Essential oils may help promote hair growth – and prevent hair loss — by helping to stimulate circulation, reduce inflammation that may contribute to hair loss, and increase follicle count.
Hair growth is dependent upon the healthy function of your hair root, follicle and the shaft. Massaging essential oils directly into the scalp has been found to increase blood circulation, enhancing the delivery system of nutrients to your roots, which can make your hair appear thicker and fuller. It also helps exfoliate the scalp, remove buildup and toxins, strengthening the hair right from the root, and adding lustre to the strands.
Research suggests certain essential oils – notably rosemary, peppermint, and lavender – can be powerful tools in helping to combat hair loss.
What is Hair Loss?
Hair loss refers to a decrease in the usual number of hairs on the scalp or body, causing thinning, patchy hair loss, or total baldness.
Most healthy people lose about 50 to 100 strands of hair per day. As part of your hair’s growth cycle, new strands grow and take the place of the ones you shed. But losing more than 100 strands per day may mean there’s excess shedding.
By age 50, research finds that 40% of women will experience either hair loss, including hair shedding (when your hair falls out) and thinning or reduced hair growth (when hair doesn’t grow as quickly or as thickly). Part of this can be attributed to hormonal shifts where imbalances in hormones from menopause, PCOS, pregnancy, and high stress can disrupt the hair growth cycle by altering the balance of androgens (like testosterone) and estrogen, primarily causing increased hair shedding (telogen effluvium), thinning, and slower regrowth. Lowered estrogen/progesterone or elevated cortisol and androgen levels can shrink hair follicles and shorten the growth phase
Symptoms of Hair Loss
Common signs of hair loss include:
- Widening Hair Part or Thinning Crown: You may notice your part line becoming wider or experience reduced volume at the top of the head.
- Receding Hairline: A classic sign, often starting at the temples or forehead.
- Shedding that won’t stop: You may find hair strands on pillows, hairbrushes, in the shower, or on clothes.
- Hair Growing Slower Than it Used to.
- Strands Getting Thinner and Weaker: A ponytail that feels thinner, or being able to see more of the scalp than usual.
- Patchy Bald Spots: Smooth, circular spots or patches of hair loss on the scalp, or eyebrows, often accompanied by itching or pain.
- Sudden Loosening of Hair: Hair falling out in clumps, which may be triggered by physical or emotional shock.
- Scalp Changes: Redness, scaling, or intense itching associated with hair loss, which may indicate a medical condition.
Causes of hair loss
Thinning hair is an issue that can come about due to many different reasons:
Hormonal Changes: Pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and thyroid problems are major causes. Conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) cause higher androgen levels. This can lead to female-pattern hair loss.
Nutrient Deficiencies: A deficiency of nutrients like iron, Vitamin D, protein, Vitamin B12, zinc, selenium, biotin, can lead to hair loss. Low levels of nutrients can slow or inhibit hair growth and contribute to increased thinning and hair loss.
Autoimmune Disease: Autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis can also lead to hair loss and thinning. This connection between hair loss and thyroid dysfunction may be due to inflammation or changes in the hair growth cycle.
Damaging Hair Care Practices: Chemicals and heat can damage hair. If heat or chemical treatments are applied close to the scalp, they can potentially cause damage to the hair follicle itself. Similarly, tight ponytails, braids, or extensions can damage the scalp.
Reaction to Medications: A number of medications can cause increased hair shedding or hair loss. These medications include blood pressure medications, antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and others. Even changing medication routines can cause your hair to thin if your medications affect your hormone levels. For example, some women who stop taking birth control pills can experience hair loss.
High Stress Levels: High stress levels can have many downstream effects on the body, including causing or contributing to the worsening of hair loss. Hair loss due to stress is called telogen effluvium. It can be sudden and dramatic: Out of nowhere, you notice a lot of hair falling out. Telogen effluvium starts 2 to 3 months after a stressful physical or emotional event – like losing a loved one, going through surgery, or being diagnosed with a serious illness – and peaks about 4 to 5 months later. Over time, the body readjusts, and hair gradually stops falling out. Within 6 to 9 months, things go back to normal.
Age: Hair tends to thin and shed as you age. Cells continually grow and die off at all ages. But with age, cells die off more quickly than they regenerate. This is why people get weaker bones and thinner skin. It is suspected that aged tissue can’t support the density it used to and may cause hair to get thinner and weaker.
Blood Loss From Menstruation: Heavy periods contribute to increased monthly blood loss, which can lead to a higher change of iron deficiency. Low iron levels can contribute to hair loss.
Infection: Infections that affect the scalp can cause hair to fall out. This happens when bacteria, yeast, or fungi overgrow and invade hair follicles. You might see pus bumps, redness, and scaling. The scalp can feel itchy or even painful.
Chemotherapy and radiation: Chemotherapy medications kill cells in the body that grow quickly so that they don’t form tumours or spread. But, because cells in hair follicles also grow quickly, chemotherapy can also affect your hair.
How Essential Oils Support Hair Growth
Natural compounds, like essential oils, possess anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and neuro-protective properties that have been shown to increase blood circulation in the scalp. Research published in the Brazilian Journal of Aromatherapy and Essential Oil suggests essential oils like rosemary and peppermint may support hair growth by stimulating blood flow to the scalp and reducing hair loss.
Essential oils may help improve circulation by relaxing the smooth muscles that line the blood vessels and improving the health of the blood vessels. This helps more blood circulate through them, improving your circulation and increasing brain oxygen levels in the process.
Plant compounds, including the highly concentrated essence of plants found in essential oils, have been shown to help the veins contract, stimulating blood flow and enhance “brain microcirculation,” which is the flow of blood through the body’s smallest vessels, including those that carry nutrients to your hair follicles and promote hair growth.
Essential oils are also comparatively more efficient and safe than conventional hair care products. Conventional synthetic and chemical hair care products have limited efficacy, adverse effects, or high costs, and apparently noxious smells. So much so that research found “better treatment adherence” with those using essential oils.
Essential Oils have also been found to promote hair growth by helping to support:
Hair Follicle Cycle
The hair follicle cycle promotes hair growth through a continuous, self-regenerating process, including an active growth phase where stem cells rapidly divide to produce hair fiber. The cycle ensures continuous turnover, replacing old hairs with new ones to maintain hair density. Essential oils may prolong the growth phase and increase follicle depth and number.
More specifically, the hair follicle cycle is regulated by various factors, such as hormones, growth factors, cytokines, and transcription factors, that modulate the activity and differentiation of hair follicle stem cells and their progeny. Essential oils may affect the hair follicle cycle by influencing the expression and signaling of these factors. For example, lavender oil has been shown to increase the number and depth of hair follicles and prolong the growth phase by upregulating the expression of two key molecules that promote hair follicle development and growth.
Similarly, Rosemary oil has been shown to increase hair count and thickness. Rosemary oil stimulates blood circulation to the scalp, which enhances the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the hair follicles. Peppermint oil has been shown to support hair growth by helping to increase hair follicle number, thickness and depth, which helps to stimulate the formation of new capillary blood vessels and increased blood flow to the hair follicles.
Cellular Metabolism
Essential oils support energy production and antioxidant defense in hair follicle cells, protecting them from damage.
Hair follicle cells require a constant supply of energy and nutrients to sustain its growth and function. The hair follicle cells have a high demand for Essential oils help support this constant demand for oxygen and glucose by helping to “modulate the expression and activity of enzymes and transporters involved in glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, and antioxidant defense.
For example, lavender oil has been shown to increase the expression of glucose transporters, which enhance the uptake and absorption of energy that can be used to support hair growth. “These effects may indicate that lavender oil shifts the cellular metabolism of the hair follicle cells from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis, which may provide more energy and building blocks for hair growth”.
Rosemary oil has also been shown to prevent hair loss and damage. Finally, “Peppermint oil has been shown to enhances the metabolic efficiency and antioxidant capacity of the hair follicle cells, which may stimulate hair growth and quality”.
Scalp Inflammation
Essential oils show anti-inflammatory effects, which matters because chronic inflammation can impair the hair follicle cycle and cause hair loss.
The scalp is a skin region that is prone to inflammation, which can be caused by various factors, such as infections, allergies, injuries, or autoimmune disorders. Scalp inflammation can damage the hair follicle cells and disrupt their signaling pathways and function, leading to hair loss, thinning, or poor quality.
Essential oils may affect the scalp inflammation by modulating the expression and activity of inflammatory mediators and receptors involved in the immune response. For example, lavender oil has been shown to inhibit the expression of inflammatory markers in hair follicle cells that can induce hair follicle regression and apoptosis. These effects may indicate that lavender oil reduces scalp inflammation and prevents hair loss.
Similarly, Rosemary oil has been shown to inhibit the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines that inhibit hair follicle growth and induce hair follicle inflammation, respectively. These effects indicate that “rosemary oil suppresses scalp inflammation and stimulates hair growth.” Peppermint oil has also been found to “prevent scalp inflammation and protect hair follicle cells from infection.”
Which Essential Oils Help With Hair Loss
The top essential oils for hair health include:
Rosemary: Research suggests rosemary oil may benefit hair health due to its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Known as natural Rogaine, Rosemary has been found to enhance circulation around hair follicles, delivering more nutrients and oxygen to follicles. (Study). Rosemary was also found to reduce scalp inflammation by suppressing inflammatory cytokines, which helps promote hair health. It is also beneficial for the nerve tissue, which may help stimulate nerves in the scalp, promoting hair growth.
Peppermint: Peppermint essential oils has shown remarkable results in promoting growth of hair, with a success rate of 92% hair growth improvement, resulting in thick and long hair after four weeks. Peppermint has been shown to induce rapid hair growth, helping to stimulate blood flow to hair follicles and help improve follicle health, both increasing follicle number and depth. Peppermint has also been shown to protect hair follicle cells from oxidative stress.
Research on the vascular effects of menthol has demonstrated the vasodilatory effect of menthol – the active constituent of peppermint oil – leading to enhancing the vascularization along hair dermal papillae and increase ALP activity. Menthol has been known to act on the vasculature directly in the endothelium and vascular smooth muscle, with recent studies showing that it also evokes an indirect vascular response via sensory fibers. When applied on the scalp, it stimulates hair follicles and promotes hair growth, according to research that Peppermint Oil Promotes Hair Growth without Toxic Signs.
Lavender: Lavender oil has been found to both increase the number and depth of hair follicles and prolongs the hair growth phase by upregulating key molecules for hair follicle development. This helps to strengthen hair roots and improve hair texture. Lavender can also reduce scalp inflammation by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines. An animal study on “Hair Growth-Promoting Effects of Lavender Oil” showed a 99.8% improvement in hair growth, indicating that “Lavender oil has a marked hair growth-promoting effect”.
Blends Work Better than Single Oils
Research has shown that blends combining essential oils enhance the benefits of the individual oils and yield better results.
For example, in a study using a mix of lavender, thyme, rosemary, and cedarwood oils, over 44% of participants saw hair improvement. Another study found that 75% of participants using lavender, thyme, rosemary, cedarwood, and evening primrose oils experienced hair growth improvement, versus 30% in the placebo group.2
My hair has significantly benefited from the following blends:
Focus™ blend includes Peppermint and Rosemary, which help support circulation to the hair follicles and hair growth. Focus™ also includes Basil, Holy Basil and Cardamom, which can help support inflammation
Histamine™ blend includes Peppermint, Lavender, Rosemary and Manuka (Tea Tree), known to calm systemic inflammation, along with other inflammation calming oils including Roman Chamomile, Vetiver and Blue Tansy
Circulation™ helps enhance blood flow and circulation to the scalp and includes Peppermint along with Frankincense and other vaso-dilating oils like Black Pepper, Cypress, Nutmeg and Ginger Root.
How to Apply Oils to Support Hair Growth
Massaging essential oils into the scalp can help increase blood circulation, making the delivery system of nutrients to strengthen your hair roots, follicles and shafts. Specific reflex points on the head that cross over points where arteries, veins and cranial nerves intersect.
When massaged, these reflex points boost blood circulation and flow, enabling enhanced nutrient delivery and promoting healthy hair growth. Use the pads of your fingers to gently massage essential oils in a circular motion to support hair growth.
- Between the eyebrows
- The temples above each eyebrow
- Four fingers above where the forehead ends
- Right at the center of your scalp, the crown area
- Four fingers above the nape of your neck
- On the mastoid bone, behind the earlobes
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