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3 Terrific Benefits of Thyme Essential Oil for Hair Growth

By Jacqueline Samaroo

Thyme has long been one of our favorite herbs for cooking delicious meals, but did you know that thyme has medicinal qualities? Yes, indeed.

Thyme essential oil contains vitamins A, D, C, and B6, as well as several trace minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, cobalamin, sodium, and potassium. All of these components make this magical herb a very beneficial ingredient for curly haircare.

Read on for some of the benefits of thyme essential oil for hair and tips on how to use it to get the best results.

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What can thyme essential oil do for your hair?

Thyme flowers (often purple or white) and thyme leaves have been used since the Middle Ages to cure hair ailments and conditions. Extracts of thyme, including its essential oil have been used for centuries in DIY haircare and skincare beauty regimens.

Here are three of the benefits you can expect to reap from using thyme essential oil.

1. Thyme essential oil treats alopecia.

Alopecia areata or premature baldness is a nightmare no one wants! After all, we all love our hair. But those suffering from alopecia areata can get many benefits from thyme essential oil besides regular dermatological treatment.

A 2018 aromatherapy study had astonishing findings. In its results, 19 out of 41 people had positive outcomes against alopecia just by massaging thyme essential oil on their scalp.

Well, take a cue from here. If you are suffering from excessive hair loss or patch hair loss, try to massage your scalp regularly with thyme oil to get better hair growth and less hair fall.

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2. Thyme essential oil cures dry scalp, scalp eczema, and dandruff.

Thyme essential oil is rich in thymol, aka thyme camphor. This natural compound has anti-inflammatory and cicatrizing (wound healing) qualities. Additionally, it is also a natural antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-parasitic agent.

One of the best benefits of thyme essential oil for hair is its ability to treat dry scalp. Trichologists always say that a dry scalp is the root of many problems. Often the dry scalp is caused by a bacterial or fungal infection.

The flaky and patchy skin then causes skin conditions like scalp eczema, scalp irritation, and dandruff.

Whether you are suffering from scalp eczema or excessive dry scalp, thyme oil is your best bet. It prevents bacteria and fungi from inhabiting your scalp and prevents drying out of the natural scalp oil. On top of that, it also has anti-inflammatory properties, which ease irritation.

Have you heard of folliculitis? It is a medical condition where hair follicles get damaged due to dry or inflamed scalp. The result: hair loss and breakage! Thyme oil is also an excellent natural remedy to give some nutritional boost to your hair follicles for better hair.

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3. Thyme essential oil improves hair growth.

We all want thicker and healthier hair so, here’s a pro tip: go for thyme essential oil. It is rich in vitamins and minerals, as we pointed out in the intro,  and it has good antibacterial and antifungal properties, too.

On top of that, thyme essential oil also improves blood circulation. Massaging with it daily gives your scalp a soothing effect.

How to use thyme essential oil for hair

You’ll need to use thyme oil in the right way to get all the benefits of thyme essential oil. If you are a first-timer, here are a few tips.

Since it is an essential oil, use only a few drops of it with a suitable carrier oil like olive oil, almond oil, etc. The ideal ratio is to mix one cup of carrier oil with three to five drops of thyme oil. Store this mixture in an airtight container. Regularly massage this oil into your scalp for ten to twenty minutes. After that, you can either keep it overnight or wash it after an hour. The choice is yours.

You can also add one or two drops of thyme essential oil to your hair mask and use it to nourish your mane.

If you cannot find thyme essential oil, go for sun-dried thyme leaf powder. That will also offer great results.

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Seven interesting facts about thyme

Thyme is such a fascinating and multi-purpose plant. However, because we use it so routinely in cooking, it is easy to forget just how amazing it truly is. Here are seven facts about the history and uses of this unassuming herb.

1. Thyme is native to Eurasia, particularly to the Mediterranean region.
2. It belongs to a large family of flowering plants that also includes rosemary, sage, lavender, basil, and several other aromatic herbs.
3. Thyme was routinely added to baths in Ancient Greece – although this may have been due to the belief that it promoted courage rather than a belief in its amazing skincare properties.
4. The Ancient Romans also made use of its manyfold aromatherapy benefits. They used thyme essential oil as an air purifier and for its pleasant, fresh, and unmistakable earthy fragrance.
5. The thyme used in cooking is only one of several varieties of the plant. Some thymes are grown as ornamental ground cover and are not used in cooking.
6. Wild thyme honey produced by honeybees in Greece, Malta, and Sicily is world-famous.
7. Thyme essential oil was used to medicate bandages before the invention of modern antibiotics.

Thyme essential oil deserves a special place in any hair care regimen. Have you tried it? What do you love about it? Tell us!