Home Made Remedy for Falling Hair: Coconut Oil and Castor Oil

I recently made a post mentioning one of my hair troubles: falling hair. The main culprit was rebonding for so many years. Initially, my hair was so thick that I didn't really mind all the hair loss until I noticed that my hair was beginning to thin out. I really freaked out! I didn't want to go bald. I decided to stop having my hair chemically treated, and began to look for a way to grow back my hair.

I did a lot of research, and found out that there are a lot of natural cures to fight hair loss. I guess this wouldn't be as effective for those who really are genetically predetermined to lose hair, ie alopecia areata. However, since my hair loss is due to chemical exposure, I figured that some TLC would help.

I came across tons of blogs about homemade cures and remedies for falling hair, but I decided to try out two ingredients which were readily available to me.

The first ingredient is virgin coconut oil. I bought one made by Prosource from the local drugstore and it was quite cheap. There are so many ways to use virgin coconut oil. It is used topically for hair and skin care, and can also be ingested to improve blood cholesterol levels. It's so convenient to have a bottle around, to rub on very dry skin, remove stubborn makeup, and just pamper your skin before taking a bath.

Virgin coconut oil is very mildly scented, and does not make me break out. It is a definite must have as a beauty staple.

Speaking of Prosource, I also LOVE their Virgin Coconut Oil Soap. I have been using Dove for years, because I have sensitive skin, until I tried out their soap. It is much more gentle than Dove, less scented, but it bubbles up really well and it made my skin sooo soft and supple. I really feel the difference after bathing with this soap. Downside is, it's a bit more expensive and gets used up faster. But it is still so well worth it. You don't even need to put lotion on when you use this soap. That's how good it is.

If these products are not available locally where you are, you can check out their site here.

* Prosource product images taken from http://www.hktdc.com/manufacturers-suppliers/Prosource-Int-l-Inc/en/1X07QK93/)

The other ingredient I used was Castor Oil. I just bought a small bottle from the drug store. It is very cheap, and a small amount goes a long way. Castor oil is known to promote hair growth, and is also popularly used on eyelashes and eyebrows. I dab a little along my lash line and over my eyebrows before I sleep. This stuff is sooo sticky but is odorless, and has not irritated my skin. Like coconut oil, it is also being used in oil cleansing methods. I prefer to just keep it on my hair.

I started using castor oil when I had a "grooming accident" on one eyebrow, and I was desperate to grow it back quickly. I decided to try it on my lashes too. My eyebrow filled in quickly, and I notice that my lashes are fuller now, with new growth on parts that were bare before. I just use my pinky finger for this, but you can use a cotton bud. Some even use washed empty mascara tubes, but I'm just too lazy to wash all that gunk off my used ones.

I mix 3 parts virgin coconut oil and 1 part castor oil in a small atomizer, give it a good shake, and spritz it onto my hair. I use a thin comb to part my hair in small sections, to make sure that stuff gets into the scalp. You don't really need a lot, just enough to cover your scalp. Then I give myself a good scalp massage, wrap my hair up in a bandana, and leave it on overnight. When I wash it off in the morning, my hair feels healthier and invigorated. Downside is, it takes two washes to get all that oil off.

For good measure, I also used hair fall repair shampoos and conditioners by Dove and L'oreal, just to minimize possible hair fall caused by hair care products. To tame my unruly hair, I used Lauat Leave-On Hair Conditioner from Watson's.It contains lauat, gugo and virgin coconut oil, all herbal ingredients which are traditionally known to promote hair growth. They also have a shampoo in this range of products, but since I already had two brands of hair fall repair shampoos, I decided not to try it anymore.

I'd give this product a 4 out of 5 since it did help control my frizzy hair, and didn't weigh it down so much.

I did this VCO + castor oil routine about 2-3 times a week. Within 2 weeks, I noticed that my hair loss was reduced significantly (I would say more than half AT LEAST). I also noticed A LOT of baby hair growing within a month. That's why I decided that it was finally okay for me to go back to the salon and have my hair straightened again, this time with a less harsher method.

I've stopped doing this routine since then but I'm really happy with the results. If you decide to try this, I hope it works out as well for you :-) I think the best thing I did was to stop the chemical rebonding altogether. All this work will be futile if you keep subjecting your hair to what caused it to fall in the first place.

Have you tried other methods to control hair fall? I'd love to hear them :-)

Thanks for reading this!