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. While the factors affecting one’s personal hair growth are very complex, including such things as nutrition, age, hormone balance and lifestyle factors, a customized aromatherapy formula using authentic pure essential oils and properly made base oils can have a dramatic affect. Here’s a look at how you can create and use your own recipe made specifically for your scalp and hair type.

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).

Creating your own scalp treatment is as easy as adding the essential oils to long-chain ‘fixed’ oils (also called ‘carrier’ oils or ‘base’ oils in aromatherapy). These oils are in the same family as cooking oils, and they carry the concentrated essential oils into the skin. Also found in these carrier oils are vitamins involved in cellular metabolism, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids (different from ‘essential oils’ in that they are long chain ‘fixed’ oils that are required for normal cell function). The carrier oils have little aroma of their own, and make up about 95% of the total therapeutic blend, with the essential oils making up the last 5%. It is crucial to keep the total essential oil concentration no higher than this — essential oils are very strong plant extracts, and it’s generally found that their best effects are found with lower concentrations than we expect.

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. While the opinions of professional aromatherapists vary, it’s generally agreed that this oil should also not be used when pregnant, or those with any other contra-indicated condition (same as Rosemary). If you chose to use Sage, keep the dilution very low, somewhere between two and four drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil — these low doses are found in the aromatherapy literature for skin and hair care, and should produce the regenerative signaling you’re looking for.

The oils that provide vitamins and growth co-factors combine perfectly with the stimulating oils. It is important if using oils to stimulate cell-metabolism to offer these same cells the nutrients they need for increasing growth (you might also look into what sorts of foods and nutritional supplements may also be effective for hair growth — minerals like sulfur and silica, and B-vitamins are examples). The nutritive oils also supply antioxidants to hair follicles, important because some scientists believe it is oxidative damage to the follicle mitochondria (the cell’s energy producer) that is the root cause of slowed hair growth. The nutritive essential oils are Sea Buckthorn and Carrot Root — these are technically ‘supercritical’ extracts (rather than steam distilled essential oils), made by a low-temperature process that preserves the nutritive qualities. These oils are very safe and can be used at concentrations between one-half and two percent of the total formula.

Next, the balancing essential oils — balancing oils should make up a part of everyone’s blend. Lavender oil is sort of the king of therapeutic essential oils, with an amazing array of effects. Lavender is thought to be cooling, soothing, anti-inflammatory and helps the skin heal. 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 .5% Clary Sage included in their personal recipes.

For some folks, slow hair growth is due to mild infections of the scalp and follicles. Others, in the case of Alopecia Areata, may even have subtle immune disorders that lead to patchy hair loss. 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 or Cedar. Alopecia Areata has been treated specifically with a combination of Thyme, Rosemary, Lavender and Cedar (wood) essential oils in Jojoba and Grapeseed carriers. Each essential oil was effective at approximately one-quarter of one percent concentration.

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. 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. It’s so easy to make your own blend, and finally gives you control over the particular active ingredients in your hair growth products — plus you can make them using completely natural, and even all-organic essential oils and carrier oils. With careful selection and dedicated use, you’re almost certain to see a dramatic change in the health and growth of your hair.