So, I did talk about the intensive hair growth treatment I am currently on. So, there is particular routine I am supposed to follow (which I’m miserably failing at!!) and that includes a particular way to oil the hair. I just wanted to share it but let me make a disclaimer first: I am not spilling out any beans or secrets. So, lets get on with it. The routine is just a revisit to our old traditions. There is particular way to massage your scalp and that’s what the routine incorporates in some ways.
Silver Utensil for Oil
The girl asked me to use either a silver or an aluminium utensil for pouring out the oil before starting to apply it. This is because both of these metals are really beneficial for hair. Now, how much is either of the metal going to affect the hair when simply used as a container is out of my understanding.
Anyway, the girl takes a huge bowl of silver (just like the ones in the dinner sets) and fills it up to half with oil and that’s the amount of oil I am supposed to use every time I oil my hair!!! No, I don’t use that much coz 90% of the oil is drunk by my pillow and by my skin and clothes. And, of course, the oil is pretty expensive, as well.
Cotton Ball to apply Oil
So, moving on, the next instruction includes the use of a cotton ball instead of fingers to apply hair on the scalp. I guess its coz of the long nails, some might have, which can tear and snag at the hairs. So, using a cotton ball is gentler on the hair. Dip the ball in the oil and rub it on the scalp. Now, while applying the oil on the scalp, run the cotton ball on the hair length as well on the section of hair in your hand to apply oil to the hair strands from root to ends.
Remember to lift the hair to directly apply it on the scalp and results are best if done with small sections of hair. Yes, it does take a very long time. Also, when you are running the cotton ball along the hair strands, it is difficult when done on own and you can actually see the number of hairs falling which is very disheartening.
All the weak hair falls from the scalp when you move the cotton ball along the hair length. That’s in a way good as it allows the old hairs to shed and new hairs to grow. And, those old hairs would have fallen in due course, anyway. Now, a very huge con to this method is that a lot of oil gets soaked by the cotton ball as well so I dip only a corner of the ball instead of the entire ball and I finish up my scalp first and then proceed on to oiling the hair lengths.
Head Massage Techniques
After finishing with all the oiling, it is the time to massage your scalp. Scalp massage is the actual action which helps stimulate the hair follicles and helps in hair growth. So, this is the most important step and the more the time you devote doing this, the better the results would be. And, this also helps the oil to reach the hair follicles to nourish them. So, move the scalp instead of the hair whenever you do a massage.
Try to keep the nails short or engage someone with short nails. Otherwise, you can end up scratching your scalp. Try to massage from the ears and proceed to the center of the scalp and similarly from front and back to the center using both of your hands. Always use finger balls. Be a little quick with the movements. After covering the entire scalp, take small sections of the hair and pull them very gently. That helps in hair growth. Also, it gets rid of the weak hair. Cover all the hair this way.
After this is over, take the cotton ball and rub it in circular motion where ever you desire hair growth. Do that for like 3-5 minutes continuously. That helps stimulate the area. By now, your scalp should be feeling warm. Now, all this done, you can see that there is a lot of oil in the bowl left which is supposed to be literally poured on the head. Yes, this is one of the ayurvedic techniques for relaxation and stimulation. Actually, I did mention about this long back in one of my posts. It feels amazing.
So, that’s all the hair routine I have been instructed to follow but of course, I don’t do all that and I kinda developed my own oiling routine which I shall share with you soon 🙂
Related Post:
How to massage your scalp?
I have never applied oil to my hair all by myself . . either mom does it, or in hostel my friends used to do it . . . i just dont know how to . .
what’d i do after marriage 🙁 . . .i am bookmarking this page for future references 😛
you can ask your darling hubby 😀 its super awesome when someone gives a good massage na???
yea!
It sure is 🙂 🙂
🙂
uff… so much for the mane!
Are u sure it’s aluminium? because aluminium is discouraged even in cooking…
actually it’s copper which is considered gud for health…if u see, our grandparents’ generation used to have a lot of copper utensils…today the simple thing is to store water in a copper jug overnight and drink in the morning…
the cotton ball method is nice.. I don’t do it personally, but when I have the occassional hair massage done…it feels good!
yes, I was thinking the same that aluminium is discouraged during cooking also!!! yup, copper and iron are other metals which are great for hair 🙂 these days I am doing it but I don’t know how long I will stick to it…its way more time consuming and this whole routine takes me almost an hour with my sparse hair!!!
U seriously love your hair a lot gal 😀
once I was taking treatment for hair fall at a homeopath…he gave me an oil and u know what he asked me to do after applying oil ? he asked me to tap my scalp with those ball point needles…imagine 🙂
haha…yes, I do but I am equally negligent about it!!! so, trying to repair all the damage done to it…btw, you know what, I am doing that only these days…found it out a few days back when searching for scalp massage techniques…and, found that tapping helps stimulate follicles 🙂 I thought I would write about it after a month or two after I judge the results 🙂 any other tips???
:O : O what are u tapping with ?
it was such a torture …I stopped doing after a few weeks …
Bet’, can you pls do a post listing EOs that are specifically beneficial to the hair …
I don’t know any tips 🙁
oh I missed out the part of ball point needles…isn’t that painful 😀 nah, I use balls of my fingers!!! and, tap them hard!!! it tingles after a while and thats working 😀 sure, I will have to search for all the EO’s good for hair then.
it was painful 🙁
ohh..the finger balls u mentioned in the post…ya..curious to know how they look
need not search all EOs …just mention what you are using right now…and update the list if u find any in future..am asking for my convinience 😉
I meant our fingers 😀 try doing that once…tap the top soft part of the fingers on the scalp with a little force…that also is little painful!!!
yeah, sure, currently I am using only the ones I talked about in that aloevera gel recipe – cinnamon, ginger, rosemary and lavender. will surely put up a list once I really get over this treatment thingy coz I am not using any right now!!! want to make sure that treatment is worth enough or not!!!
he he …ok our finger balls 😀 yeah any tapping would be painful…u do it once in a while or everytime u oil your hair ?
hmmm…I have started it just a two times back I guess so did it both times I oiled my hair…its supposed to be part of the chinese therapy or something!!! doing it gently is probably fine…try it out!!! hows your hair btw??? means thick and long or dry or oily???
used to be thick and long once upon a time :p
it became thin for obvious reasons…but my hair suffered lot when I fell sick some years back…then regained somewhat..and again lost due to stress and pollution..hmmm
It’s basically dry
hmmm the “once upon a time stigma” 😀 everyone can relate to that!! hmmm. health problems can’t be helped but this pollution is really taking a toll on everything!!! I wish there could something done to avoid it 🙁 that’s when I really wish to move to US or Europe though I basically don’t wanna live there but at least no pollution!!!
In that case, opt for Europe …u can buy lot of Hermes easily 😉
haha…that’s right but who’s gonna take me there 😀
Google adsense 😀
haha…before that lets hope it sponsors my DSLR 😀
Whoa!!It will consume hell a lot of time! I dont hv the patience to do tat 🙁 i ll atleast try sectioning my hair and oiling every part of my scalp and hair. But upon oiling a lot of hair sheds and i get scared and have stopped oiling!
hey Shruthi…yes, it takes around 45 minutes to an hour!! I know even I don’t have patience but then, I have very less hair on my crown so that’s makes me do it though I often skip out on days…I am supposed to this every alternate day!!!
regarding the hair shedding, as I have explained above, its all the weak hair which is coming off…that’s actually good to remove all the weak hair so that new hairs can grow in their place and when you follow the routine regularly, you will gradually notice a reduction in the amount of hairs falling so that just happens in the starting but if you leave oiling and then, suddenly, start it again, it does make the hair fall and you don’t actually see any difference…the key to hair maintenance is regularity!!
my advice would be start it again and stick to it. you can see the hiar shedding otherwise you are simply unaware of it but hair shes
but the hair sheds in any case!!
Oh sure ill start oiling again! Thanks for this article and a detailed explaination swathi! Am also planning to add rosmary oil to my regular hair oil. The question is can i add the concentrated rosmary oil directly to my regular one or shud i mix rm EO wth carrier oil and thn add to my regular oil?
you can add directly to your hair oil but remember to add only 2% of the quantity!!! don’t go overboard with the EO’s.
check this: http://perfectskincareforyou.blogspot.in/2012/05/how-do-i-use-essential-oils-diy.html
OR
http://perfectskincareforyou.blogspot.in/2012/01/guide-to-using-essential-oils-beauty.html
nice post….what oil should we apply to our hair..like we should use coconut, almond or shikakai…i m really confused..:P
hey Prayati…shikakai is not an oil…its a fruit and can be infused in an oil…I would suggest sesame oil worked really well for me!!! and, yes, almond oil is equally good 🙂 both are high in vitamin E!!! but, more than the oil, everything is in the way you apply the oil so make sure you take care of that too…btw, don’t go for commercial oils…they don’t really helps and are too refined. cooking oils are much better.
thanks for the tips, I need to give my hair some nourishing treatment as well xoxo
would you like to follow each other?
A
xx
http://epiquemoi.blogspot.com
hey Anthea…following you 🙂
hey swati.. i had a questn about the use of eo’s in hair oil! with so many eo’s helping in regrowth of hair or increasing stimulation/circulation in scalp, how should one decide about which eo’s should be used among those? …Pranali
hey Pranali…I have used only 4 EO’s yet in my hair care regime – rosemary, lavender, ginger and cinnamon…I would say that rosemary and ginger are very important among all. so, its like you choose essential oils based on what you need them to do and your hair type. rosemary is for dandruff and helps in hair growth. ginger is for stimulation. cinnamon is also for stimulation but can be irritating to sensitive scalps. ylang ylang is again for hair growth but its for oily hair. there are many that ways. I found rosemary. lavender and ginger go for all hair types though lavender also controls the amount of oils produced on the scalp so if you have dry hair, you can skip it. some EO’s are also great for conditioning of the hair. hope this helps 🙂
my current hair oil is about to get over and now am confused whether to make my own oil using the eo’s or should i go for kama bhringadi hair oil! pls suggest me what to do! …Pranali
you can use the EO’s in the Kama one also 🙂 I did that!!! you can go for kama…its a good oil 🙂
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heyy…i dint gt 2 thngs..can u please clarify..
“Remember to lift the hair to directly apply it on the scalp ”
how to lift hair…i mean directly in upward direction and while holding them up apply the oil on scalp and length..??
and 2nd is you said rub a cottan ball where u need hair growth…am i suppose to take a fresh cottan ball or the same dipped in oil one..??
hey Suhani…use the same cotton dipped in oil, no issues about that. by lifting the hair, I meant partitioning the hair as you apply the oil so that you apply in the partitions first. hope I was clear 🙂
ohkkk…got you…and thankyou sooooo much 🙂 🙂
🙂
i tired doing this procedure…yes alot of hair doo shed…but 1 thng i want to ask you…you mentioned about moving the cotton in circular motion wherever growth is needed…i tired doin so….frstly alot of hair came out :'( and secondly that area turned red for a min approx but i dint feel warmth thr
the hair shedding will happen for a few times before it subsides to normal because weak hair comes out that way!!! also, you should not see any shedding while shampooing your hair in this case if you are washing your hair in a couple of hours after oiling. also, when you are applying the cotton ball, apply with a very light hand. any vigorous motion will cause unnecessary hair breakage. also, when you are applying to the hair strands, be very gentle.
don’t rub vigorously in circular motion. normal with light hand is fine. waise, area becoming red is no issue at all. it only invigorates the hair follicles so that’s fine even if you don’t feel any warmth. are btw, also, if you make the oil a little warm before applying, that would be awesome!!!
next time whenever you try it, do let me know how it goes 🙂
also, hair shedding is not equal to hair fall 🙂
also, do let me know how your hair feels after shampooing???
actually i use castor oil with sesa oil…n i always heat thm very lil before applying…m yup thr was very less hairfall during shampooing…n after shampooing my hair were veryyy soft..without evn using any hair serum..!! 🙂
i was just a lil sensed abt hair shedding..thats y i thought of crnfrming 🙂 🙂
hehe…I am glad coz hair does behave better after shampooing, the shedding process is just initial so nothing to worry about 🙂
When I do oil my hair as deeply, I find that it takes ages for it to dry. Wash in the morning, but in the afternoon, my hair is still quite damp. I know it’s part of the journey of oiling hair. But I’m curious, does it happen to you too?
that’s weird, Amanda…nope, it doesn’t happen with me!!! it takes around an hour for my hair to get dry.
My hair is thick and a bit coarse. It can NEVER get dry within one hour even without oil since I let it air-dry most of the time.
I’m always curious as to how much oil I should apply to my hair.
I would say that apply as much oil that each of the strand is soaking in it. check out those instructions on oiling…probably that will help 🙂 I have mentioned about how I have been advised to oil my hair as part of the treatment I was undergoing!!! and, it really works.
Hi Swati I would like to know ginger Juice is helpful to grow new hair please give replay & one more thing can i make onion juice from juicer …………..
ok, I don’t know if you can use juicer for onion juice but yes, ginger does definitely help!!!
Hi Swati,
I use mustard oil for oiling my hair. Please let me know how much of castor oil to add to it. Also, how can i make the onion juice or ginger juice. Does it have to be consumed or applied on head, and in which quantity.
Waiting for your response 🙂
hey Tam. use a table spoon of castor oil mixed with mustard oil. grate onion and galic using a cheese grater and squeeze the pulp to release the juice. apply it using cotton ball on the scalp on oiled hair an hour before shampooing. wash off. do it every time you shampoo your hair 🙂
Hey Swati,
Did you continue this specific treatment that you mentioned and did it work? I’ve been exploring it too so thought of asking! 🙂
Thanks!
yes it does work. i try to do it once a month now but i don’t get time but it is definitely effective. i have done this for like 5-6 months on a regular basis last year!! hope this helps 🙂
Hi Swati, I would like to know whether the Ginger paste and Curd mixture will help to hair growth ? plz reply.. 🙂
yes it does, Rekha 🙂
Hi Swati, Please suggest me some treatment for hair fall.
I suffered with heavy headache and fever after applying onion juice can i know the reason please.
hey Sarojini….this is strange. but, are you having sinus issues? coz, i think that is the only reason why it would happen. for how long did you keep the onion juice on your scalp??? are you sensitive to smells? may be your bo
sorry. typo. may be your body is prone to cold with things applied on scalp. it happens with some. generally if you are a sinus patient, the docs advise not to use anything on the scalp coz even a head bath can also result in problems.
Hey swati….can we mix onion juice with bhringraj oil?
Or shd it b mixed only with coconut oil?