3 Floral Essential Oils Your Hair Will Surely Love

Essential oils are well-known for their heavenly fragrances and health benefits. Floral essential oils take the cake for being the most lovely-smelling botanical oils, but did you know that these sweet-smelling flower oils can be great for your hair too?

We’ve previously covered five of the best essential oils for hair health (and it includes two flower oils: lavender and rosemary!). Now, we’ll discover other flower-based essential oils that do wonders for your hair and smell irresistibly amazing as well!

Safety Note: Always be alert for possible allergic reactions and do a skin patch test before trying out a new essential oil. Dilute potent essential oils in carrier oils, and avoid essential oil use if you are pregnant, lactating, or suffering from certain diseases. Be in touch with your registered aromatherapist to clear out any safety issues you might have in mind.

1. Chamomile Oil

Chamomile has a long-standing reputation for creating a calming sensation when taken in as tea. But chamomile also has a plethora of uses as a floral essential oil, and one of which is for healthy hair care.

Chamomile essential oil is sourced from the flowers of the plant. There are actually two types of chamomile plants where the oils can be derived, namely:

• Roman Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)

This variety is classified as an evergreen perennial plant with hairy stems and flowers larger than an inch in diameter. It smells of a light and refreshing apple fragrance.

Roman Chamomile is known to be highly-calming with its high concentration of esters. It also has amazing anti-fungal properties. Roman Chamomile essential oils come in a yellowish pale-blue color.

• German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) 

This variety is a non-perennial plant characterized by long, branching, and hairless stems with smaller and fewer flowers than Roman Chamomile. It has a lingering sweet-straw fragrance.

German Chamomile has greater concentrations of chamazulene, an anti-inflammatory substance used to calm skin irritation. This substance also lends German Chamomile essential oil its deep blue color.

Now, both varieties of chamomile oils jointly exhibit antibacterial, antibiotic, pain-relieving, and sedative properties. Chamomile oils are used for hair care to:

• Relieve dandruff and head lice
• Hydrates and soothes irritated scalp
• Moisturizes dry and brittle hair
• Coats the scalps and strengthens the hair follicles
• Naturally lightens hair
• Improves hair luster and shine

Simply dilute 2-4 drops of chamomile essential oil in your chosen carrier oils, then massage onto the scalp and hair. Let your hair absorb the oils for 30 minutes, then rinse off with a gentle shampoo.

Chamomile essential oil is also great for busting out stress, another possible cause of hair fall. You can diffuse the oils or inhale them directly from the bottle to calm you down and help relieve anxiety and stress.

Quick Tip: Chamomile belongs to a select few essential oils that can be directly applied to the scalp and skin. It’s among the gentlest essential oils, so go ahead and dab a few drops directly on your hair for a relaxing scalp massage! But still, be wary of overuse just to stay on the safe side.

2. Ylang-Ylang

 Ylang-ylang essential oil is extracted from the flowers of the Cananga odorata tree through steam distillation. The Cananga tree is commonly found in India, Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia), and Australia.

Oils extracted from the yellow-green ylang-ylang flowers have this distinctly rich, deep, yet sweet smell. It has a mixture of floral and fruity scents with jasmine and banana notes underneath.

Ylang-ylang essential oil has lots of therapeutic uses. It’s got antiseptic, sedative, and antidepressant properties. It is also used as a natural hair growth treatment. In fact, the oil was extensively used in Victorian-age England as a hair fall remedy. Ylang ylang was an additive of the Macassar oil, a hair conditioner used by Victorian-era people.

Here are the benefits of ylang-ylang essential oil for hair:

• Reduces excessive hair fall and hair loss
• Gives off a calming effect that helps reduce hair fall
• Moisturizes the scalp
• Improves the production of natural scalp oils
• Strengthens hair strands
• Helps repel head lice
• Reduces split ends on dry hair

Ylang-ylang oils are best used for those who have dry, damaged, and brittle hair that’s more prone to hair fall. This is because the oils are rich in moisturizing substances.

Mix five drops of ylang-ylang oil to three tablespoons of carrier oil such as olive oil. Heat the mixture slightly on a pan to create a hot oil concoction. Let oil cool for a bit until comfortably warm, then apply to hair and scalp and let it sit for 30 minutes. Wrap hair in a shower cap or towel for better absorption. Rinse off with a gentle shampoo.

Quick Tip: Treat your hair to ylang-ylang essential oils once a week for best results. You can also add a few oil drops to your shampoo bottle if you want to use it daily.

3. Jasmine

Jasmine (Jasminum officinale, Jasminum sambac) is a flowering shrub or vine common to countries in the Indian subcontinent and tropical Southeast Asia. It bears white flowers that exude a strong, sweet, and romantic fragrance.

Jasmine essential oil is created through the process known as absolute extraction. The delicate flower petals are soaked in animal fats. Hexane or grain alcohol is then added to extract the essential oils.

There are plenty of therapeutic uses for jasmine essential oil. It exhibits antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties. The Jasminum sambac variety has more potent antibacterial and antimicrobial activities against several organisms. The oil is also useful for treating minor skin infections, wounds, and spasms. It is also used as a sedative and is even utilized as a galactagogue for lactating moms in some Asian countries.

For hair, jasmine essential oil offers a plethora of benefits as well:

• Moisturizes hair and penetrates deeply into the scalp due to its light texture
• Keeps the scalp clean and free from bacteria and fungal overgrowth
• Eases scalp itchiness and dandruff
• Seals in moisture inside the hair cuticles to stop frizz
• Detangles and softens hair
• Strengthens hair and halts excessive breakage
• Relieves stress, eases anxiety, and calms the mind

Jasmine oil is light and is suitable for almost all hair types. It’s a great hair tamer for Afro, curly, coarse, thin, dry, and frizzy hair types. It is non-greasy and won’t ever weigh your tresses down when used in the right amounts.

Combine 1 part of jasmine oil to 3 parts of your favorite carrier oil. Pour a small amount of the oil concoction into your palm, then work the oils onto your scalp and hair. Cover hair in a shower cap and leave on for 1-3 hours or overnight if you so desire. Wash the oils off afterward with a mild shampoo. Do this treatment twice a week for best results.

Quick Tip: Mix jasmine oil with coconut oil for a boost in hair growth! The jasmine-coconut oil combo also does wonders for adding volume to your thinning hair.

Wrapping It All Up

Floral essential oils can be used to improve your hair’s health and leave it smelling amazingly heavenly. Chamomile, ylang-ylang, and jasmine essential oils coat your hair in moisture, protect it from bacteria and fungi, strengthen your hair’s roots, and bring out luxuriously beautiful, bouncy, and healthy tresses!

Why not get your hands on one of these three floral essential oils as soon as possible? Your locks will surely love them and your tresses will indeed thank you for them!

Have you ever tried using floral essential oils for your hair? Do tell us about your experiences in the comments section below!