Single best oil for shedding - and other tips urgently needed!

[gallows_gallery]

Hello dears,

I have been browsing the shedding threads for a while now - and although there are what look like some wonderful oil mixes out there - I need a really simple one.

Sadly, I can't afford to buy 4 to 10 oils to make a mixture.

If you had to recommend ONE to THREE oils which are, in your personal experience, the BEST for therapeutically preventing shedding, what would they be? I am happy to buy a base oil and two essentials or whatever. Or just one big bottle of oil - or a premix like the Vatika oils.

Also - do you have any other suggestions to slow down my terrible shedding, and thicken up my regrowth?

• I have a relatively good diet - probably not enough protein or iron, but I had a blood test in January and my levels were normal. Any recommended supplements or foods?
• I'm 20 and seemingly healthy, no genetic hormone or thyroid issues.
• I am busy with uni, but not horrifically stressed.

The shedding is getting shocking. I am losing insane golf-ball sized amounts of hair every time I brush or wash, and handfuls if I so much as run my fingers through it. I am worried because my plaits today were NOTICEABLY thinner :'(

Thank you all x

[Kuchen]

Have you been to the doctor about the shed? A really drastic one could be a sign of something else.

Just to throw a spanner in the works (sorry ) some people (like me) find that oiling their scalps actually makes a shed worse. It may not be a magic bullet.

[Unofficial_Rose]

Can't help with the oils to stop shedding, but I'd definitely try a multivitamin with iron if you're not already taking one.

I know you said your iron levels were normal, but I found that, despite mine only being a little bit low, I experienced LOTS of shedding when I stopped taking iron (which went away when I started again).

[Katze]

oiling can make me shed more, as can scalp massage. I second the idea of going to a doctor if it doesn't go away on its own...

[Drynwhyl]

It sounds like a pretty big shed (although I hope you're just making it sound that bad )
I'd go to a doctor if I were you.
I can only recomend sesame oil, as I heard it was good against shedding, because it promotes circulation in the scalp and lowers the temperature of skin. Never tried it myself, though.
Good luck!

[Melisande]

If everything else is checked, my 3 best essential oils are lavender, thyme, rosemary. I always put most of these in my oil mixture because I feel they are the best. It's a mix of gut feeling and experience. Ceder is very good, too, but if I had to have only three, it'd be lavender, thyme, rosemary.

I would say that for overall health and hair, MSM and oils are my columns of strength (salmon, borrage, evening primrose oil - I have still to decide which combination is best for me). Take them with a good multivitamin and you should be fine.

I believe it's important to have the checks, inform yourself, listen to your intuition and try one thing at a time. Write down what works and what doesn't. I have a hair and supplement diary where I jot down every change in my routine and every reaction. It helps to focus on what YOUR body and mind need. In the beginning it was all one big blur. But now my hair has become so much more plentiful and strong - thanks to oil, supplements and better treatment.

I hope your shedding is under control soon.

[Heidi_234]

EOs really aren't supposed to be that pricey (if you find them locally), and a little bit goes a long way, since you only need few drops for large amount of carrier oil.
When I researched which EOs are used to treat hair loss this is the list I came up with:
Cedarwood, lavender, thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Tea Tree, Basil, Lemon, ylang-ylang.
Tea tree is mostly antifungal and antibactarial and probably used to keep the scalp healthy.
Lemon is said to activate not working hair roots which don't grow hair, but that said, it's also phototoxic, means you won't be able to use the oil and go out into the sun.
ylang-ylang, from my understanding is more for the scent but has some hair growth properties as well.
The rest are encouraging hair growth by making the blood flow more into your scalp. That's basically how EOs help against hairloss.
This is the list of oils (EOs and carrier oils) that I chose for my blend, after researching and googling alot.
Also,
Eclipta Alba ( or Bhringraj) oil have 'special' properties, not like the oils mentioned above, better check out about it here:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ead.php?t=8939
HTH

[Ursula]

A few things.

First, there isn't a "single best" anything, when it comes to hair care. What works for one person can often have the exact opposite effect for another. (For example, Katze's reaction to oils, which is increased shedding, versus others who have decreased shedding with oils - you can't know until you try what works for you.) If you're looking for a "one true way" to stop shedding, you won't find it.

Second, you say you're in good health. Have you had a thorough exam since the shedding started? A severe shed is sometimes a symptom of a more serious medical problem, so unless you've been examined post-shed, and ruled out illness, I'd start there, if only because the risks of leaving a serious medical problem untreated, while you go after one symptom, is so serious.

Third, if you have ruled out a more serious illness, and you do want to try oils and scalp massage, I'd suggest that you start by testing carrier oils, one at a time. Perhaps olive, or coconut, or sweet almond oil? Find one that you like. After that, look at the various EO recipies, and see what oils are common between them. Make a list of the most common/popular oils. Then pick one, based on what is available and affordable to you, and try adding it to the carrier oil you've selected as good for you. Give it several weeks to try. After a few weeks, decide whether that one oil is good for you - you may rule it out faster, if you have a bad reaction, but don't move on to another oil any faster. If you decide it is good, after two or more weeks, add a second oil from your list, based on what is available, and give that a few weeks. If an oil doesn't seem to be good for you, step back to your last successful mixture, and give that a few weeks, so your scalp can stabilize, before trying another oil.

(Yes, this is pretty much my standard advice for experiments - no more than one change every two weeks, track changes carefully, and if something doesn't work, step back a couple weeks before adding a new experiment.)

[gmdiaz]

Well, I've noticed that I am getting a lot of shed too. . .and I am wondering if it isn't OILING that's doing it.

I've only recently been trying the various oils and I am trying to be super gentle about it but my hair is certainly not used to it. And I've been experimenting with up dos. . .so lots of twisting my hair up. I am not noticing a huge amount of shedding, certainly not more than normal. . .but my hair is a LOT thinner.

Is your oiling fairly recent? Within a month or so?

So what I think I am going to do, since I think I am in good health, is to quit using the oils by rubbing them in (maybe try misting) and try to go back to the last thing that I was doing that was working well. Then try to leave my hair alone to see if it improves on its own. . .which I really bet it will.

Benign neglect

[long.again]

The other posters are right, there really is no single best. I can tell you that a lot of people have great success with coconut and jojoba oil as carriers and that rosemary, sage, and burdock root are said to be good for hair growth.

From the articles section:
Hair loss/Growth Stimulating:
Oils: seabuckthorn
Herbs: basil, burdock, nettle, parsley, rosemary, sage, yarrow, kelp (strengthens roots), horsetail, hibiscus, fenugreek, coconut milk, lavender, birch, watercress (encourages thick growth), yucca, thyme, and coltsfoot.
EO’s: basil, cajute, carrot seed, cedarwood, clary sage, cypress, eucalyptus, juniper, lavender, orange, peppermint, rosemary, clary sage, thyme, ylang ylang, lemon, yarrow, lemon balm, parsley.

Also, this thread is a great read: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ead.php?t=2001