Rosemary – A wonder herb for hair and skin

Rosemary also known as Salvia Rosmarinus is a native to the Mediterranean region and Asia . It is a shrub with sharp leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers. This herb has medicinal and culinary properties. Rosemary essential oil is widely used in skin and hair care.

• Culinary use: Used to flavour foods. It has a bitter astringent taste and characteristic aroma. Leaves also used to make herbal tea.
• Fragrance: Used in perfumes, incense sticks, shampoo and cleaning products.
• Medicinal properties: Used to promote hair growth, reduce muscle pain, enhance memory, reduce fatigue, relief from indigestion
• Being anti inflammatory and anti oxidants helps boost immunity and improves blood circulation.
• Aromatic nature helps to improve concentration and mood.
• Exhibits antioxidative and anti microbial properties and hence is used in food preservation and can successfully replace synthetic preservatives.
• Used in aromatherapy to improve the nerve pain in diabetics.

• Skin care:
  1. Antibacterial properties help to prevent frequent acne breakout.
  2. Promotes collagen production  and tightens the skin.
  3. Lightens the dark spots on the skin thus lightening the complexion.
  4. Anti inflammatory properties help to heal burns and also soothe the irritation in eczema, psoriasis and other chronic skin conditions.
  5. Acts as an exfoliator and helps to clear dirt, oil and removes dead skin.
  6. Can be used as an insect repellent along with other essential oils .                                

Hair Care:

1. Regular application promotes hair growth and strengthens hair follicles thus reducing hair breakage.
2. Improves blood flow to the scalp thus enhancing hair health.
3. Anti inflammatory properties soothes the scalp in conditions like dry scalp and psoriasis.
4. Helps to arrest premature greying of hair.
5. Helps to treat dandruff.
6. Regular application gives thicker, shinier, stronger hair. Also gives volume to hair,
7. It is considered as effective as Minidoxil for hair growth.

How to use:

Being concentrated Rosemary essential oil may irritate the skin or scalp when applied directly .So its advisable to mix it with an appropriate carrier oil before application. It can also be mixed with a regular shampoo or conditioner. Can also be added in hair masks.

DIY for hair:

• Mixture of 3 tsp Aloevera juice  and 10 drops of Rosemary oil acts as an exfoliator and removes excess sebum. It also helps in deep conditioning.
• Mixture of 2 tsp of Jojoba oil, 5 drops of Peppermint oil and 5 drops of Rosemary oil helps prevent dry frizzy hair and cleans the scalp
• Mixture of 1 tsp Castor oil and 10 drops of Rosemary oil helps to treat various scalp conditions . It has a thick consistency hence can be diluted with coconut oil to get desired consistency.
• Mixture of 2 tsp Olive oil and 5 drops of Rosemary oil stimulates blood circulation leading to hair growth and giving healthy hair.
• A hair mask of 3 tbsp of coconut oil, 10 drops of Rosemary oil and 1 Vitamin E capsule nourishes the hair making it smooth and shiny.