That beautiful, sound sleep you get after a head massage session is incomparable, right? That’s the extent of relaxation scalp massages can offer to your mind. However, its benefits are not just limited to rejuvenation.
From hair growth to beating stress and anxiety, regular scalp massages can help you in many ways (1). Let us take a look at what scalp massages can do for you and the right way to do it.
Highlights:
What Does A Massage Do To Your Scalp?
1. First Off, It’s Relaxing!
Massages are a good way to relax your body and mind. They also help relieve anxiety and stress that are known to trigger hair loss.
2. Can Give You Thicker, Voluminous Hair
A study conducted on 9 men for 24 weeks showed that gently massaging your scalp everyday for a few minutes can give a person thicker hair (2).
3. May Aid-in Hair Growth
Several studies also suggest that massaging your scalp regularly or on a daily basis can reduce hair fall and help regrow your hair. Massages are said to strengthen follicles and stimulate hair growth.
4. May Help Reduce Hair Loss Caused By Alopecia
Alopecia is an autoimmune disease that causes the hair to fall off in patches and sometimes, can result in total hair loss of the scalp. Self-reported findings have suggested that 69 per cent of men and women with alopecia have been able to regrow their hair with regular scalp massages.
How To Massage Your Scalp?
1. The Traditional Massage Using Fingers
Since years, this form of massage has been immensely popular to stimulate hair growth.
How to give yourself a fingertip scalp massage:
- Using light to medium pressure, massage your scalp with your fingers in circular motions.
- You don't need any oil for this massage.
- Make sure that you cover your entire scalp.
- Do this for 5 minutes, at least 2 times a day.
You can ask your mom or somebody else at home to pass on a helping hand as well. You could even visit a licensed massage therapist, if you have the time for it.
2. Massage While You Wash Your Hair
Give yourself a scalp massage by gently rubbing-in your shampoo while you wash your hair.
How to massage your scalp while washing your hair:
- Using circular motions, rub your scalp with your shampoo for 5 minutes after application.
- Make sure you do not scrub hard.
- Rinse off once you’re done.
3. Brushes And Scalp Massagers
A number of tools are available that can be used to give yourself an effective and soothing head massage. Electric brushes, scalp massagers and other tools are often recommended by dermatologists. These tools can be worked across your scalp the way you use your fingers.
4. Massage With Essential Oils
Essential oils which are extracted from plants are known to aid in hair growth, regulate sebum production and control dandruff (3). They have been used for ages to address hair and scalp concerns (4). You can massage your scalp with essential oils once or twice a week.
Popular essential oils:
- Tea tree essential oil
- Borage essential oil
- Ylang-ylang essential oil
- Peppermint essential oil
- Rose essential oil
How to use essential oils while massaging your head:
- Firstly, set the ambience of your room with candles and soothing music to set your mood for it.
- Mix your essential oil with a carrier oil of your choice (coconut, jojoba or others).
- Warm the mixture and apply to your scalp using your fingers.
- Gently rub-in the mixture in circular motions.
- Leave on for half an hour to one hour and wash off with shampoo.
Note:
Essential oils can be strong and should always be diluted in a carrier oil. Conduct a patch test before applying to your scalp, if you have sensitive skin.
How Often Should You Massage Your Scalp?
The ideal frequency depends a lot on why you’re doing it. If you want to improve your hair growth or thickness, massaging your scalp (without oil) with your fingers 2 times everyday is recommended. For relaxation and to relieve stress, you can just massage your scalp whenever you feel like.
Can You Massage Your Scalp Everyday?
Massaging your scalp everyday will enhance blood circulation and can even strengthen your follicles. However, make sure you do it gently and don’t rub vigorously. This can cause your hair to break.
In case you have used an oil while massaging your scalp, make sure you rinse it off within an hour. Oiling your scalp everyday is not recommended as it attracts dirt. Also, using shampoo to rinse off the oil is important. However, shampooing everyday can also remove essential oils and moisture from your scalp. Thus, oiling and shampooing twice a week would be ideal.
Wrapping Up
Massaging your scalp regularly can aid-in hair regrowth, relieve stress and even treat alopecia. Pamper your hair and mind occasionally by massaging with essential oils as it is a more effective way of enhancing hair growth and alleviating other scalp conditions.
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