Herbs and Oils for Healthy Hair and Scalp

Who doesn't want a strong, healthy, shiny hair? Sun, heat and wind often affect our hair badly, not talking about hairsprays, hair dyes, shampoos and conditioners that often promise us stunning results, but we end up with weak hair that breaks and falls off... 

Well, natural hair care products are best what we can give our hair and skin, but how often do you find really natural shampoo or a conditioner? And how much it costs you? Choosing a baby shampoo or a simply shampoo without added fragrance is always the best choice. While you are not a master of making your own hair care products, there still is something you can do - you can help your hair strengthening it with herbal infusions, essential oils and different plants, so let's get in!

Firstly, issues and treatments and at the end you will get the advice how to use these oils and herbs to get strong, healthy, shiny hair. This list might not be full and complete, but that's what I've got to know so far.

Dandruff

Firstly, you have to improve your skin, and hair will improve together with it. 

• Washing/rinsing water with stinging nettle infusion
• Coconut oil mask
• Lemon essential oil (it has lightening effects, so will be more suitable for light hair)
• Lavender essential oil
• Patchouli essential oil
• Tea Tree (Melaleuca) essential oil
• Eucalyptus essential oil
• Rosemary essential oil (especially suitable for naturally dark hair)
• Cedarwood essential oil
• Calamus root infused water and oil

Hair loss & improving hair-growth

To improve hair growth you have to improve the blood circulation in your scalp. In fact, scalp massage does it well enough, but there are some herbs and oils that will bring positive changes:

• Wash hair with fresh meadowsweet leaf and stalk infusion
• Massage your scalp with peppermint essential oil
• Add a few drops of rosemary essential oil to your shampoo
• Wash your hair with stinging nettle and/or burdock root infusion. You can get burdock root oil to massage in your scalp as a healing mask before washing it out. You can also make nettle-burdock root infused oil at home. 
• Cut a leaf of Aloe Vera lengthwise and grease your hair and scalp with slippery part of the leaf. Leave it in your hair for at least 30 minutes before washing it out.
• Almond oil mask
• Lemon essential oil (it has lightening effects, so will be more suitable for light hair)
• Lavender essential oil / lavender water
• Rosemary essential oil (especially suitable for naturally dark hair)
• Cedarwood essential oil
• Hops infused water and oils
• Calamus root infused water and oil

For Dry and Damaged Hair

• Washing hair with rosemary and burdock root infused water or using oil for hair masks
• Coconut oil mask
• Lemon essential oil (it has lightening effects, so will be more suitable for light hair)
• Chamomile infusions (it has lightening effects, so will be more suitable for light hair)
• Ylang-Ylang essential oil
• Shea butter mask

For Oily Hair

• Eucalyptus essential oil
• Rosemary essential oil (especially suitable for naturally dark hair)
• Lemon essential oil (for light hair)
• Grapefruit essential oil
• Replace hair conditioner with rosewater.
• Beer (yes, you read it correctly, it has drying effects and can leave you with truly shiny hair without being greasy, just make sure you get natural beer)

Shiny & strong hair

• Wash or rinse your hair with nettle infused water
• Replace hair conditioner with rosewater.
• Apply a bit of coconut oil on your hair-ends after washing and drying them (but really a little bit - it's oil and you don't want your hair to look greasy)
• Olive oil mask
• Lemongrass essential oil (by the way, it has a really uplifting scent that even helps for headache)
• Ylang-Ylang essential oil
• Rosemary essential oil (especially suitable for naturally dark hair)
• Sage infusions (works also for darkening gray hair, and in general more suitable for dark hair)

How to use these treatments?

• Essential oils: add a few drops to your shampoo and conditioner, massage into your hair and scalp and leave for 5-7 minutes before washing out. They will also make your hair to smell nicely. You can also add essential oils to natural hair masks, like olive oil, coconut and others. 
• Infused water: make a strong tea  from fresh or dried herbs, let it draw in well and then add to the washing/rinsing water
• Oils (and infused oils) and butters: massage them into wet hair and scalp and leave for at least 30 minutes before washing out.  Natural oils can be left in your hair even overnight. Just take in account that it might not be fast and easy to wash them out so that your hair isn't greasy after washing. It's not that bad, of course, it just might take a bit more time for washing hair.
• Take in account that using any specific treatment just once might not give the desired result. Use the same treatment repeatedly! Either you put a hair mask 1-2 times a week for 3 weeks or use infused water or shampoo/conditioner with essential oils every time!

Check also this post:  

No-shampoo Challenge: Recipes, Personal Experiments... and more than baking soda.

Feel free to share your natural hair care recipes in comments! Tell how you've used any of these treatments and what results you've got!