For thousands of years, people have taken part in rituals to repair, replenish and nourish the hair. In Ayurveda, hair care and wellness meet in the ancient and sacred practise of hair oiling. Traditionally, herbs and botanicals are infused into golden oils and then massaged into the scalp to promote hair growth. The recipes have been handed down through generations of women and contain hundreds of years of hair health wisdom.

A lot of hair care starts with understanding how the hair works - what it’s made of, its structure, its life cycle and so on. The Ayurvedic side of hair care provides us with a balanced guide on the individual's needs to ensure healthy hair. But if you want to skip the science lesson, feel free to scroll down to find out what we can learn from ancient hair rituals and see our list of oils and herbs to stimulate hair growth.

Hair Anatomy 101

The structure of our hair is made of 2 parts: the follicle and the shaft. The follicle sits at the root of the shaft and is responsible for the growth and health of our hair. It’s a tunnel-like structure with several layers extending through the epidermis and down to the dermis.

The Follicle

We are born with all of the hair follicles we will ever have for life. By 22 weeks, a foetus will have developed 5 million hair follicles (with about one hundred thousand on the scalp) and our bodies never make any more. Each of those follicles has an active growth period (known as anagen) where the cells in the root of the follicle divide rapidly to form new hair. About 90% of the hairs in our scalp are in this anagen stage at one time.

As the shaft of the hair is formed, 2 sheaths surround the follicle to protect the growing hair. The inner sheath ends just below the sebaceous (oil) gland, but the outer sheath continues all the way up and around it. The sebaceous gland produces the sebum oil that conditions our hair to keep it strong and healthy. As we age our body naturally produces less sebum, so one of the key ways to maintain healthy hair is to use a natural oil to mimic sebum and protect the hair as it grows (but more on that later).

The Shaft

The shaft of the hair is made of Keratin. A hard protein with three layers; the medulla (inner), the cortex (middle), and the cuticle (outer). The cortex makes up most of the structure but the outer layer, the cuticle, is the most important to protect the hair. (It’s also the most vulnerable to damage). The tightly formed, scaly structure encases the hair with shingle-like tiles that overlap one another. It does a good job of keeping moisture in and nasties out, but if it gets damaged the lower layers of hair become vulnerable to breakage. The Keratin that makes up our hair is actually dead, so it’s up to us to take care of it through diet and natural treatments, as the hair has no ability to heal itself.

The Life Cycle of Hair

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, we lose between 50-100 hairs a day. This is because our scalp hair is only in its active phase of growth, or anagen, for 2-6 years. (Our eyelashes, eyebrows and other body hairs have a much shorter anagen phase that lasts for about 30-45 days.)

After the anagen phase, the hair enters catagen - a transitional phase that lasts about 2 weeks where the hair ‘clubs’ as the outer root sheath shrinks and attaches to the shaft. (If you’ve ever pulled a hair out and seen a small, white hard material attached to the end of it – you were looking at the sheath). Finally, the hair follicle goes into its resting phase – telogen. About 6-8% of all our hairs are in telogen at one point in time, the phase lasts 100 days for scalp hair and longer for brows and lashes. The hair falls out when the cycle starts again, and new hair growth comes up the follicle to push the ‘dead’ club hair out of our scalp. 

The key point is hair loss is not permanent, as Sinha Hair Ayurvedic experts have always said. 

Ayurvedic Science of Balance 

Ayurveda identifies three basic types of energy or functional principles that are present in everyone and everything. Since there are no single words in English that convey these concepts, we use the original Sanskrit words Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The way your body uses these energies helps us determine what type of diet and lifestyle each individual needs. This is key for hair growth and health, which needs a balanced, healthy body, as hair loss can also be a side-effect of other health issues. 

Hair Growth & The Genetic Lottery

Pretty much everything about our hair is decided for us by our genetics. For example, even the shape of the hair follicle we’re born with determines how our hair will grow. Round follicles grow straight hair, oval-shaped follicles grow wavy hair and ribbon-shaped follicles will give you curly hair. It’s all about your DNA and genetics.

How fast, or long, your hair grows is also determined by genes. If you struggle to grow your hair, this could be because your hair spends less time in its anagen phase. This phase of the hair cycle is the only period of time that the hair will actively grow and get longer – so if your anagen phase is only 2 years long then your hair is likely to ‘max-out’ at a shorter length before the cycle restarts.

However, this doesn’t mean you have to sit back and accept your hair fate. The overall condition of our hair and scalp plays a big role in its growth and appearance. The healthier the hair - the longer and stronger it will grow. When it comes to hair care, we can learn a lot from ayurvedic rituals and remedies.

Ancient Hair Care Rituals

The ancient Ayurvedic tradition of hair oiling involves massaging natural, nutrient-rich oils into the scalp and lengths to moisturise, strengthen and thicken the hair. The ritual is as much about hair health as it is about self-care and bonding time with your hair-oiling partner. In fact, in Sanskrit the phrases ‘to oil’ and ‘to love’ share the same word–Sneha. 

In Sri Lankan culture, recipes of infused oils have been handed down from generation to generation to use as part of the hair oiling practice. Traditionally, Sesame Oil is used in the cold season and Coconut Oil in the warm season, but as time has passed the recipes have adapted and evolved.

Natural & Nourishing Oils 

Deeply conditioning the hair with natural oils forms a protective & nourishing layer around the shaft to help it stay free from damage while it grows (helping it to grow longer & stronger). We have chosen our traditional miracle oils for hair, each serving a slightly different function. We use all of them in our own recipes and hair elixirs as a base point to nourish the hair & scalp. 

Castor - Used by Ayurvedic practitioners for thousands of years, Castor Oil is the world’s oldest and most valuable herbal remedy. It is rich in naturally occurring ricinoleic acid, a type of fatty acid proven to coat the shaft of the hair and reduce damage.

Coconut - Coconut oil is made up of a medium-chain fatty acid called lauric acid. This gives it a long, straight structure, which is easily absorbed deep into the hair shaft to moisturise the hair from within. Coconut oil also has a sun protection factor of 8, so it can help avoid any damage caused by UV rays.

Grapeseed Oil - Grapeseed oil contains a potent combination of vitamin E, flavonoids, polyphenols, and linoleic acid, which all promote healthy hair growth and scalp health. It is lighter and penetrates the scalp tissue quickly, thus, it does not clog the follicles or cause scalp buildup.

Avocado - Full of hair-loving vitamins, antioxidants and monounsaturated fats. By coating the hair at the follicle, Avocado Oil mimics our sebum to prevent damage at the root of the hair allowing it to grow healthier and stronger.

Shea Butter - For dry & irritated scalps that need intense moisturisation, Shea Butter is an anti-inflammatory that works as a soothing and nourishing base for hair care treatments. It’s thicker than the other oils on this list, but it’s non-comedogenic so it won’t clog the pores making it suitable to use on curly, thicker hair. We use it in our Ayurvedic masks for more intense moisturisation.

Hair Healing Herbs

Alongside oils, certain herbs and botanicals have particularly healing qualities when it comes to our hair. These herbs have been used by our Ayurvedic practitioners for 5000 years, and they are still proving to be just as effective as any modern, chemical-based treatment.

The not-so-secret ingredient in our hair products is our slow infusion of 9 Ayurvedic botanicals with Castor & Coconut Oil. Rich in vitamins, nutrients and fatty acids essential for healthy hair and scalp conditions. Our ancient Ayurvedic blend is the base of traditional recipes used for centuries to nourish, soften and repair damaged hair. These are some of the herbs and botanicals we use…

Banyan Root: this plant symbolizes strength and longevity. In the ancient science of Ayurveda, Banyan roots have immense medicinal properties in hair care. Sinha Hair Oil derives from the extracts of Banyan Aerial root (Jata) which is very effective in hair fall control and makes hair strong from roots.

False Daisy: In Ayurveda, a tradition that aims to balance and heal the body through nutrition, bhringraj is said to promote hair growth, strengthen hair, and prevent graying and dandruff. It also has antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Curry Leaf: this plant is rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, and iron that help strengthen the hair roots and prevent hair loss. The mixture of curry leaves and coconut oil for hair are therefore extremely beneficial and prevent hair loss, hair thinning, premature greying of hair, and hair damage. It also works as a preservative.

Vetiver Root: the antioxidant content of the vetiver plant aids in the treatment of dry scalp and dull hair. It also works to get rid of dandruff and irritation. Blessed with anti-microbial properties, this oil improves blood circulation in the hair follicles, prevents various hair infections and also takes part in collagen formation. Regular use improves hair texture, adds shine and stimulates hair growth.

Amla Berry: this ingredient can treat hair loss effectively. We consider this edible fruit as a miracle cure for hair care. It stimulates hair growth and improves the quality of hair. It contains calcium, which promotes healthier hair. It can help with treating lice ‌effectively. Rich in Vitamin C, tannins, phosphorus, iron, calcium, this promotes a healthier scalp, subsequently minimizing dandruff and resulting in healthier hair.

Fenugreek Seeds: this ingredient contains lecithin, which acts as a natural emollient that conditions and moisturizes your scalp and hair deeply. Also, it strengthens your hair from the roots by providing rich nourishment. Thus, it controls hair shedding efficiently.

Gotu Kola: this ingredient is used to strengthen hair and promote hair growth. It's also known to contain several antioxidants. Gotu kola is one of the most popular Ayurvedic herbs. It increases hair length and stimulates hair growth by increasing blood circulation to the scalp.

Rosemary: this herb can help stimulate healthy, thick hair. Rosemary can speed up the process of cell turnover and growth, which can work as a natural remedy to grow thicker hair. Since it is an anti-inflammatory, we use it for preventing hair loss, as well as regrowth.

Black Sesame Seeds: this seed strengthens the roots. The rich omega fatty acids present in the seeds help promote hair growth and also repair hair damage. They also help in moisturizing the scalp and improve blood circulation to rejuvenate hair follicles.