What’s Happening to My Hair?

I get asked this question ALL THE TIME – what's happening to my hair?  Both women and men become concerned when they start to find clumps of hair coming out.  They find clumps in their comb or brush, clumps in the sink and shower drains, and sometimes even clumps on their pillow in the morning.

I asked my colleague and friend, Bridgit Danner, to share some of the strategies she uses with herself and her clients to restore hair health.

Bridgit has found that essential oils were an important part of helping her to once again have full and healthy hair.  So she and I did a Facebook Live on Wednesday, June 27, 2018, to teach more about which essential oils will help you to no longer have clumps falling out!

 

Essential Oils for a Healthy Head of Hair

By Bridgit Danner, acupuncturist and certified functional health coach

Whether through aging, stress, illness, or post-pregnancy, your hair’s luster and fullness can take an embarrassing turn.

Finding clumps of hair in the shower or trying to cover a thin spot on your head can leave you feeling helpless.

Improving your diet, healing your leaky gut, and learning to manage stress can all help in the long run. Essential oils can improve your hair in both a long-term and short-term way, and leave you feeling more confident.

 

Essential Oils for Healthy Hair

I’d like to share some essential oils I’ve started using to manage my naturally oily and thin hair.  It gets oily at the roots and dry at the ends! I do have a thyroid condition I am working to improve, but these oils leave my hair feeling great, with a dose of aromatherapy for my mood as an added bonus.

1. Rosemary

Rosemary is an all-around star for the hair. It promotes hair growth, controls dandruff, and acts as an overall tonic for the hair with its high antioxidant levels. (1)

Bonus: Rosemary stimulates brain function and can promote mental focus.

 

2. Lavender

Lavender soothes hair, regulates sebum production, is anti-inflammatory, soothes your scalp, adds shine, controls dandruff, and helps promote hair growth. (2)

Bonus: Lavender also lowers excess cortisol to help you feel calm and sleep well.

 

3. Peppermint

Peppermint is the first oil I tried on my hair, and I absolutely loved it. Peppermint cleanses the scalp, thus preventing dandruff, controlling oiliness, and encouraging hair growth. (3)

Bonus: Peppermint will make you feel more awake in the morning, and cleanses away the troubles of the day when used at night.

 

4. Ylang ylang

Ylang ylang is a smoothing oil that can replace any silicon-based synthetic serums you may use currently. Keeping away from toxic products is another great way to help keep your hormones balanced for naturally beautiful hair!

In addition to smoothing your hair as you condition, it can be used as a cleanser to promote growth and prevent oiliness along with some of the oils discussed above.

Bonus: Ylang ylang is a very exotic scent that promotes libido and makes me feel like a goddess!

 

5. Lemongrass

Lemongrass regulates oil production and removes build-up on your hair and scalp, letting your hair grow normally and show its true shine.

Bonus: Lemongrass has an uplifting scent that can also benefit autoimmune thyroid conditions. Since hair loss is a common indicator of hypothyroidism, this is a nice bonus! (4)

 

How to Use Essential Oils for Hair Repair

Essential oils can be used topically, internally, or aromatically. For hair care, we’ll mainly use essential oils topically to treat the scalp and hair itself.

But also know the oils are absorbing into your system through the scalp, and you’ll also be inhaling the scent of the oils as you use them.  This way you’ll get a well-rounded benefit, even though you only seem to be using them on your hair. Be sure to take a couple deep whiffs of the oil before applying!

As the oils will absorb into you, be certain to use high-quality oils, free of impurities.

If you’re just getting started with essential oils for hair care, add a drop or two of an oil into your shampoo for cleansing, or into your conditioner for nourishing.

Please use a shampoo and conditioner that are free of synthetic fragrances, parabens, and sodium lauryl sulfates, as these ingredients are toxic to you and our environment.

To get fancier, look into making your own hair care concoctions at home.

Mask – You can pair an essential oil with clay and apple vinegar for a deep cleaning mask.

Detangler – You can mix water, vinegar, and an essential oil into a spray bottle for a leave-in conditioner.

Hair spray – Combine melted sugar with water and essential oils as a natural, nourishing spray to control your hair.

 

Learn More

Just as food supports your body, antioxidant-packed essential oils put on to your hair and scalp feeds hair health!

• Are you interested to learn more about essential oils? Are you concerned about essential oil safety?
• Do you feel like your hair looks older than you feel?
• Would you love some fun, easy recipes to help your hair look great quickly?

Bridgit has put together a kit that has the essential oils to help with hair loss as she wrote about in this blog, as well as she shared in the video.    You can learn more here.

If you would like to learn which essential oils might be best for you, Bridgit would love to set up some time to talk with you and help you customize what would work best for you.  Schedule your time with her here.

 

About the Author:

Bridgit Danner is a licensed acupuncturist, certified functional health coach, and a women’s hormone expert. After experiencing the transformational power of essential oils in her own health, she began to study the medicinal uses of essential oils and share them with others. Her site is www.bridgitdanner.com.

 

 

 

 

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25842469
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27123160
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25584150
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19662581