Joel Santorini
As a herb that belongs to the mint family, lavender is a substance that most people associate with soothing themselves and inducing sleep. For thousands of years, individuals from across Europe have incorporated it into their everyday natural health routine, including treating hair loss.
The Romans were particularly keen on using lavender for medicinal purposes, and it wasn’t long before people worldwide began to recognize its antibiotic and anti-inflammatory benefits. As such, it’s worth investigating whether you can use lavender oil to treat hair loss, as well as the health benefits for other areas of your body.
From reducing anxiety to acting as a powerful antioxidant, lavender oil has lots of hidden medical benefits that few people recognize. While some people like to apply it directly to their skin, others prefer to add it to a carrier oil. By learning more about how it can benefit your hair, you can decide whether to incorporate it into your usual hair care regimen.
What are the benefits of using lavender oil for hair loss?
As we’ve already mentioned, everyone from the Romans through to the Ancient Egyptians recognized the medicinal benefits of lavender oil long before the modern world caught up. If you use it regularly as a part of your sleep routine, you can reduce your stress levels. As stress levels promote inflammation, which then encourages hair loss, you’re fighting two birds with one stone.
Additionally, lavender oil acts as an antioxidant. One study published in the Journal of Supercritical Fluids found that lavender oil has antioxidant benefits. As we live in a busy world where we surround ourselves with pollutants and gadgets, we’re always coming into contact with free radicals. When free radicals are allowed to run riot through our bodies, they accelerate the aging process, which also means losing your hair faster. Can lavender oil slow down hair loss?
Finally, there’s evidence to suggest that lavender oil supports your brain’s functioning. One study published in Evidence-Based Complementary Medicine identified how the Linalool in lavender oil protects against cognitive deficits; reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Another, conducted by scientists in Sweden, highlighted how the oil could also help people recover from strokes. Together, all of this evidence demonstrates how protective lavender oil is.
Can lavender oil slow down hair loss?
As lavender oil is rich in Vitamin E, it could slow down hair loss. However, this depends on why you’re experiencing the condition, as well as underlying genetic factors. Its Vitamin E content could slow hair loss through:
- Providing moisture to the scalp and acting as an antioxidant. Doing this tackles conditions such as dermatitis, which may trigger patches of hair to fall out.
- If you’re experiencing androgenic alopecia, you may find that Vitamin E slows it down. Androgenic alopecia is the type of hair loss you inherit from your parents. Those who have the condition have fewer antioxidants on their scalp. One study has demonstrated that using Vitamin E restores antioxidants to the scalp, which could slow down hereditary hair loss.
- The science community acknowledges that Vitamin E encourages your scalp to generate new and healthier cells. As a result, your hair follicles become stronger, leading to better hair growth.
In addition to Vitamin E, lavender oil is rich in Vitamin A. As the vitamin that your body needs to form glycoproteins; it’s essential for making cells talk to each other. When cells can do this, they grow a stronger cell membrane. In other words, their cell wall is stronger, which means they’re less likely to break down when they come into contact with pollutants. Thanks to this, your hair follicles remain stronger, slowing the hair loss process.
Can lavender oil help hair regrow?
We live in a busy world, which means many of us are leading stressful lives. With that stress comes a release of two essential hormones: adrenaline and cortisol. Both hormones have their uses, but only when you’re facing certain situations. For example, if you release them when you’re running from a car that’s about to hit you, you burn these hormones off, and they serve their purpose.
If you feel stressed and can’t escape your stressful situation, cortisol and adrenaline continue to build in your body. As a result, you experience a miserable night’s sleep, you feel anxious, and you may eventually encounter depression. One side effect of all of these things is hair loss.
One study conducted in Japan found that those who encounter the scent of lavender oil feel less stressed. As such, if you’re applying it to your scalp and absorbing the aroma, you too may feel less stressed. If this results in a reduction in cortisol and adrenaline, you could help your stress-related hair loss regrow.
Thanks to its antifungal and healing properties, it also encourages regrowth in those experiencing fungal conditions. From psoriasis through to seborrheic dermatitis, a whole range of scalp conditions involves infections. Using lavender oil’s antibacterial properties, you could heal your skin and encourage more hair to grow.
Is lavender oil safe to use on your hair and scalp?
While some people prefer to apply lavender oil directly to their scalp, those who have sensitive skin may find it irritates. In fact, the purer the oil, the more likely it is to cause irritation or a burn.
However, there is a natural solution to this: use a carrier oil. From olive through to coconut, lots of oils dilute lavender, making it less potent and less likely to irritate your skin. Although you may stumble across herbalists and acupuncture specialists who apply essential oils directly, it’s not advisable to do so yourself. Why? Because you haven’t received the same level of training.
Making a DIY lavender oil hair mask
Now that we’ve mentioned coconut oil, it’s time to explore creating a lavender oil hair mask. While the two oils have different consistencies, mixing them allows you to strengthen the lavender’s usually fluid nature. As a result, it’ll stay on your scalp for longer.
Our recommended DIY lavender oil hair mask recipe involves:
- Grab two to three tablespoons of coconut oil and mash them a little. Doing so softens the oil in advance, preparing it for your lavender.
- Add three to four dashes of your essential oil to the mix and blend it until you’re confident the two are thoroughly combined.
- Start by applying the hair mask directly to your scalp. Massage it deeply. Lavender oil is excellent for traveling through the scalp and into the dermis beneath. However, using massage is a great way to bring more blood to the surface, which then accelerates its restorative and curative properties.
- Let the mask settle for around twenty minutes and then wash it out thoroughly. You may find that your scalp is a little greasy after, but the regrowth benefits are more than worth it.
As with any essential oil, we recommend using a pure and organic form. That way, you can make sure it packs more of those essential vitamins that will boost your health.
Are there any side effects when using lavender oil for hair growth?
As we’ve already mentioned, applying lavender oil in its purest form directly to your skin could result in a rash. If you’re determined to try this anyway, use a little on the inside of your wrist and leave it for a day. If you experience a rash, steer clear of applying it to your scalp.
Additionally, if you’re experiencing hair loss because of psoriasis or a similar condition, don’t apply lavender oil in its purest form. While it comes with plenty of health benefits, using it in such cases without a carrier oil could cause stinging.
A quick search of WebMD’s interactions database highlights that:
- Lavender oil is safe when you’re using it as a topical treatment.
- Experts aren’t sure whether it’s safe to use it orally.
- It is potentially problematic for young boys who haven’t yet reached puberty.
- There isn’t enough evidence to say whether it is safe for women who are pregnant are breastfeeding.
Because of this, we recommend using lavender oil as part of a hair mask only. Besides, we’re sure it doesn’t taste that great.
As an oil that definitely induces relaxation and comes with plenty of nourishing benefits, lavender is a handy tool for battling hair loss. While it’s more beneficial for those experiencing stress-related or dermatological hair loss than those encountering androgenic problems, it has lots of benefits for other areas of your body. Seeing as it reduces stress, there’s no harm in trying it alongside another oil that’s well known for hair regrowth.
