Can essential oils help reverse thinning hair? Yes, if you ask an aromatherapist. There’s even some scientific proof that a certain blend of oils is highly effective at stimulating hair growth.
In the last decade, essential oils have become very popular.
Prior to the 1900’s, healing oils were widely used. However, as people began turning to pharmaceuticals, natural therapies such as homeopathy and aromatherapy, fell by the wayside.
As people begin to rediscover how these oils can help them, a lot of claims are made. Sometimes, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
In the absence of scientific studies, it becomes difficult to know what to believe. However, there’s not much incentive to study essential oils. Because they are natural substances, they can’t be patented. So there’s little drive to shine light on these aromatics.
Due to limited research, some mainstream medical professionals may be quick to discount essential oils. However, just because a lot of studies haven’t been done doesn’t mean that essential oils can’t lead to better physical and mental health.
Please understand that I’m not a doctor. So I can’t give medical advice or claim that any particular product or natural remedy will help restore your hair. All I can do is share information on one study showing that a particular aromatherapy recipe may halt hair loss and even lead to regrowth.
Essential Oils for Hair Loss
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Encouraging results were seen when a mixture of lavender, thyme, rosemary and cedarwood oils, mixed with a carrier oil, were massaged into the scalp each day. Over the course of a few months, with continual use, nearly 45 percent of patients experienced regrowth.*
These findings appeared in the medical journal JAMA Dermatology.
Essential Oil Recipes for Hair Loss
Making an essential oil hair loss blend is very simple. You will need a good carrier oil, such as organic jojoba oil. It’s possible this carrier, even without essential oils added, has its own hair restoration benefits. Derived from a plant that grows throughout the Southwestern United States, jojoba has a chemical composition that resembles human sebum.
There is also evidence that carrier oils alone can help with hair loss, although the results were not as dramatic as when mixed with essential oils.
If you’re going to massage essential oils into your scalp, they need to be highly diluted. These plant extracts are extremely concentrated, and can irritate the skin. If you use them straight, you also increase the risk of developing a sensitivity to a particular oil.
Also, the addition of a carrier oil may make these aromatic compounds more effective. On their own, they tend to evaporate. Carrier oils enable them to penetrate into our body, and work on a cellular level, as I’ve heard it explained by one aromatherapy expert.
Using Essential Oils for Hair Growth
There may be a number of essential oil recipes that are said to help with thinning hair. But the one below features the same mix of oils used in the study cited above.
One ounce of grapeseed or jojoba oil (available here)
3 drops of lavender oil (available here)
3 drops of rosemary oil (available here)
3 drops of cedarwood oil (available here)
3 drops of thyme oil (available here)
Mix all of these ingredients together and store in a glass jar away from heat or direct light. Once a day, massage them into your scalp.
Many people already own three of the oils listed above. The fourth, thyme, is not as widely used. So, if you need a good brand of thyme essential oil, I can highly recommend Plant Therapy. This is a company I’ve purchased a lot of my own oils from. It has impeccable quality standards, and its products are not sold through multilevel marketing distributors.
Plant Therapy Thyme Essential Oil
Disclaimer
These statements have not been approved by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. People with health concerns should discuss them with a doctor. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use essential oils, unless directed to do so by a healthcare professional.
I’m not a healthcare professional, so all of the above statements are my personal opinion, and are not intended as medical advice.
For Additional Reading
Ayurvedic Remedy for Hair Growth
Natural Remedies for Female Baldness
Natural Shampoo for Hair Regrowth
Essential Oils to Reduce Hair Loss
Is there a place I can get the oils mixed for Hair growth?
Hi Sue, I did find one product with the oils already mixed. But I don’t want to recommend it because I’m not really familiar with the brand or the purity of its oils. I use Plant Therapy oils on myself and I’m very familiar with this company and its safety standards and purity testing. It’s pretty easy to mix oils. I hope this helps.
Hi there, when do you apply the mixture? Does it leave your hair oily? About how long to dry? Do you do it before bedtime? Im currently using rogaine and have to apply it two times a day and have to leave it on my hair for at least two hours before styling. The rogaine is working but it would be nice to just have to apply once a day. Thanks for your time.
Chica, if it were me, I’d make sure to wash it all out. Also, I can’t possibly tell you how long it will take anyone’s hair to dry, since we all have different hair. Hope this helps.
I have been using this essential oil blend on my scalp diluted with castor oil and emu oil twice per week for about one month. I have noticed new baby hairs starting to grow. I usually massage it on my scalp before bed and wash out in the morning.
Hi Kathleen, that’s wonderful news. I’m so happy to hear that you’re seeing good results. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hello! Do you put the whole mixture on your head each time, or just dip your fingers in to get a little bit daily?
Hi Abigail, thanks so much for reading. I’m not a professional aromatherapist, or a doctor, so I can’t give medical advice, or promise that any natural remedy will solve a particular health problem. But I can pass along information. I think the recipe would be too much to use all at once. If it were me, I’d want to use enough to cover my head, but not so much that my head was drenched. In the study I referred to, the essential oils and carrier oils were massaged into the scalp over a period of seven months. You can read that study. Go to the last pink hyperlink at the end of this post and you’ll find it. I hope this helps.