Scalp Massage and Hair Growth Study

[ChloeDharma]

A lot of people say massage helps their hair grow and in India it was traditionally considered a vital part of hair care. I found this article talking about a study that seems to prove it works. From what I can gather it specifically refers to hair puling which is done in Indian head massage but also happens mildly when using a BBB.

I know the times my hair has grown the best are when I massage and do bent over brushing with a BBB daily.

http://www.hairloss-research.org/UpdateMassageStimulateHairGrowth9-13.html

[Dreams_in_Pink]

I'm glad it gives detailed instructions on how to perform the "pull massage". Will definitely try this!

[LongCurlyTress]

Thank you so much for posting this article ChloeDharma! Just love it! It makes sense!! :happydance:

[ChloeDharma]

Dreams In Pink, once you get used to doing it and like the way your scalp feels after and during the massage you can get into the habit of doing it while watching tv or a film quite easily. If my hair is loose I find myself doing it without really thinking, kind of replaces fidgetting. It can become quite compulsive. My advice for a massage would be to start with running your fingers over your scalp, like finger combing, then start at the hairline and massage with circular motions moving from front to back then sides covering the whole scalp, then gently tug on sections all over. The way I do this is to slide my fingers into my hair with them resting on the scalp, then tighten my fingers to grip the hair then pull upwards then move to the next section, you can repeat these movements as many times as you like but I like to do each at least three times. There are other movements you can do that are more vigorous but they can cause tangling and breakage if you are not careful so I only do those if I have oiled. At the end I repeat the finger combing/stroking then comb and brush to make sure my hair is tangle free.
I hope I explained that clearly enough and I hope you enjoy scalp massage :)

[ChloeDharma]

Thank you so much for posting this article ChloeDharma! Just love it! It makes sense!! :happydance:

You are very welcome :)

[Johannah]

*Saves article*

Thanks for sharing!

[embee]

Well, it's easy, it's cheap, it's quick. That's about the best, and I hope it might work for the front part of my hair, which seems thinner than when I was young. :)

[McFearless]

I wish my hair type would allow for brushing with a BBB! I do find that the increased blood flow to my scalp from head massages and cardio exercise does help with hair growth and health.

ChloeDharma, do you pull your hair immediately when starting the massage? It feels best for me to leave it for the end after I've warmed up by moving the skin (not hair) with my finger tips in circular motions. My scalp is too "tight" at first.

[lapushka]

Study or not, I'm not about to go "pull" at my hair because it's so-called beneficial.

[swearnsue]

I read the article and I looks like the downgraded genes increased more than the hair growth genes with the pulling which is associated with hair loss. Did I read it wrong?

[ChloeDharma]

I wish my hair type would allow for brushing with a BBB! I do find that the increased blood flow to my scalp from head massages and cardio exercise does help with hair growth and health.

ChloeDharma, do you pull your hair immediately when starting the massage? It feels best for me to leave it for the end after I've warmed up by moving the skin (not hair) with my finger tips in circular motions. My scalp is too "tight" at first.

That's the way I do it, though I don't always remember particularly when I'm tired and mainly focusing on applying the oil to my scalp before sleeping. If you read my last post I describe in a bit more detail how I sometimes include the gentle pulling but essentially I start with the stroking, then use the pads of my fingers to massage over my scalp then after that I gently pull on the hairs, then stroke over again, comb, brush and bun. Does that make sense?
It's a shame you can't use a BBB, I find the lovely tingly scalp I get from it quite an addictive sensation! I also have a nice bamboo paddle brush that glides through the hair but massages the scalp, it's not the same as a BBB but still feels very nice. Would something like that work for you? I will try to find a link to it.
ETA here is the link but it's currently unavailable there but gives an idea of the kind of brush I mean http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BGRG05U?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

Lapushka, I can understand how it sounds bad to say "pull the hair" but it really is gentle at least to begin with. It should not hurt and should not pull hairs out, just gentle tugging. In India it's a very common part of champi and with people who have it done from a young age the hair roots can be very strong. I've even seen videos of people being lifted up by their hair but that is extreeme of course. I thnk it was George Michael (not the singer) who said that the gentle pulling effect of BBBing strengthened the hair root and allowed it to grow well. I might be wrong that it was him though, it was many years ago that I read that.

Swearnsue to be honest I kind of zoned out reading the more technical side as I'm a convert to scalp massage anyway and learnt champi (Indian Head Massage) years ago so just took note of the conclusion and shared the article so that people here could see it.

[hanne jensen]

Thanks for posting this. I massage my scalp every evening, today I'll try some gentle tugging after my regular massage.

[mira-chan]

I read the article and I looks like the downgraded genes increased more than the hair growth genes with the pulling which is associated with hair loss. Did I read it wrong?

From article results:
"After 24 hours of stretching, 373 and 407 genes were upregulated and downregulated, respectively (n=5). After 72 hours of stretching, 2655 and 2823 genes were upregulated and downregulated, respectively (n=5). The upregulated genes included hair growth genes such as VEGF, WNT, BMP, and PDGF, and the downregulated genes included hair-removing genes such as IL-6 and TNF."

What they are saying is:
2655 genes turned on, produced more protein or other active products
2823 genes turned off or reduced their product production/ activity.

These are total genes for the whole cells. Out of these they looked at known hair related genes and found this:

"hair growth genes such as VEGF, WNT, BMP, and PDGF," - increased in function/ production
"hair-removing genes such as IL-6 and TNF" - reduced function

So they are saying that four hair growth associate genes turned on and two genes associated with hair loss turned off due to the stretching if the human follicle cell tissue culture. From that they say that stretching the follicle like in massage and pulling/tugging is better for the hair growth.

[hanne jensen]

Thanks for explaining that, mira-chan. I'm hopeless when it comes to science. The way you explained things, even I can understand now. Again, thanks.

[mira-chan]

You're welcome. :) If there is anything more you want clarified, please tell me.

[JellyBene]

Wow what an interesting article! I like the tug massage idea. The part that says "According to some, up to ½ an hour is necessary, which in my opinion is impractical for anyone with some semblance of a life." made me laugh because on TLCH we're like, nah sounds reasonable to me ;)