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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 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 the most effective recipe for yourself is really easy to do. The essential oils can be thought of as the ‘active ingredients’ in your formula. Simply choose one or more of these to include, and add these in small amounts to your base formulation. The ‘base’ of any therapeutic aromatherapy formula is made of carrier oils similar to Olive oil. The base oils for hair growth stimulation will be selected from base oils known to have therapeutic effects for the skin and scalp. The essential oils will be added in what seems to be very, very small amounts, but this is one of the great things about therapeutic aromatherapy: it actually works best with the smallest portions of essential oils. The essential oils are very, very potent plant medicine — and it’s easy to use too much of a good thing. The essential oils work in a very different means than most conventional medicines in that they signal cell activity, rather than force it to change. By using them, you’re like a conductor conducting an orchestra of biology — just a flick of your wand is all it takes to make dramatic changes in scalp and follicle activity.

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. Rosemary is the most popular of the stimulating oils, having been used in hair care remedies for centuries. 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. Some therapists note that Rosemary should be avoided during pregnancy by young children (due to its ketone content) and by those with epilepsy (due to its stimulating action), so use this oil with respect, and keep the concentration low for the safest and most effective use.

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. Like Rosemary, it should be avoided if pregnant, by children, and by those with epilepsy. Some therapists think it should be just generally avoided by the lay-practitioner, while others believe it is safe at therapeutic dilutions. Sage does have a long history in hair care, mostly as a tea from the leaves of common Sage. The essential oil is relatively new on the scene, and needs to be used in an entirely different manner than the hair-wash tea. The oil should only be used in very low concentrations in a carrier oil–at 1% or less. Kurt Schnaubelt in Advanced Aromatherapy includes it in a recipe for skin regeneration at .25%. This is only 2 drops per ounce of carrier oil!

Nutritive essential oils are just as important as the stimulating oils–what good would stimulating cellular metabolism do if the necessary vitamins and co-factors were not available for the follicles? The nutritive oils primarily supply growth co-factors and antioxidants to the scalp. The most effective of these for promoting hair growth contain high concentrations of carotenes and other carotinoids. These are molecules in the vitamin-A family, some of which have been shown to promote hair growth in controlled scientific studies. The most nutritive essential oils supplying these co-factors are Sea Buckthorn Berry and Helio-Carrot (or Carrot Root). Both these essential oils are actually made by a high-tech process called carbon-dioxide extraction, at a lower temperature than the steam distillation used for most essential oils. This process preserves the nutrients in the oils, and brings a broader spectrum of the therapeutic plant molecules into the oil. Both these oils should be used at about 1% of the overall blend.

Next, the balancing essential oils — balancing oils should make up a part of everyone’s blend. Even if you just add a little bit of Lavender, you’re hair will be happy! The balancing oils bring about a balance of the scalp’s natural oil production, and/or cool the scalp and reduce inflammation (inflammation at the cellular level is directly implicated in hair loss). Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) is the premier balancing oil for skin, scalp and hair care, and has many helpful properties — it is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and regenerative all at the same time. 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 one-half of one percent Clary Sage included in their personal recipes.

Some hair loss is directly related to mild-to-severe scalp infections, and even auto-immune conditions where the body seems to reject its own hair follicles and suppress growth. This auto-immune condition is called alopecia areata, and has been successfully treated with essential oils of Rosemary, Lavender, Cedarwood and Thyme, each at .5% concentrations based in Jojoba and Grapeseed oils. These oils are all antiseptic and stimulating, and can be added to other formulas. Also, Tea Tree essential oil is popular in hair care products, and may be helpful where an itchy scalp indicates a mild skin infection, which in turn suppresses optimal hair growth.

Once the essential oils are selected, they are mixed into a base of carrier oils. The carrier oils are so-called as they help the scalp properly absorb the essential oils. They also provide therapeutic and nutritive properties themselves, so be sure to choose them carefully. Jojoba oil is the all-star of hair care, and has long been used for enhancing luster and softness. Jojoba will work for any skin/scalp type by itself as the base if one is on a limited budget. For more therapeutic activity, Evening Primrose oil is an excellent choice. It has an exceptionally high percentage of essential fatty acids, which both reduce cellular inflammation and provide nutrients for hair growth. It seems to sooth all kinds of irritated scalp conditions, and is recommended in any formula treating hair loss — can be used at 25-100% of the base. Rosehip seed is highly regenerative, shown to help reduce the appearance of aging. Rosehip should have a profound impact where hair growth is slow or hair is being lost, as similar pharmaceutical preparations have had significant effects — also highly recommended in cases of hair loss, can be used at up to 50% of the base. Coconut is great to blend with either or both of these oils, as it is cooling, nutritive and light textured. You can use fractionated coconut (easily poured at room temperature) or just warm virgin coconut until it’s pourable and mix with other carriers. Sesame is another wonderful choice for those with ‘hot heads’ — really where stress may be leading to hair loss or limited growth.

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.

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 regular and consistent use, a well balanced, personal recipe should help the health and vibrancy of your hair in just a short time — and you’ll smell wonderful while doing it, too!