Therapeutic grade essential oils hold the promise for a great many people of stimulating the growth of bountiful healthy hair. Whether one is regrowing hair after hair loss, preventing the loss of hair, or just looking to make their hair more beautiful and lustrous than ever, essential oils and the carrier oils that comprise therapeutic aromatherapy formulas are very much worth investigating. We'll first look at how and why you "build" your recipe, and conclude with a couple excellent formulations.
Building a Super-Effective Hair Growth Stimulating Recipe
Essential oils have a long history of skin and hair care -- and it is the same essential oils that are used for both "mature skin" care, and skin healing, that are used to stimulate hair growth. You can see the link between these conditions: in each, there's a requirement for new skin cells to be developed (which can translate to stimulating the follicles into action), providing nutrients that support this process, and oils that just generally keep the skin happy and healthy. The most effective method of using these oils is to use an oil treatment formula -- rather than just adding to your current cleansing and conditioning program.
Choosing Essential Oils for Scalp Stimulation
Rosemary and Sage essential oils, as well as "low-tech" infusions from these herbs, have a VERY long history in hair care. Women have been using these herbs for centuries to promote full, lustrous heads of hair. Though their use by women does not preclude their use by men. The are certainly "gender neutral". Each of these essential oils contains unique molecules that are considered "regenerative", stimulating the growth of new cells. In terms of growing hair, this activity is thought to activate the follicles to work a little faster at their job. Note that the oils of choice here are "common" Sage, and a special kind of Rosemary called "verbenone". The "cineol" type will not have the same effect, so be careful in your choices. Use these at a maximum of 2% of your blend (that's total, not each!).
Getting Some Vitamins to the Hair Follicles
Chock full of growth supporting nutrients Carrot Root, and the new kid on the block Sea Buckthorn Berry essential oils are amazing at supporting follicle health. They each have a diverse collection of antioxidants and growth enhancing vitamins and vitamin-like compounds (the only difference between a vitamin and a vitamin-like compound is a scientific designation -- early on, the "vitamins" are the ones you would die without having -- though you wouldn't do so well without having the other either!). You almost can't have too much of these oils -- use at a 2% concentration.
Bringing Balance to Those Follicles
Many, many people have either over-dry or over-oily scalp conditions which wreak havoc on hair growth. Balance is what's needed here, and here's the oils to do it. Lavender is the most widely used "balancing" oil, that has a wealth of therapeutic effects. If you do not have an outstanding skin condition that really needs clearing up, add a little Lavender to your blend -- it is thought to really tie all the components together to help them work most effectively. If you've got an over-oily condition, a little Myrtle essential oil is thought to do the trick. It's cleansing and balancing at the same time, restoring sebaceous output to proper levels. Finally, for mature women, be sure to use a little Clary Sage, thought to restore cellular estrogen levels to their optimum for the most beautiful skin and hair.
Your Formulation's Foundation: The "Carrier" Oils
One would imagine for an "oil treatment", there must be some oil involved somewhere. The essential oils, interestingly, are really not "oils" -- they are very complex natural mixtures made up of readily-evaporated compounds. "Oils" on the other hand, are made up of larger, longer chain molecules that don't evaporate so easily. Olive oil is an example -- though in aroma-therapy, generally seed and nut oils are used due to their diverse array of therapeutic activity. In these blends, the oils of choice are Coconut -- very therapeutic, and may stimulate hair growth all by itself. Rosehip Seed -- highly regarded for its regenerative properties. Jojoba -- important for those with dry, brittle, thin hair. And Evening Primrose, who's essential fats are excellent for inflamed scalp conditions, and can offer important nutrients which may be missing from the diet (Hemp seed is also an appropriate choice for the same reasons). Each carrier can be used alone, or in combination with others. Use all four if you like, you're hair won't be sorry!
Putting Your Blend Together
Sometimes people are a little intimidated by mixing their own essential oil formula, but it's really much easier than even baking cookies. Let's describe how to make 1 ounce of hair stimulating blend, and then you can easily multiply the values to make larger amounts. This is best done in a 1 ounce empty dropper bottle, but again, you can start with a larger one if you like. To make the base, fill the bottle most of the way with your carriers. If you're using using more than one carrier, estimating equal parts of each is fine. Make sure you leave a little room at the top for the essential oils! So, for each 1% of an essential oil, just add 8 drops of that oil to your bottle. Using 1% Rosemary? Add 8 drops. 2% Lavender, 16 drops. 1/2% Sage? 4 drops. To Make 2 ounces of final blend, just double these numbers -- to make 4 ounces, multiply them by 4, and so on.
Practical, Effective Recipes for Men and Women
These are well-rounded, potent recipes that are easily made -- both of these are for two ounces of final blend. For women, use a base of 1/4 Evening Primrose, 1/4 Rosehip Seed, and 1/2 Jojoba. To this, add 16 drops Rosemary Verbenone, 8 drops Sage, 32 drops Lavender and 16 drops Clary Sage. For men, use a base of 1/3rd Coconut, Rosehip Seed and Hemp oils. To this, add 16 drops Sage, 16 drops Rosemary, 32 drops Carrot Root, and 16 drops Lavender essential oils.
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. This concludes a basic review of the therapeutic use of the best essential oils for hair growth, and how to prepare and use your own personal formula.
Author Resource:
Aroma-medicne is the practice of using essential oils for therapeutic applications. The author is degreed natural medicine professional with a significant background in essential oils, flower essences and other botanical treatments .
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