We know that oils are very important for natural hair growth, but how exactly do you use them to achieve the best results? How do you make them effective on 4c hair, or type 4 hair in general? Yes, you can simply massage them onto your scalp, but there’s more to it than that. How do you truly get all of what oils have to offer? The answer is oil blends!

Besides boosting hair growth, oil blends are great for solving problems such as an itchy scalp or fungus. Natural hair oil blends are essential for a healthy head of hair because they combine all of the vitamins and nutrients from multiple oils. Why have one or two, when you can have more?

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to give any sort of medical advice. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional treatment. I’m sharing this information based on my personal experiences in using oils and the research I have done. 

In this article, I will share different oil blends to solve common hair problems.  Most of the blend recipes are for a standard 4 oz applicator bottle but feel free to adjust it to fit the amount you need.

Itchy Scalp

Itchy scalps are a common problem in the natural hair community. This drives people insane and can have them scratching and patting their head like a crazy person.

A lot of times, this is caused by inflammation, and oils are a great way to calm it down and get you some relief. Oils can help get rid of this because a lot of essential oils are anti-inflammatories. They soothe the skin while simultaneously providing benefits or your hair. Just a side note, all of these blends are going to have a strong scent. The first step you should do before trying any of these is to grab a fan or open a window. Here are some great oil mixtures for natural hair that will help you get rid of the annoying itch:

1- Mint & Tea Tree Blend

Mint and Tea Tree are some of the best and most common anti-inflammatory oils in the natural hair community. Passionfruit and Calendula oil have anti-inflammatory properties as well. It’s most likely that you already have this in your stash, so break them out and use them if you have a bothersome itch. Blast some Drake and soothe your scalp.

For this recipe you will need:

• 10 drops of Mint Oil
• 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil
• 2 oz of Calendula Oil
• 2 oz of Passionfruit Oil

How to prepare the blends

Step 1- Add the carrier oils ( the non-essential oils) into an applicator bottle and shake it. This is to make sure that the oils are properly mixed.

Just in case you don’t know what a carrier oil is, it’s basically any non-essential oil. If it isn’t labeled as an essential oil, then it is classified as a carrier oil.

Step 2- Add the drops of the essential oils into the mixture.

Step 3- Shake the bottle again before using to make sure everything is properly mixed.

2- Headache blend

Sometimes having an itchy scalp can literally make your head hurt. This natural hair oil blend uses Eucalyptus, Rosemary, and Clary Sage. All of these are extremely potent and will knock that itch ( and the resulting headache) right out!

• 5 drops of Eucalyptus Oil
• 5 drops of Rosemary Oil
• 1 drop of Clary Sage Oil
• 2 oz of Safflower Oil
• 1 oz of Argan Oil

Same steps as previous.

Fungus

Did you know that you can get fungal infections on your scalp? If you didn’t, that’s a good sign because it probably means that you never had one. Fungi such as Ringworm or Candida Albicans ( yeast infection) can occur anywhere on your skin, including your scalp. A scalp yeast infection has multiple symptoms, so I encourage you to click on the article to see if this could possibly be affecting you. Scalp Ringworm is characterized by scaly bald patches, and it spreads out in a circular form. Please see a doctor if you believe that you have this.

The good news is that these are easily treated and won’t cause noticeable hair loss if action is taken quickly. Here are some natural hair oils blends that will minimize the fungus:

1- Holiday Blend

I call this the Holiday blend because it uses Cassia and Clove oils. Cassia is a type of cinnamon, and at my house, Clove isn’t used very much outside of the Christmas season. Plus, you might want something with a cheerful name to make you feel better if you find that you have a scalp fungal infection. Even if you don’t like the name, Clove and Cassia oils are still potent antifungals.

Coconut oil is a carrier oil and an anti-fungal, so it’s perfect for this mixture. Olive oil is an anti-bacterial, so it adds an extra boost!

• 5 drops of Cassia oil
• 5 drops of Clove oil
• 3 oz of Olive Oil
• 4 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil

Same steps as previous. An optional step for coconut oil, heat it using steam in order to make it easier to spread or buy the liquid version.

2- Spicy Blend

For this blend, you need Black Pepper, Oregano, and Cayenne oil. All of these have been shown to be really effective against Candida Albicans. Peach Kernal oil is used in cosmetics as a moisturizer to help soothe skin. I added this to the recipe because sometimes inflammation can be made worse by having dry skin. It leaves a slightly oily feel, but that’s where the sunflower oil comes in. Sunflower oil is easily absorbed into the skin and doesn’t leave it feeling super oily.

• 5 drops of Oregano Oil
• 3 drops of Black Pepper Oil
• 3 drops of Cayenne Oil
• 2 oz Sunflower Oil
• 3 oz Peach Kernal Oil

Same steps as previous. This blend is five ounces instead of four because Black pepper and Cayenne contain capsaicin. Capsaicin is the chemical that makes peppers spicy, and it could cause pain if it’s not diluted. I know that these aren’t the spiciest peppers in the world, but I don’t want anybody to have a burning scalp. Better safe than sorry.

3- Tea Tree and Cedarwood Blend

Is anyone surprised to see Tea Tree again? It and Cedarwood are powerful and common antifungals.  Once again, add some Olive oil to give them a boost, and you have a powerful fungus killer.

• 10 drops Tea Tree Oil
• 10 drops Cedarwood Oil
• 4 oz Olive Oil

Same steps as previous.

Natural Hair Growth

Now to answer the question that everyone wants to know: what are the best oil blends for natural hair growth? Glad you asked. Here is a simple breakdown of oils: essential oils are mostly stimulants while carrier oils are mostly moisturizers. If you want to enhance hair growth then you’re going to need both types of oils. Therefore, any of these blends can help you with growth.

Before I give you some more blends, let’s talk about growth for a minute. Growth can mean two different things: length or thickness. Have you ever seen a person with really long hair, but it still didn’t look like a full head of hair? They had length, but you could easily see the scalp without them having to manipulate the hair too much. I see people like this sometimes. One day when I was in a cafeteria at college, there was an older woman visiting somebody. She had her hair in a braid and it was going down her back to the point where it almost touched her tailbone. However, she only had hair on the sides and the back of her head. The top and the front was completely bald! On the other hand, I’m sure that we’ve also seen people who have a lot of strands, but little length. Someone who just big chopped and has a TWA might have a lot of hair in terms of density, but not in length. Both people would want help with natural hair growth but for different reasons. Keep that in mind while you read the following recipes.

1- Castor Blend

If you had hair loss or if some of your follicles have become inactive over time, this blend might be able to help. Castor oil is the base of this blend, and it’s commonly used by people who are trying to get their hair to be thick again. If you watch natural hair videos, you’ve probably seen a video about someone who lost her edges and basically gave herself minor traction alopecia. I’ve noticed that a lot of the girls said that they applied castor oil ( or a blend containing castor oil) to their hair at least once a day in order to grow their hair back. It worked for them, and it worked for me. I used to get relaxers, and it caused my hair to thin over time. Once I went natural, I used castor oil blends in order to gain back my thickness and it worked.

• 1.5 oz Castor Oil
• 15 drops of Lavender Oil
• 1 oz Jojoba Oil
• .5 oz Olive Oil
• 1 oz Argan Oil

Same steps as previous.

2- Moisture Blend

This blend os for those who need extra moisture. Oils are generally sealants and not moisturizers. However, some are able to penetrate hair strands while simultaneously sealing in the moisture from your other products. This blend, in particular, is best used as the “O” in the LOC or LCO method. Not only will you get the moisture from the products, but you’ll get a kick from the oils, and have extra hydrated hair!

• 1.5 oz of Flaxseed Oil
• 1 oz of Apricot seed Oil
• .5 oz of Vitamin E Oil
• 1 oz of Camellia Seed Oil

This natural hair oil blend uses flaxseed oil, but you can also try this using flaxseed gel if you want. This article covered the benefits of flaxseed gel on natural hair.  If you want to use this in a gel, mix the oils together following the same steps as all of the previous blends. After everything is mixed, add drops of the blend to the gel as you would for your DIY flaxseed gel recipe.

Here are some amazing natural hair oil blends that you should try! All of these oils have great benefits, and the recipes are customizable. Feel free to change them to fit your needs, but don’t be scared to give new oils a chance. Who knows, you might find one that works. State in the comments what your favorite oil is, and if you want to try any of these.

About the Guest Post Author

Guest post author Rachel Nelson started her natural healthy hair journey in 2017. She created Coil Guide to document the lessons she learns along the way, and to show others the simple ways to take care of their natural hair! She has multiple articles on natural hair maintenance in order to take the guesswork out of hair care.

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