Blending Your Own Hair Growth Stimulating Formula From The Finest Botanical Extracts

April 12, 2010 by Ellen Tesston
Filed under Beauty and Fitness

Essential oils are fast becoming recognized as important natural therapeutic ingredients to personal care products. Extracts of many plants, including Rosemary and Sage (now popular hair care essential oils) have long been used to stimulate hair growth, and promote truly healthy and beautiful hair. Here’s a look at creating a personal formula specifically for stimulating hair growth for both men and women. The recipes are easy to make at home, with readily available ingredients.

What Goes Into A Hair Growth Stimulating Formula?

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 three general categories. These are: stimulating (may signal new hair to grow), nutritive (offers important nutrients), and balancing (helps over-oily or over-dry conditions become normal). The most deeply therapeutic means of using essential oils for hair growth is to make an oil treatment formula — a blend of essential oils and carrier oils that is massaged into the scalp and left for some period of time (rather than simply just adding to your conditioner or shampoo).

Revving Up Those Follicles

We’ll begin by looking at 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. The most popular of these are Rosemary and Sage. Sage MAY be the more powerful of the two oils, but it should not be used by children, or by women who are pregnant — or may becoming so. Rosemary is the most popular, and if you do choose Rosemary, be sure you find the type that’s specific to skin and hair care: it’s called “Rosemary Verbenone” — and while a little more expensive than the common Rosemary, it’ll be far more effective for this purpose. Use either or both of these two essential oils at a concentration of no greater than 1% in your base (we’ll talk about calculating this figure at the end).

Getting Some Vitamins to the Hair Follicles

The nutritive oils include Sea Buckthorn and Carrot Root essential oils. These are both available as carrier oils as well, and you may choose to use them as a portion of your base, rather than as an “active ingredient”. Up to you. Both these oils have high levels of vitamins that can promote healthy hair growth. Sea Buckthorn may be the mos popular and easy to find. Use at a 1/2% to 2% concentration. These oils are safe to use for everyone.

Bringing Balance to Those Follicles

Many folks have certain skin conditions which can exacerbate hair loss. Sometimes it’s inflammation or irritation due to a mild infection. Sometimes it’s an over-production of skin oils that can clog pores and result in thinning hair. Older women may be in need of balancing estrogen on a cellular level. So choose one or more of these “balancing” oils to round out your formula: Lavender is the best all-around balancing oil where no particular skin condition is apparent. Sometimes called “medicine chest in a bottle”, it can really bring an overall synergy to your recipe. For over-oily skin types, Myrtle is an excellent choice. Often used in acne formulas, it is thought to return the scalp’s oil production back to normal. Finally, Clary Sage is THE choice for mature women with thinning hair, as it may reduce the effects of changes in estrogen levels that have affected hair growth.

Delivering the Oils to Your Scalp: 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!

Getting Down To Business: Mixing Your Hair Growth Elixir!

Finally, to make your blend, 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 8 (drops) for each of 4 (ounces), or 32 drops of Lavender to the bottle. Stimulating oils can 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 Coconut (warm to make liquid first!), for example, filling the bottle close to halfway with each is just fine.

Practical, Effective Recipes for Men and Women

Here’s two great recipes. For men, to make 4 ounces (which should last 2 to 4 months): To a base of equal parts Rosehip Seed, Hempseed and Coconut oils, add 32 drops Sage (Dalmatian or Common), 64 drops Carrot Root (also called Helio-Carrot), and 32 drops Lavender. For women, to the same base, add 32 drops Rosemary Verbenone, 64 drops Sea Buckthorn, 32 drops Lavender, and 32 drops Myrtle. Feel free to adjust as you see fit — using your intuition is an excellent means of customizing your recipe.

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.

The author has made available much information about aromatherapy, such as using myrrh oil and other therapeutic essential oils.