Does Shea Butter Promote Hair Growth?
Many people wonder if shea butter promotes hair growth and most importantly natural hair growth! Of course it does! Shea butter is rich in hair boosting nutrients including saturated fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin K. All these nutrients are immensely good for promoting and maintaining luscious hair and preventing hair loss. The fatty acids help feed the hair follicles and strengthen the strands and shaft, thereby reinforcing them and preventing them from breakage and hair fall. Vitamin E in shea butter is a powerful anti oxidant and also wards off scalp inflammation, eczema and psoriasis that can lead to hair loss.
When mixed with other hair growth ingredients such as egg, coconut oil and castor oil, shea butter can really help promote beautiful luscious longer and thicker hair!
Beautymunsta’s Ingredient Profile
➝ Coconut Oil – If you ever get stuck with which oils to use for hair growth, know that coconut oil should always be your number one! In Ayurveda, coconut oil is highly recommended as the best oil for hair growth because of its rich nutrient content and short chain medium fatty acids that easily penetrate the hair follicles and nourish. Coconut oil contains capric, caprylic, lauric and many other fatty acids that penetrate deep into the scalp and stimulate hair growth. Read 20 beauty benefits of coconut oil here.
➝ Castor Oil – Castor oil is an ancient remedy for hair loss and thinning edges. It is rich in vitamin E, omega 6 & 9 fatty acids, protein, minerals and other nutrients that all promote healthy scalp and hair. Castor oil helps treat and get rid of dandruff, seal split ends, restore damaged hair, strengthen hair strands against breakage, moisturize and add a shine to hair as well as fight scalp infection, inflammation, dryness and acne which can lead to hair loss. The star ingredient in castor oil is ricinoleic acid which has a myriad of hair growth benefits including promoting blood circulation in the scalp, balancing the scalp’s pH and so much more!
➝ Rosemary Essential Oil – Rosemary essential oil is a powerful hair growth booster. It stimulates the hair follicles and increases blood circulation in the scalp, enabling each and every hair follicle to receive nutrient-rich blood. Rosemary also helps awaken ‘sleeping’ or dormant hair follicles that weaken with time and lead to hair loss. Read my hair loss story and experience with rosemary essential oil here.
➝ Lemongrass Essential Oil – Lemongrass essential oil has a refreshing lemony scent and blends well with shea butter. It helps mask the smell of shea butter that some people find unpleasant. It’s a powerful antiseptic, anti-fungal, antimicrobial and antibacterial agent so it’s incredibly good for healthy scalp health. It’s also a natural astringent which means it can help reduce excess scalp & hair oiliness.
➝ Rose Water – I love using rose water in my diy recipes with shea butter! It makes the shea butter mix less greasy as well as creamier and softer. But it doesn’t stop there – rose water also has hair growth properties! It is rich in nutrients such as vitamin C that are vital for strong hair follicles. Rose water also cools and refreshes the scalp, seals in moisture and leaves hair smelling gorgeous!
How to Make a Shea Butter Coconut Oil Castor Oil Mix for Hair & Skin
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of raw shea butter (get it here)
- 2 tbsp of organic coconut oil (get it here)
- 2 to 6 tsp of castor oil (get it here)
- 7 drops of rosemary essential oil *optional* (get it here)
- 5 drops of lemon grass essential oil *optional* (get it here)
- 1 tbsp of rose water *totally optional :p I just love using this amazing hydrosol in my DIY recipes!* (get it here)
Directions
- If your raw shea butter is hard, first soften it by placing the shea butter jar in a bowl of hot water.
- Once softened, whip it using a hand mixer for about 30 seconds to make it creamier. The reason why I whip it alone first, is because I find that it helps blend the ingredients very well in the next step and creates a well mixed fluffy and creamy shea butter mix!
- Next, add the coconut oil (you don’t need to melt it) and whip for about 10 seconds.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula.
- Then add the castor oil and the rest of the ingredients including the essential oils and whip again for a minute or two till all the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Woohoo! Your shea butter hair growth mix is ready! Spoon the shea butter coconut oil castor oil mix into a sterilized mason jar or container.
- Store in a clean and dry place and keep it away from water and other contaminants.
My Tips
- Add any other essential oil of your choice! I recommend frankincense, lavender, geranium and palmarosa. Here’s my shea butter and essential oils guide for more essential oils that blend well with shea butter.
- Don’t have a hand mixer? No worries! Blend everything together using a small blender or Ninja food processor.
Where to Get a Natural Shampoo
If you are going chemical-free on your hair, but want to save the time of making a homemade shampoo, this Maple Holistics Sage Shampoo is a game-changer. It contains powerful herbs such as sage: for dandruff & itchy scalp treatment, rosemary: for hair growth and prevention of hair loss and spikenard for dandruff treatment. It also has argan, jojoba and tea tree oils that all protect the scalp from germs, keep hair clean as well as hydrated and moisturized. This shampoo does not contain sulfates, so it will not lather the way you are used to, but you will quickly get used to it and notice the difference!
Other Hair Care Resources:
DIY Egg Shampoo for Hair Growth
Homemade Herbal Hair Oil Infusions eBook
Complete Guide to Using Essential Oils for Scalp & Hair Care
would you use this as a mask/treatment or as a styler?
Hi Momo, use this as a mask/treatment: massage it all over your scalp
then wash it off after about 1-2 hours.
Applying it as an overnight treatment and washing it off the next
morning is also another great way to use it. You do not need to use a
lot of it. Just a little to cover your whole scalp will do – don’t
apply it on your hair strands as it will be hard to wash off. You can
also use it as a styler if you want but it’s mainly a scalp treatment
for hair growth. Hope I helped 🙂
Made recipe and use it as a styler. Works great! My curls have super
hold and hardly any frizz. I use a detangler first, then conditioner and
use this mixture as the final step while styling on the ends of my
hair. Used lavender oil to give it a nice fragrance. Great recipe.
Thank you so much, Mireille! I’m so happy it works great for you! My hair isn’t thick and curly – it’s rather wavy and a bit fine so I just use a DIY hair oil as a styler and prefer this hair growth mix as a treatment. 🙂
This sounds lovely for my hair – can I use it as a body lotion too? Thanks – Happy Holidays!!! Oops! Just noticed up top – it’s for hair and skin – Yay!
Yup you can! But in little amounts since castor oil makes things greasy. Happy holidays 😀
How often do you do this treatment?
Hey Rachel, once a week or once in two weeks 🙂
thanks for this wonderful piece. pls. is it a permanent cream or to be washed out after sometime?
You can use it as a leave-in, hair styler or hair growth treatment/mask. If you use it as a leave-in, then you’re not going to wash it out after some time. If you use it as a hair growth treatment/mask then you should wash it out. Basically, if you’re using it as a leave-in or styler, you’ll be using a little amount compared to a hair mask so you wouldn’t wash it out because it won’t leave your hair greasy.
Hi, if i have a greasy scalp, how can i apply this recipe? And how often should I use it?
Hi Vanessa, if you have a greasy scalp, you might not want to use this recipe as it’s very greasy. Or, use a little amount and wash it off really really well. There are other hair growth recipes for oily hair like this hair growth spray: ½ cup distilled water, 1 tbsp witch hazel, 7 drops rosemary oil, 10 drops lavender oil, 3 drops thyme oil, 3 drops cedarwood oil. Combine in a spray bottle and use often. Hope this helps you! Take care <3
Can this be used as a beard grow?
Does this work as a normal conditioner?
Yeah it can be used as a conditioner for frizzy dry hair
Do you clean your hair first before using this cream.
For a few weeks now I’ve been applying a coconut oil (Spectrum organic)-shea butter mix to my bald spot (I’m 62 and otherwise in spectacular shape) and am wondering if I should wash/rinse it off after about an hour as recommended on the Spectrum label. Also: There’s some scabbing on that very spot (keratoses? eczema?) and I wonder whether the “tonic” I’m applying there is either aggravating or mitigating the condition. Thanks for any insights–
Hi David
For any skin disease coconut oil is best ..use it continuously for a month and you can see the difference in your skin.
Either apply it and leave it for an hour or two then wash or leave it as it is.