How to Use Essential Oils for Hair Care

The use of essential oils in cosmetic products has been around for centuries. It’s been said that Cleopatra, the great Queen of Egypt used many different oils for her extensive beauty rituals. Her skin and hair would shimmer with patchouli, sandalwood, and rose oils. The scent would waft after her for miles as she left any room. Even when she was traveling down the rivers by a boating vessel, she would have her people spray massive amounts of the essential oils into the air so all the world could delight in her scent. Can you imagine the gallons of essentials oils she must have had laying around? What a concept!

In today’s world many organic hair care companies are using a combination of essential oils in their hair care products to solve a variety of issues that people face in dealing with their locks.  It’s not all about just smelling great, but these essential oils, when used correctly, can make a huge difference in the state of your tresses. They will be softer, smoother, more hydrated, and your scalp health can be greatly improved when regularly used  in the right hair care routine.

The Many Benefits of Essential Oils

Essential oils are very desirable for their restorative benefits, and to cure many common ailments. They are technically defined by the International Organization for Standardization (IOS) as a product made by the distillation of the oil with either water, steam, mechanical processing, or dry distillation to separate the oil from the water phase. Simple. Organic. Natural. The very core of the plant is what creates an essential oil. It’s fairly easy to see why the essential oil business has become a billion dollar enterprise throughout the world with many companies embracing these unique ingredients.

What Will The Essential Oils Treat?

Essential oils used in treating skin and hair health are very common all over the world. Some people even find that essential oils can be used for people that suffer from hair loss due to the condition, Alopecia. There have been clinical studies done by the University of Maryland Medical Center that show that when massage is used in conjunction with a combination of essential oils, and a carrier oil that it will help promote hair growth. The oils used were lavender, rosemary, and cedarwood in combination with jojoba or grapeseed oil, which are the carrier oils, to increase circulation in the scalp. Tea Tree Oil is another one that is commonly used in hair care products for its ability to decrease oil production and for its antibacterial properties. So this is a great one to try for those people that have oily scalp problems that lead to greasy, lifeless hair. Look for hair products where Tea Tree Oil is high on the ingredient list to get the maximum benefits. Or even better; make your own natural products with the desired essential oils.

Make you own products with essential oils

Some essential oils on their own can be toxic so take care to find out the best combination for your specific ailment. Most health food and vitamin stores can provide you with the best guidance on all aspects of essential oils they offer. Taking existing hair care products with essential oils will guarantee that they are correctly dosed, but you will definitely face issue with other synthetic ingredients and preservatives that the commercial products always contain. The best way is to make your own natural hair products. Most of the time you will use carrier oils and hydrosols which you will need to heat at some point for better mixing. Always add the essential oils at the end of the process when the temperature of the other ingredients is 120F or lower as the essential oils can evaporate fast at higher temperatures.  Also to dose correctly essential oils know that they should be at around 2% of your total ingredients. This is easy by following the rule of 12 drops of essential oils to each fl. oz. (30ml) of product. You can start with this nourishing hair mask with a good combination of essential oils that will improve the hair growth and strength.

Hair Care Routine Using Essential Oils

In using essential oils for your own hair care routine you want to focus on looking for (or making your own) shampoos and conditioners that contain the pure essence of the oils. Checking the ingredient labels does help you to know what’s actual in the product. If you see the essential oil way, way down on the ingredient list then you aren’t going to be getting much of the benefits of the oils. Higher concentrations are located closer to the top of the ingredient list. You should also spot test any new products to make sure you aren’t going to have an adverse reaction to any of the ingredients.

I make my own shampoo bar with all natural ingredients that doesn’t dry off the hair as the commercial shampoos. It also contains carefully selected essential oils that prevent dandruff.

The procedure I advise my clients as an experienced esthetician is to use at least once per week all natural nourishing hair mask with essential oils for at least 30 min before shampooing the hair.

After shampooing, I use my homemade natural conditioner with lavender essential oil hat strengthen my hair and keep it moisturized for all the day. I leave the conditioner for 5 min and wash it off only by water.

 After you get out of the shower or bath, you can use styling products that contain essentials oils based on your hair type like homemade natural flax seed gel with lavender (or Lemongrass for oily hair) essential oil. People with fine hair are going to want to stick to lighter serums (grapeseed oil works excellent), and spray gels or volumizers that don’t weigh their strands down. While those with heavy, thick hair can use more cream based products to hydrate that are more substantial.

Deep conditioning masks are especially used with essential oils. They are meant to be used once or twice per week to help soothe dry, dehydrated hair. Most people’s hair is stressed from the styling methods they use, such as daily flat iron use and the blow dryer. Most people aren’t willing to give up these items to let their hair dry naturally, so treated it to a weekly conditioning mask can help keep your locks lush and lovely.

Carrier Oils to Consider

The way that essential oils are put into hair care product is with the use of carrier oils such as olive oil, jojoba oil, and coconut oil. This helps to make the essentials oils safe for home use, and in skin or haircare products.

Some other carrier oils used in hair care products and skincare are Apricot Kernel Oil, Avocado Oil, Macdemeda Nut Oil, Kukui Nut Oil, and Sweet Almond Oil. So look for these highly hydrating oils for some of your haircare needs. My advice is also to look for organic oils if possible and always to use unrefined ones. During the process of refining, the natural oils lose their fragrance which is desired by the cosmetic companies, but they also lose a part of their healing properties. In addition, if you prefer to buy your hair products instead of making them yourself, look for hair care products that are paraben free with only the absolute essential ingredients necessary for good hair health. However, you must know that all, and I mean really all commercial products contain preservatives. And this is true even for the natural organic cosmetics because without preservative they would have very short shelf life and would be unsellable.

All in all adding essential oils as part of your hair care routine can make a big difference in the way your hair looks and feels. Take the time to explore all your options with essential oils. Smell the concentrated essences at your local health food stores to find out which ones appeal to your olfactory senses the most.