I am extremely sorry for not turning up yesterday. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I just could not come online!!
Anyways, I had decided to keep holi free but since I skipped yesterday, I have an activity for you today 🙂
Btw, wish you all a very Happy Holi! Hope you are busy enjoying the festival of colors instead of reading the posts here 😉 So, lets get on with the activity.
Incorporate Essential Oils
If you are a regular reader, you would already know I am crazy about using essential oils. My first was lavender which I did not really become a fan of but then I went on to try rosemary and some other exotic ones and I am a fan for life. And, since then, I have tried my level best to tell you all how awesome they are. So, this is again one of the my trials.
There are a few essential oils which you must have in your house and they are multi-purpose so you can use them from healing your wounds to cleaning the air in your house! Let us check out which 5 essential oils I think are important to have in the house.
Rosemary
This one rules the roost. Since we are talking about hair care, rosemary is the one EO which stimulates hair follicles and actually helps in hair growth.
Peppermint
Though it helps the oily scalp more but it reduces dandruff and also helps in hair growth.
Tea Tree
This one helps in cleansing your scalp and reducing the dandruff. Also, helps with acne.
Lavender
This one is not really on my favourites list. But, it helps calm your senses and lulls you to sleep, helps with hair fall and is also said to help with hair growth. It definitely helps with wounds and burns, though!
And, finally, we have
Clove
Actually, there is a list of spice essential oils which are amazing for hair growth. But, clove is probably the most easily available. I would also like to include ginger and cinnamon leaf (not bark) but remember that overusing any of the spice essential oils can be irritating for the skin. But, the advantage of spice essential oils are that they stimulate the follicles and improve the blood circulation in the scalp which leads to better hair growth.
So, today’s activity is to at least get one of the these essential oils and infuse them with all of your hair products.
How to use the Essential Oils?
Pour 5-10 drops of any of the above EO in all your hair products like shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, leave-in treatment, hair masks, any DIY’s you do, and then use the products.
You can make your own Essential Oils as well!
This would not be exactly essential oil but definitely cheaper and effective treatment. This is specially easy for all the spices which are easily available in your kitchen. So, take a table spoon of your favourite spice (ginger, clove, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper) either in ground form or you can just use your mortal and pestle and lightly break the spices to release the oils.
Put the spice in a clear bottle and cover with oil (apricot or almond are preferred as they are better at absorbing the plant nutrients) and leave for a week in direct sunlight.
Keep shaking the bottle in between to release the oils.
After a week, your customized EO is ready for use! Remember to make it in small batches and use it within a month.
Btw, since this is not exactly as potent as essential oils, you can use around two table spoons for each of your products. And, you can keep alternating using different spices every time.
So, do try out this fun DIY and I am sure you will love it!
References:
- Tea Tree Oil for Lice and Dandruff {Hair Care}
- Essential Oils for Hair Growth {Hair Care}
- How do I use Essential Oils? {DIY}
Earlier Posts from #OneMonthtoHealthyHair event:
#OneMonthtoHealthyHair – Activity 1 – Hot Oil Treatment
#OneMonthtoHealthyHair – Activity of the Week – 1
#OneMonthofHealthyHair – Activity 2 – Get a Hair Cut!
#OneMonthofHealthyHair – Activity 3 – Go for a Hair Wash!
Hi swati, love reading your posts. Recently inspired by your post on EOs I ended up buying rosemary , peppermint and tea tree. Also bought rosehip , jojoba, aran and grapeseed catrier oils . Is it ok to mix all of them and use on hair and skin. I always end up buying things and then get confused about what to do with them
Thanks for your posts. I get a lot of tips on hair and skin care from them
Jyothi
hi Jyothi. haha…wow, you really did a haul 🙂
do not mix all of them initially because you do not know how each of them would reach on your skin! so, initially start with one oil and one essential oil. i am assuming you got them all from soulflower?
start with jojoba and rosemary. add only 10 drops of rosemary to the bottle (considering 30ml). also, instead of using grapeseed as a hair oil, use it as a leave-in treatment. it works amazingly. rub just 1-2 drops in between your palms and pass along the hair length focusing on the ends.
for skin, try rosehip and i would say avoid essential oils for face as they might get too strong and i need to know your skin profile before suggesting any essential oil for it!!
Hi swati
Thanks for the reply, yes they are all from soulflower. I had wanted only rosemary and argan oil, but ended up going overboard , and these are only oils I have mentioned. There are lots more soaps and bath salts too.
Rosehip and argan I had picked for face. I have oily skin with pigmentation. The rest of the oils was for hair.
Jyothi
if you have oily skin, i would definitely recommend grapeseed instead!! it really works well for oily skin. try it out 🙂 rosehip is recommended for mature skin actually and especially for dry skin.
Thanks swati , will definitely try it. Is argan oil good for hair ?
Hey Jyothi. Yes argan oil is supposed to be good for hair. I have yet not used argan oil but some products with argan oil. It’s great as leave-in treatment as far as I could make out. But for now, I can advise you to stick to two products so that it’s easy to detect if they are not suiting you.
Love the idea of putting the EOs in shampoo, I’ve also heard of people adding coffee powder to shampoo to aid hair growth, because of the caffeine
Yup they do also for the color as.well. In fact some also say that onion juice can be mixed with shampoo. That also helps.with hair growtH.
hmmm… scared of trying the onion juice coz of the smell. If i apply it pre-wash, does shampooing get rid of the smell?
nah. actually i have heard quite a lot about the smell but honestly never faced the issue. yes it stinks a lot when you apply it but after you wash your hair, its gone! though, I have never tried mixing my shampoo and onion juice. that might leave a lingering smell though. i have always applied pre-wash.
You have the best posts on essential oils in the Indian Blogosphere. I love reading everything you have written on them 🙂
haha…thanks Coral 🙂
Hi swati
Is it ok to heat essential oils and carrier oils before use ?.I usually heat coconut oil a little before I use it
Jyothi
hey Jyothi. NEVER heat essential oils. they are highly volatile.
for carrier oils, pour a little in a bowl and put them in microwave or put the bottle in hot water to heat them. never directly put them on gas. learned that the hard way 😀
Hello Swati,
First of all thanks for helping people out with your simple remedies for hair loss.
I am 26 and and have started losing hairs from my forehead. Just started with the onion and honey juice remedy. I will put forth few questions to you
1.I am planning to apply the juice thrice a week every night before going to sleep. Also I have found in your posts about the Rose Mary Oil. Will it be perfect mix to have Rosemary oil along with the onion and honey juice to apply it every night before going to sleep. Also can you please let me know the quantity of Rose mary oil to be used as these oils are very concentrated and should be used in very little quantity as far as I know. Please confirm.
I found the oil online in the below link.
http://shop.mokshalifestyle.com/collections/essential-oils/products/rose-mary-oil
Please confirm whether this is the oil which is supposed to be applied to the scalp?
Also please let me know if I need to apply any particular shampoo to clean my hairs after applying the mix of honey+onion+Rose mary oil (If recommended by you).
2. Will it be sufficient to use the onion therapy for 3 days a week, since after applying the mixture I need to shampoo my hair. I believe shampooing the hair everyday may lead to hair fall even, because of the chemical content of the shampoo. Its my notion! Can you please suggest.
Best Regards,
Neil
hi Neil. i have never mixed onion juice and honey so no idea about that. i have only used onion juice alone. first of all, please consult this post for how to use and apply onion juice:
https://swathyandsky.com/2014/02/onion-juice-for-hair-growth-updates.html
yes thrice a week is enough. absolutely right about the shampoo thing. also, please use a sulphate free shampoo. i can suggest organic surge:
https://swathyandsky.com/2013/04/my-tryst-with-natural-shampoos-some.html
its available online!
also, yes, rosemary oil is amazing for hair. the oil you are talking about is an essential oil and as you said very concentrated. please check out how to use essential oils:
https://swathyandsky.com/2012/01/guide-to-using-essential-oils-beauty.html
hope i have answered all your points 🙂 do get back for further clarifications!
Hey Swati,
Thanks a ton for your quick reply.
1. I have found the honey+onion mix remedy online. Probably I will try it out for few days. I will let you know the response after that.
2. Talking about the shampoo part, hope I get your recommended shampoo online, maybe in mokshalifestyle or in some other online stores. Please suggest any online store if you have any idea on that.
3. Rosemary oil. Hope I can use it both for my hair and skin. For a better looking and glowing skin.
I have referred your post and found the concentration of the Rosemary oil should be 1-2% with proper dilution. Can I roughly take 2-3 drops of the oil to mix with my onion mixture for applying to my scalp or applying to my face. Also Can I apply the rosemary oil daily before going to bed in the night or in the morning before leaving for office? No effects I hope if I apply it daily??
Best Regards,
Niladri
hi. yes, you can buy the oil you mentioned. the shampoo is available on flipkart.
http://dl.flipkart.com/dl/organic-surge-moisture-boost-shampoo-dry-frizzy-hair/p/itmd9as6rvvhscyn?pid=SMPD9FYFDRVH4YHY&affid=perfectski
please do not use the oil naked on face. you can use 2-3 drops with the onion mixture but i hope you wouldn’t put that on your face! instead, you can buy some carrier oil and mix the rosemary EO in the said concentration and then use it. yes, it will be fine and there would not be any side effects but do not overdo it!
Thanks for your reply.
Can you suggest me some carrier oil.
Regards,
Neil
hi Niladri. for your hair, you can try out various oils like coconut, almond and the more exotic ones like argan, jojoba, rosehip, macadamia depending on your mood and budget.
for face, it really depends on your skin type. if it is oily, try grapeseed oil and if your skin is dry, i would suggest pomegranate but there are quite a lot of them which you can try out but you have to see which one suits you so you should get sample sizes for them instead of full bottles!!
Hi Swati,
Can I try using any of these oils mentioned above after taking shower.
Actually my hair is very dry and I want to use some oil after taking shower so that my hairs remain wet for the next 10-12 hrs when I am at office or working outside.
Can you please suggest.
Regards,
Neil
no oil can keep your hair wet! what you mean is hydrated so you should use grapeseed oil for it. the above oils are all essential oils which must not be used alone but must be mixed with carrier oils. you can also follow the #OneMonthtoHealthyHair event posts to take care of your dry hair!
Thanks Swati..
hope it helps 🙂 do let me know how it goes for you.