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Here's How to Blend Your Own Hair Growth Stimulating Therapeutic Formula

By: Erica Allen

Read More About Hair Loss & Hair Care

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?

Many essential oils have found a place in today's ultra-high end skin and hair products, often listed as "botanical extracts". The active essential oils will generally fall into one of these categories: Stimulating, which enhance the "throughput" of the follicles -- increasing their metabolic rate, and thus hair growth. Then there's Nutrient Providing: several essential oils have a deep reddish or orange color, indicating a high concentration of growth promoting vitamins and vitamin-like compounds. Finally, the all-important Balancing oils create the optimum environment for the healthiest skin, follicles and hair, potentially moving out-of-balance conditions (over-oily, over-dry, or even hormone-deficient) to healthier states.

The Stimulating Essential Oils: Sage and Rosemary

We call them "stimulating" essential oils because they manage to signal the cells in the dermis to increase their metabolism. This means the follicles may become more active at growing new hair. This is the result of these specific oils containing natural "ketones", chemicals with a "growth stimulating" type of signal. Rosemary Verbenone (a very specific type of Rosemary essential oil) and "Common" or "Dalmatian" Sage are the two most commonly used oils for stimulating hair growth. Of all the oils discussed here, Sage is the one that must be used by a limited population: it should not be used by pregnant or nursing mothers. Use at one percent or less in your total formula (these concentrations will be explained later with the recipes).

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.

A Few Oils for Maximum Overall Health

Next, the balancing essential oils -- balancing oils should make up a part of everyone's blend. 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. It's the perfect balancing essential oil if you do not have a specific "scalp condition". If one needs to balance the scalp's natural oils, Myrtle is an excellent choice, also with antibacterial and regenerative properties. Myrtle can reduce excessive oil production, 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.

Your Formulation's Foundation: 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!

Putting Your Blend Together

Often folks are a little intimidated by blending. Really, it's no big deal -- far easier than baking virtually anything in your kitchen (and if you're a raw food fan, it's about THAT easy!). First, determine your base mixture. Equal parts of the carrier oils you choose is a fine way to go. If you're using virgin Coconut, Rosehip Seed and Evening Primrose, just use equal parts of each. Making one-ounce of oil treatment? Just estimate filling a 1oz dropper bottle about 1/3rd full with each oil. Then add the essential oils. Each 1 percent essential oil is equal to 8 drops per ounce of total mixture. Using 1 percent Rosemary? Add 8 drops to your blend. Two percent Sea Buckthorn? Use 16 drops. Making 4 ounces instead of 1? Multiply all these numbers times four! Still unsure? Here's some clear recipes...

High End Botanical Extract Hair Growth Stimulating Formulas

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.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

The author utilizes essential oil for aromatherapy. More information is available through The Ananda Apothecary and Synergy Essentials of Boulder Colorado.

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