More Essential Oils for Hair Loss

A member wrote:

"Please can you address on the Alchemist blog how one can work with hair thinning and baldness? I see on your website you mention rosemary and saffron. However, I feel you have mentioned other oils over the years. If anything comes to mind please let me know.

I am working with my son on this, who has hair thinning. I dowsed that he can benefit by using the Rosemary (6%) spray you recommend, and a scalp revitalizer massage with Rosemary, Clementine orange, White Verbena & jojoba. I am going to make a shampoo with the shampoo base, Rosemary, White Sage, Blue Mallee Eucalyptus, Clementine Orange, clay and water. 

Also a few diet changes like adding more fermented vegetables and miso, flax oil, and wakame.

I am in love with the essential oils.  They are such friends to me!  I am so grateful that you bring us these transcendent oils; I would never want to work with anything of lesser quality. They completely inspire me. It is an honor to co-create with them! I know they have my back and are just waiting for us to do the most spectacular work with them. I am excited to watch them unfold their medicine, mysteries and “miracles” before our eyes."

Thank you for the inquiry.  More and more people are having wonderful results reversing hair loss with the use of essential oils.  

Some essential oils that are known to stimulate hair growth include Basil, Birch, Cedar, Clary sage, Cypress, Geranium, Ginger, Hyssop, Grapefruit, Lavender, Lemon, Rosemary, Sage, Spikenard, Thyme, Ylang yang. Many others may be used in hair regrowth formulas as well--possibly the most important factor seems to be the essential oil's ability to stimulate circulation in the scalp.  

I personally feel that much male (and female!) hair loss and baldness is really due to a build up of chemicals in the scalp, from many years of daily shampooing with commercial shampoos.  These brand name shampoos are  full of toxic chemicals including SLS (Sodium Laurel Sulphate) and all of its derivatives; glycerine and mineral oil; and high percentages of harsh preservatives.

Making your own SLS free natural shampoo is one long term solution, and I have played with many recipes and formulas throughout the years.  

Recently my daughter (a nationally ranked athlete) has dealt with hair loss.  With a few dietary tweaks (adding more protein foods among them), and a lovely spray and clay blend for scalp treatment, she was able to turn the hair loss around within a couple of months.  

One of her lovely discoveries was a strange Shampoo Bar Soap that is completely free of SLS and detergent chemicals.  I was so intrigued with it that I ordered some myself, and Michael and I have been using it now for a little over a week.  We are loving it--it is so simple, feels very good on your hair, and leaves it feeling clean and natural.  Here is the link to the website:  

http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com/products/for-the-hair/shampoo-bars

My favorite so far are the soap nuts and the coconut bars.  Michael has been using the Rosemary, which is leaving his hair shinier and stronger than it has felt in a long time.  

It is important to know that this is soap and not detergent; meaning that it is made with fat and lye, which creates a chemical reaction that changes them into another substance. Yet the ph factor may be high (I intend to test it myself to see), and the soap can not get into your eyes without stinging, so it is unfit for small children.

I have shared the really natural shampoo recipe links on this page of the blog:

http://thealchemist333.blogspot.com/2014/03/dandruff-cures.html

It is meant to use, change, experiment with, etc. Please do give us an update with your results!

For Pet Owners--Flea Remedies

One Blog member wrote to me with this to say.  I have no experience with this, but would love to hear if others have used these methods with canola oil, and what kind of results they have had?  Canola is less aromatic than any essential oils that I have used for this purpose.  If it works, it might make the whole experience much more pleasant for dogs, who can smell an estimated 10,000 times better than humans.   Thank you for sharing this idea! 

"PET OWNERS PAY ATTENTION!!! There is no need to hire an exterminator to clean out your house or grounds or kennels of Fleas. Canola oil kills every insect in the world. Just put on a pair of slippers and coat your legs with canola oil, but not too much to make you slip and fall. Walk around each room or the grounds or kennels slowly. They will jump on your legs and die within  a minute. The slower you walk, the better to wait for the tiny baby fleas to catch up with you. Take another walk around the property again the next day. Soon they will be gone. If you missed just one, they will come back. Then  let him jump on you again.

Have no worry — the Fleas can’t bite you, because they are dying and in no mood to eat you.

Canola oil is very good for bathing dogs and puppies. Start by wetting with dish washing detergent and water. Then add the canola oil and rub all areas from the tip of the tail to the snout. Avoid letting the oil go into the ears and eyes. First kill all the fleas on the property, including the house and then wash the pets with canola oil".

Essential oils that I have used for removing fleas include fleabane and leleshwa, and sometimes a combination of the two with lavender or citronella.    I like to mix them with water or hydrosol; a ratio of 50 drops of oil into one quart of water.   Apply with a spray bottle, rubbing the mix in to the coat.  The dog may not like the smell--it will be ever so much stronger to him!--so please  avoid getting any oil near the nose, mouth, and eye area.  Spray the dog while he is outside, away from all areas that he can normally inhabits, so that the fleas that hop off will not be living in your house, ready to return.  

Depending on the level of infestation, you will need to spray the dog's bedding, rugs or carpets, and any places where the dog sits, lays down, or spends any time.  Car seats and carpeting may be infested too.  

Always follow up by spraying again in a couple of days, then a third time in a couple more days after that.  Three treatments should take care of most infestation--but if it is really bad you may have to do it several more times.

Liniment Recipe for Injury Treatment

Injuries are one of the areas where essential oils excel as a treatment option.  They are perfect for strains, sprains, and bruises.  They can eliminate swelling, relieve pain, and sometimes quite miraculously heal moderate soft tissue injuries in little time.  

They are also a great support for healing broken bones that are slow to mend, tendons and ligaments that require help, and for speeding healing and reducing pain and swelling after surgical repair to bones, tendons and ligaments.  If you want to use one of these recipes to heal after a surgical repair, wait until the the incision is healed enough that the stitches are removed, or the scar is no longer in danger of pulling apart.  

These recipes are also great for relieving arthritis pain, aching muscle pain from over use or sports training, and small injuries without broken skin.  

INJURY LINIMENT

Pseudoginseng Root (Tian Qi) 6 T.

Angelica Sinensis (heads) 4 T.

Sanguis Draconis 4 T.

Homalomenae 4 T.

Frankincense Essential Oil 2 T.

Myrrh Essential Oil 2 T.

Saffron Extract  15 drops

Cinnamon Bark 40 drops

German Chamomile Essential Oil  20 drops

Cypress Essential Oil  20 drops

Place the ingredients in a glass quart jar.  Fill with alcohol such as vodka or Everclear--the higher proof the better. 

Let the herbs and oils soak for a minimum of two months before you use it. Ideally you should agitate (shake) the bottle every day. At the minimum, shake a couple of times a week.

Be sure to label this for external use only! Do not use internally; keep out of reach of children.

How to use: This formula is excellent for treating any kind of external injury.  It is perfect for bruises, muscle strains, pulled muscles, sprains or any other kind of injury related to work or sports. 

Apply it by pouring a small amount over the injured area and rub it in. Do this several times, waiting a few minutes between applications for it to dry. For best results apply 2-3 times per day. 

You will find that injuries will heal in about one-half to one-third of the normal time. Do not apply to an area where the skin is broken.

If you are a boxer or martial artist and want to toughen your fists, arms or shins, you should apply this after your conditioning exercises. You will recuperate faster and will be able to continue with training.

SPEEDY LINIMENT:  A Fast Version of Injury Liniment

4 cups vodka or Everclear

30 drops frankincense essential oil

30 drops myrrh essential oil

15 drops cinnamon bark essential oil

6 drops rose essential oil

20 drops cypress essential oil

10 drops Atlas cedar essential oil

1/2 t. each powdered angelica root and powdered homalomenae

1 t. powdered pseudoginseng

1/2 t. white willow bark powder

Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and shake well.  Shake 4 times a day for 2 days, then use as needed.  

This is very effective, and good for emergencies when you do not have a batch of aged liniment on hand.  It is also effective without the powdered herbs; if not using them you may add 6 drops each of lemongrass, angelica,  and German chamomile.  

This can be applied as a compress daily, or massaged into the injured area 3 times a day.  Be sure to label the liniment Not For Internal Use, and keep it away from children.