Here will look at the most effective oils for hair care — both essential oils (like Lavender and Rosemary) and carrier oils (like Evening Primrose and Jojoba) — with details about each so you can create a specific formula to suit your personal hair type. The recipes are easy to make, and you can even just add a few of the oils to conditioners or shampoos you may already be using. And though easy to make, these can be profoundly effective herbal treatment formulas for stimulating hair growth, both for those with healthy hair and those experiencing some hair loss.

The essential oils used for healthy hair and hair growth fall into four main categories relating to how they affect they affect the dermis if the scalp and the hair follicles. These are: Stimulating, nutritive, balancing, and antibacterial/immune enhancing. Stimulating oils often contain ketones — natural chemical ‘signalers’ that step up cellular metabolism. (Certain oils containing ketones have important safety guidelines, which we’ll cover with each oil’s description) Nutritive oils include vitamins, growth co-factors and/or fatty acids necessary for healthy growth. Balancing essential oils balance sebum (natural skin oil) and hormones on the cellular level. They can also reduce inflammation and be cooling to follicles (overheated follicles are thought to be the cause of some hair loss). Antibacterial and immune enhancing oils can help a variety of conditions where infections or auto-immune disease may be the source of hair loss or diminished 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).

The essential oil distilled from common Sage (found as Salvia officinalis, or Dalmation Sage) is considered the most regenerative and stimulating of all the oils used in skin and hair care. It also carries the strongest warnings–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 (Lavender, while listed as a balancing oil, is also regenerative and is the safest alternative). At the same time, respected therapists consider it safe when used in correct therapeutic concentrations, which are usually between one-quarter and one-half of one percent of your total blend (this is between one-part per 400 and one-part per 200, or 2 to 4 drops per ounce of base oil).

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.

The balancing oils bring about a natural balance of the skin’s own oils (sebum is the term for the oil produced by the hair follicle–and sometimes it is over-produced, slowing or preventing hair growth). Theses essential oils can also restore balance of hormones on a cellular level–an imbalance of estrogen can slow hair growth for women particularly, and sometimes for men. The most common and effective balancing oil is Lavender essential oil. Lavender oil is sort of the Grand-daddy of therapeutic essential oils, with an amazing array of effects. Lavender is thought to be cooling, soothing, anti-inflammatory, and helps the skin heal. Clary Sage is another balancing oil, thought to modulate pro-inflammatory prostaglandins implicated in hair loss. It is also known to be beneficial for oily scalps and dandruff control. Clary sage may support hair regrowth for women with thinning hair related to a decline of natural hormone production. Myrtle is also a lovely balancing oil, reducing over-oily conditions, and is both gently antiseptic and regenerative. These oils can be used at 1% concentration.

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.

On to the carrier oils — the carrier oils we’ll look at have distinct therapeutic properties themselves. First is Evening Primrose, a very therapeutic oil for skin and hair care having two main actions: It is nutritive in that it has generous helpings of vitamins for hair growth, and offers a very significant amounts of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. This 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 lauded for its anti-aging effects, smoothing scar and wrinkles, along with excellent regenerative results (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, being nutritive and anti-inflammatory at the same time. Both Coconut and Sesame (also anti-inflammatory and nutritive) are used in Ayurvedic medicine to arouse hair growth (use Coconut at up to 50% and Sesame at up to 100%).

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. With the many resources available on the internet, you can further investigate each oil to determine its value for your personal condition. With careful selection and dedicated use, you’re almost certain to see a dramatic change in the health and growth of your hair.