Is Rosemary Oil the solution for hair loss?
Hair loss is one of the biggest concerns that my clients ask about and for good reason.
It's awful when it happens. One morning you can't help but stop in front of your bathroom mirror, staring at your head. You're not too sure if it's the lighting or just how your hair is looking at that moment. But it's staring right back at you and you can't help but think, "Is that a bald spot?", "Am I thinning?", "Is my hairline receding?" These are the common questions that run through our heads when we notice that we just don't have the same amount of hair as we did yesterday.
As we grow older, hair loss is just an inevitable fact of life with the average loss of hair for any individual being up to 100 strands a day [1]. Though some of us unfortunately experience hair loss at a much more rapid pace than others and it can really impact how we feel about ourselves as we start seeing visible bald spots and a receding hairline.
There are many factors that come into play such as genetics, diets, and our environments. So many that it can be really overwhelming to figure out how we can best deal with hair loss, especially with various opinions and suggestions floating around the internet. Today though, I wanted to focus on one thing you could start doing immediately to combat hair loss and that’s by incorporating rosemary oil.
Rosemary Oil is an effective ingredient in promoting hair growth.
You can do a quick Google search for "Rosemary Oil for hair growth" and find many suggested products for this very issue, but is it all a marketing ploy made up by salespeople for a quick buck?
Well according to a 2015 study by Panahi et. al [2], rosemary oil was shown to be as effective as minoxidil 2% (a proven hair growth solution [3]) at increasing hair count after 6 months of daily application. So there seems to be something to it!
The key reason why rosemary oil impacts hair growth is that it helps improve blood circulation in the scalp, so more nutrients end up flowing to the follicles and prevent them from dying off [4]. Much like ensuring that the soil you plant vegetables in is full of nutrients so that your crops can grow, the same goes for your scalp, with rosemary oil acting similarly to fertilizer for your hair!
But not so fast!
Now, you may think that's all great and you're already looking up where to get some rosemary oil so that you can start reversing hair loss but there are a few things to keep in mind for this to work well!
First off, with any hair growth treatment, there are limitations to how fast you will see results. In the study by Panahi et. al that was mentioned, participants didn't see any significant results even after 3 months of daily application and only started seeing a difference after 6 months. So it will take time, and it has to become part of a daily routine to really get the benefit of the rosemary oil.
Secondly, as mentioned before, rosemary oil can be very stimulating to the scalp, but that means it can also be quite irritating to certain people. It is suggested to try a patch test on a small area first to see if you have a bad reaction, and if this is the case you would want to stop using it and talk with a medical professional. The Panahi study did find that fewer participants found the rosemary oil to be irritating compared to the group that used minoxidil, but you still want to be cautious about overdoing it!
Lastly, in the study, the participants were asked to apply 1 ml of rosemary oil to their scalp twice daily at 12-hour intervals (so a total of 2 ml per day). Meaning you do not need to use a lot of oil at a time and again should be cautious about overdoing it.
Okay, so what would be the best way to actually use Rosemary oil?
Again, the Panahi study got their participants to apply 1 ml of oil to their scalp twice daily and informed them to gently massage it into their heads while doing so. Now, is massaging the head a necessary step?
IT IS!
Not only are you able to distribute the oil throughout your scalp better instead of plopping it onto your hair where it would just sit there, but massaging is also shown to increase blood flow as well which again can promote hair growth in itself [5]. A quick five-minute massage should be enough, and you want to mainly use your fingertips and apply gentle yet firm pressure as you go.
That may be a bit difficult for some, as I know I barely have time in the morning to add 5 more minutes to get ready for the day. So instead, you may want to just try applying the oil once a day, preferably at a time when you can just let the oil sit in your hair and do its thing such as before you go to bed, and then you can rinse it out in the morning [6].
Alternatively, you can add rosemary oil to your shampoo and conditioners so that you can get the benefit just by washing your hair! This may not be as effective though, since it is not recommended to wash your hair daily due to excessively stripping away your own natural oils.
However, I recommend it (at least as a good starting point) as it keeps your routine simple and can be one less thing to worry about in your day! Then you can focus on adding a rosemary oil massage on days when you aren't washing your hair so that you can maximize those hair growth benefits.
Where can I get Rosemary Oil?
Again, I’d recommend starting with a shampoo and conditioner that already has rosemary oil included as one of the ingredients. That way you can start getting the benefits without having to change up your routine too much.
That’s one of the reasons why I highly recommend Rocky Mountain Soap Company's Rosemary Mint. This is the shampoo and conditioner combo that I personally use at home. I find it quite stimulating on my scalp and it has a very refreshing smell! You can read my full honest review here before making any decisions on purchasing.
I honestly haven’t tried any other specific rosemary oil products yet, so if you’re looking for something other than the shampoo and conditioner from Rocky Mountain, then you should go with 100% pure rosemary essential oil.
Whichever product you decide to get, at least now you are armed with knowledge on how to use rosemary oil properly so that you can have a fighting chance against hair loss!
References:
2- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25842469/
3- https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-3503/minoxidil-topical/details
4- https://www.healthline.com/health/rosemary-oil-for-hair#benefits
5- https://www.healthline.com/health/scalp-massage-for-hair-growth#how-to
6- https://health.clevelandclinic.org/rosemary-oil-for-hair/
I hope you found this post helpful!
My name is Wesley, I am a Barber located in the city of Calgary helping my clients become more confident with all things related to their hair by providing customized haircuts that suit them best while demystifying all the complicated hair information out there!
