therapeutic!)…Start with an empty bottle of between 1 and 8 ounces. Calculate the amount of each essential oil you’d like to use, remembering that the average amount is 1% of each essential oil. This works out to eight drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier, so if you’re making a four-ounce bottle, and want to add one-percent Lavender, add 4×8, or 32 drops of Lavender to the bottle. Stimulating oils should be used at 1/2% or less, meaning 4 drops of essential oil per ounce, and nutritive oils can be used at up to 2%. When done adding the essential oils, fill the bottle the rest of the way with your chosen carriers — the carrier measurement needn’t be as precise. If you’re making a 50/50 base of Rosehip and Sesame, for example, filling the bottle close to halfway with each is just fine. Once you’ve inverted or lightly shaken the mixture, it’s ready to use: you can apply about an eye-dropper full to your scalp, and massage-in. You can do this before going to bed (though cover your bedding to prevent stains from the oils) or wrap your head in a moist towel for a while to maximize absorption. A light scalp massage with the oils will also increase circulation and absorption by the hair roots, perhaps increasing the efficacy of your blend even further.
So there you have a beginner’s guide to making a hair-growth stimulating, hair loss preventing aromatherapy formula. With the many resources available on the internet, you can further investigate each oil to determine its value for your personal condition. With careful selection and dedicated use, you’re almost certain to see a dramatic change in the health and growth of your hair.
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