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How Do I Use Ayurveda for Hair Loss?

Jennifer D'Alessandro
Jennifer D'Alessandro

Using ayurveda for hair loss is the use of diet, herbs and massage as a remedy for baldness. In addition, ayurvedic treatment for hair loss can include meditation, aromatherapy, breathing exercises and yoga. To use this ancient form of Indian medicine to combat hair loss, you must understand the three doshas, or constitutions: Pitta, Vata and Kapha. Each person's dosha is unique, but baldness is believed to be the result of too much Pitta dosha. Therefore, using ayurveda for hair loss requires balancing the Pitta dosha.

Diet is one way to balance the Pitta dosha. Some people suggest drinking one-third of a cup (78 mL) of aloe vera juice each day as a hair loss remedy. Other tips include eating small amounts of white sesame seeds, because they have high levels of calcium and magnesium. Those minerals help strengthen hair follicles. Green, leafy vegetables, raw oats and dried fruits also are recommended as part of this type of ayurvedic diet.

Yoga is part of Ayurvedic treatment for baldness.
Yoga is part of Ayurvedic treatment for baldness.

Hair follicles also benefit from oil massage, which is another part of the ayurveda for hair loss treatment. A number of different oils may be used, including castor, almond, coconut, vitamin E and Brahmi. Nutrich oil combines a number of oils and herbal extracts, including bhringraj, which has been shown in research to grow hair on balding mice. The oils are said to strengthen the hair follicles, and the massage improves blood circulation to the head. Leaving the oils on the hair overnight can further strengthen and repair hair.

White sesame seeds have high levels of calcium and magnesium, which may help strengthen hair follicles.
White sesame seeds have high levels of calcium and magnesium, which may help strengthen hair follicles.

Yoga also encourages blood circulation to the hair follicles and increases oxygen flow to the head. Various positions, particularly headstands, are believed to relieve stress from the head. That stress is considered by ayurvedic practitioners to be a cause of hair loss.

Meditation can help with hair loss as well. Relaxation techniques, such as meditation, can reduce stress, anxiety and tension, all of which are contributing factors to hair loss. Meditation is helpful in bringing the dosha back into balance, which is considered crucial to restoring hair growth.

Using ayurveda for hair loss is a customized treatment. For best results, those interested in ayurvedic therapies should determine their dosha; a number of online quizzes are available as resources. After an individual's dosha has been identified, the best foods, oils, minerals and exercises for that temperament can be recommended, and a custom plan that includes diet, massage and other ayurvedic principles can be created to address hair loss.

Discussion Comments

anon266256

Go for classical ayurvedic treatment like Thakra Dhara, along with some internal medicines to reduce the body heat.

turquoise

I'm using ayurvedic herbal shampoo and coconut oil for my hair loss. I do a massage on my scalp with my head down using a coconut oil mixture. I keep it on overnight and sometimes 1-2 hours before shower.

I'm seeing an improvement, I am not losing as much hair and my hair looks shinier. I will go back for another ayurvedic treatment, this time to grow new hair.

discographer

@fify-- Of course there are some genetic, environmental causes as well as disease that leads to hair loss. But ayurvedic treatment has methods to treat all of these various problems and that is why treatment does not depend on one thing.

If the hair loss is mainly due to aggravated pitta, which ayurvedic doctors can determine, they can give treatments and diets to help re-balance that. I am a pitta and I know for example that having too much coffee, smoking and having spicy foods makes it worse for me.

If the hair loss is more due to anxiety and stress, you can do things like yoga and medication and also try to change your lifestyle to help treat it.

If it is due to an illness, there are are many different ayurvedic treatments that could be applied, that can both work on the root of the illness or to relieve symptoms.

So whatever the cause, ayurveda has something to offer for people who are losing hair.

fify

Some hair loss and baldness is genetic, you can see it in both a father and the son for example. What is ayurveda's opinion of genetic baldness?

Is it because some family members have the same dominant doshas? I mean, do both the father and son have too much pitta dosha by coincidence and is that why they both experience hair loss?

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    • Yoga is part of Ayurvedic treatment for baldness.
      By: Deklofenak
      Yoga is part of Ayurvedic treatment for baldness.
    • White sesame seeds have high levels of calcium and magnesium, which may help strengthen hair follicles.
      By: Rasulov
      White sesame seeds have high levels of calcium and magnesium, which may help strengthen hair follicles.