If you are among those who take hair care seriously, you may have heard about essential oils and their purported effectiveness for hair treatment. Given that these extracts smell good, are relatively inexpensive, and all-natural, it is no surprise that many would be curious if they are worth investing in for better hair.
For the most part, those looking into essential oils for hair treatment will typically fall into one of two categories regarding what they want to achieve: promote general hair health or hair growth.
In this article, we delve deeper into the subject of essential oils for hair treatment and determine if they are worth your time.
An overview of essential oils
Essential oils are substances produced through either distillation or pressing and taste and smell like the plants they are extracted from. Each essential oil has a unique chemical makeup affecting these characteristics and how they interact with the human body.
Aromatherapy is a thousand-year-long practice that extensively uses essential oils and has a background in ancient Indian and Chinese medicine. It typically involves inhaling the scent of these plant extracts to leverage their supposed therapeutic benefits for various conditions ranging from an upset stomach to depression.
That said, it is vital to remember that medical authorities like the FDA do not consider essential oils as medications. This means they are unregulated and do not undergo the same testing, safety review process, and clinical trials as proper medications do to verify their efficacy and side effects.
Essential oils for hair growth
A few scientific studies have looked into the effectiveness of essential oils for hair loss treatment, many of which are only small in scale, involve just a few participants, and have varying qualities from one study to another.
Essential oil blends for alopecia areata
For instance, a 1998 study published in the Archives of Dermatology tested a blend of essential oils in treating a form of hair loss called alopecia areata, which causes patchy bald spots to appear across the scalp and/or face. 86 patients participated in this seven-month study wherein the first half massaged a blend of lavender, cedarwood, rosemary, and thyme into their scalp daily while the other simply used carrier oils.
The study saw 44% of the participants using essential oils experience an improvement over the study period compared to the mere 15% of those using carrier oils. Thus, the researchers concluded that aromatherapy is an effective and safe treatment for alopecia areata based on these findings.
Rosemary essential oil to combat male pattern baldness
There is also a more recent study published in the Skinmed journal, which is a 2015 trial that specifically focused on the effects of rosemary oil on male pattern baldness. Interestingly, the researchers pitted it against minoxidil, one of the only two FDA-approved treatments for the condition.
The study involved 100 participants divided into two groups who used rosemary oil and minoxidil, respectively, for six months. At the end of the testing period, both groups saw a substantial increase in hair count compared to when they started the trial.
The available research today suggests that essential oils could effectively treat certain types of hair loss and provide therapeutic benefits for those whose hair is starting to thin. That said, these studies are not rock-solid proof of the efficacy of essential oils and should be thought of as possibly effective at best when it comes to treating hair loss.
And while research into essential oils for hair loss is far from conclusive, they do provide actual benefits for general hair health, such as preventing hair breakage, repairing damaged hair, and improving many other common issues. Since these plant extracts work well for real hair, they are also great in maintaining hair replacements in Singapore, which are made of the same stuff.
Conclusion
When dealing with hair loss, just about everyone is willing to try anything to prevent their hair from falling out further. Unfortunately, it seems essential oils are just not the answer to this problem unless new studies prove otherwise. Self-medicating is one of the common hair loss treatment mistakes most people make. It could be risky to use essential oils for your hair if you do not have the proper knowledge or expertise.
That said, if you need a cost-effective and proven solution to hair loss that works instantly, a hair wig for males in Singapore may be just what you need. At Rehair Lab, our expertise lies in creating custom hair replacement systems tailor-made to match your every need and preference and bring back your confidence in your looks. Don’t hesitate to contact us today for more details about the hair replacement system cost and how the process works.