Learn how to make a homemade hair oil for growth with simple, natural ingredients, plus the best essential oils to use for maximum impact.
As someone who’s always had a lot of hair, I’ve noticed my hair seems to have gotten thinner and finer as I’ve gotten older. After having my second baby, I’d lost more hair than I ever had which is never fun. A few years later, I noticed that I was still dealing with a fair amount of hair shedding after every wash, so I started doing research to see what I could do about it.
What I learned was that a regular hair oiling practice is one of the best ways to restore my scalp health and promote more healthy growth all over.
If you naturally have thinning hair, or are dealing with postpartum hair loss, this is for you!
There are so many hair oils for growth out on the market, but you can easily make one at home. And get ready to start seeing those little baby hairs growing in and after several months of regular use, you should notice less shedding and overall more shine, bounce and volume!
The Importance of Hair Growth & Volume
Hair growth and volume play a crucial role in our overall appearance and well-being, contributing significantly to our self-esteem and confidence. While it might just seem like a vanity thing, the health of our hair reflects the state of our internal health and well-being. It’s a VERY visible indicator of nutritional balance and overall health of your body and scalp.
Adequate hair growth is often associated with proper nutrition (like plenty of protein!), hormonal balance, and a healthy lifestyle.
Thick, voluminous hair is often linked with youthfulness and good health. As we get older, it’s common for our hair to start thinning a bit—I know this first hand, but we actually have more control than we think! How empowering is that?
By maintaining proper nutrition, managing our stress and taking good care of our scalp and hair, we can get that strong, healthy hair back again.
Common Causes of Hair Thinning & Shedding
While these are not all the causes of hair fall, thinning or shedding, these are pretty common for women.
Hormonal Changes: If you’ve had a child, you probably know this one all too well. Your hair gets thick and beautiful during pregnancy and then falls out like crazy after. This is totally normal and as your hormones balance, your hair thinning should stop and you can grow new hair.
Genetics: Hereditary factors play a significant role in female pattern baldness, which can lead to gradual hair thinning over time. With proper haircare and a well-balanced diet, you may be able to slow this and improve your hair growth.
Stress: The silent killer! Stress is truly the root cause of so many illnesses and conditions. If you’ve recently gone through a stressful period or are dealing with chronic stress, this may be a major factor in your hair falling out.
Medical Conditions: There are many medical conditions that can cause hair loss—think autoimmune diseases, thyroid conditions and more. Scalp infections can also be a cause. If you’re losing hair at the same rate after making changes, it’s worth visiting a dermatologist to see if they can help figure out what’s going on. Note that any changes to haircare products, diet or stress will take several months to notice!
Poor Hair Care Practices & Low-Quality Products: When I first pregnant, I became aware of how many toxic ingredients are in our skincare and haircare products— sulfates, fragrance, silicones and more! I switched to a silicone-free shampoo and it made a huge difference. It rids your hair of product build-up and with regular use gets your hair back to it’s natural state!
Too much heat can also cause hair to become dry and brittle which causes more breakage.
Nutrient Deficiencies: Lastly, nutrient deficiencies like low iron or low vitamin D can play a part in your hair loss. If you suspect this is your issue, have your doctor run bloodwork and supplement with those vitamins and minerals to help reverse your hair fall.
Thankfully, there are so many products available to grow your hair naturally from hair oils, to masks to supplements to diet changes. So many of these things can be done at home for relatively cheap cost, and that’s how I like to tackle the problem! So, let’s dig into making our own homemade hair oil for growth.
How to Make Homemade Hair Oil for Growth
While hair oil itself isn’t some magical serum that will instantly make your hair grow, it will help to create a healthier, balanced scalp. And, when your scalp is healthy, you’re creating a prime environment or healthy hair growth. With regular oiling, you’re conditioning and deeply moisturizing the follicle, removing excess product build-up, coating your hair strands with a protective layer and helping reduce frizziness.
Key Ingredients to Use in your Recipe
When making a hair oil for growth most people immediately think of rosemary oil. According to this article, rosemary oil can be “shown to prevent DHT, a hormone implicated in hair loss, from binding to its receptor, thus promoting hair growth… in the mice used in the studies.” But applying straight rosemary essential oil to your hair without a carrier oil can actually do more damage than good.
So while having some potent ingredients like rosemary oil, you’ll need a carrier that dilutes it making it safe to put on your scalp.
Carrier Oils for Different Hair Types:
- Coconut: Great for those with dry or curly hair, or really anyone! This is a common ingredient I see in a lot of hair oils.
- Jojoba: This one is very close to our skin’s natural sebum, making it a great all-around oil for all hair types.
- Argan: This is great for medium to thick hair and anyone who deals with frizz.
- Sweet Almond Oil: Great for thin, fine hair as it’s lightweight and won’t weigh your hair down.
I’ve also heard castor oil too, but have heard that this thick oil can be difficult to fully remove which in turn can lead to blocked pores and clogged follicles, thus making hair growth more difficult.
Essential Oils for Hair Growth:
Rosemary Essential Oil
Rosemary essential oil is one of the best oils for improving hair growth. It’s anti-inflammatory, so if you have an infection that will help. It also improves circulation which can bring life to hair follicles allowing them to be stimulated once again to grow new hair. Rosemary oil can also improve dandruff or an itchy scalp.
There have been studies that have scientifically-proven the positive benefits of rosemary oil for hair loss, making this one of the best ingredients to add to your hair oil.
Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint essential oil is also great for blood flow like rosemary oil. That means it can improve new hair growth and help prevent future hair loss. It also gives a wonderful cooling, and tingly sensation on your scalp.
Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender is well-known for its calming, stress-relieving properties, and it has great benefits for your hair and scalp too. Stress is not good for hair loss, so this helps reduce stress, while generating cell growth.
In this study, lavender essential oil promoted hair growth in mice, pretty promising if you ask me.
Cedarwood Essential Oil
Cedarwood oil helps hair growth by balancing the oil glands on your scalp and it’s antifungal properties can help get rid of dandruff. Overall, this oil is great for scalp health.
Tea Tree Essential Oil
Tea tree oil is known for its antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, that’s why it’s in a lot of skincare products (it’s amazing at shrinking pimples). It aids in cleansing and unclogging hair follicles and stimulates new growth. It’s also another great essential oil for dandruff. I love the tingle it leaves on your scalp.
Chamomile Essential Oil
If you have a dry, itchy or irritated scalp, I highly recommend using chamomile essential oil in your combination. It helps to calm the skin, which in turn stimulates the hair follicle and new hair growth.
Cypress Essential Oil
With regular use, cypress essential oil can help tighten pores to prevent future hair loss. It also helps to condition your scalp and keep it healthy. And, a healthy scalp, means healthier hair.
You definitely don’t need to add all of these, but here are a few different essential oils to try in your hair oil for promoting hair growth and a healthy scalp:
Thyme Essential Oil
Thyme oil has antioxidant properties and may promote hair growth by improving blood flow to the scalp.
Clary Sage Essential Oil
Clary sage oil is thought to regulate oil production on the scalp and promote hair growth by creating a healthier environment for hair follicles. This can be great for anyone who feels like they have an overly oily scalp.
Black Seed Essential Oil
Black seed oil has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that may benefit the scalp and promote hair growth.
Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
Ylang ylang oil is believed to stimulate hair growth by balancing oil production and reducing hair breakage. This one smells great too!
How to Make Hair Oil for Growth at Home: My Favoite DIY Hair Oil Recipe
You can tweak this recipe with whatever essential oils you’d like for your own specific hair needs or what you have on hand. You’ll want to make sure that you properly dilute your essential oils. For every 1/2 cup of carrier oil, you can add 10-18 drops of essential oil.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup carrier oil of choice, I like jojoba oil
- 7 drops rosemary essential oil
- 2-3 drops tea tree essential oil
- 2-3 drops peppermint essential oil
- 2-3 drops cedarwood essential oil
- 1-2 drops lavender essential oil
Instructions
In a dropper bottle or small bowl, pour in a half cup of your carrier oil of choice—I like using jojoba oil because it closely resembles our body’s natural sebum. I also prefer using a dropper bottle or a bottle with a small pump because it makes putting the oil into your hair much easier!
If you’re using coconut oil, you can use fractionated coconut oil (that just means it’s in its liquid state), or gently warm up the coconut oil until it’s melted so you can evenly mix in your essential oils.
Store your oil in a dark bottle and away from sunlight. Sunlight can deteriorate the effectiveness of your essential oils more rapidly.
How to Use Hair Oil for Growth
You’ll want to use this before you wash your hair as it will leave your hair looking nice and greasy, ha!
To use your hair oil, section your hair and drop a few drops of the oil onto the scalp between each hair section. Start at the top your head, where your hairline meets your face, then work back from there. Use your fingers to gently massage the oil into your roots and scalp.
You’ll want your scalp to be moisturized, but not super oily. If it’s dripping down your face or your hair, you’ve added too much. Remember, we’re focusing on the scalp to promote healthy growth.
After you’ve applied it all over, use your fingers and massage it deeply into your scalp. Don’t just move your hair around, but use your fingers to really move the muscle and tissue of your scalp. Do this for 3-5 minutes and then let the oil sit for 2-5 hours before washing.
Do this once a week and overtime you’ll see healthier hair, new growth and shinier locks!
After I’ve washed my hair, I either let my hair air dry, or use my Dyson hairdryer to dry it (read my review on the hair dryer here). Because I only wash my hair twice a week, I don’t mind blow drying it since it’s not an everyday thing. I find that washing less often strengthens my hair and has made it softer and shinier too.
Diet Changes to Support Growth
Diet is so important for your overall health and the health of your hair. Your hair is made of 95% keratin, a protein, so eating a diet rich in protein is ideal for promoting more hair growth.
Make sure to eat a diet with plenty of fatty acids—think avocado, flaxseed, and salmon. In general, when you eat a diet that supports your overall health and gut health, good things will happen throughout your body.
I recommend using the oil once or twice a week for best results!
It feels a bit like a spa treatment, so I love to do it on Sunday afternoon while the kids are napping, and then at night on Thursday—those are my typical hair wash days! If I don’t have time, which is often these days, once a week on Sunday is my favorite day to do it!
Other ways to boost your hair growth naturally?
Make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep, reduce your stress and have fun! Do all these things and you’ll be well on your way to beautiful, shiny, healthy hair!
BTW, DIY face serum for clear and glowy skin, and the 3 best non-toxic dry shampoos.
