Basil: Basil promotes growth by stimulating circulation and works well with fenugreek and ivy burdock herbs as well. Basil is used in shampoos and conditioners designed for scalp health. Basil nurtures the scalp while enhancing circulation to the root bringing much needed blood flow.

Burdock: Not too many hair care products carry burdock – that is a shame because it is so beneficial to the scalp and to proper hair growth. It helps scalp and hair cell renewal. It stimulates blood flow and helps with hair loss in both men and women.

Chamomile: Chamomile is the most soothing of the essential oils and is included in many shampoos or conditioners. Chamomile helps to retract inflamed skin cells from chemical procedures, the sun and helps scaly scalps.

Fenugreek: Fenugreek has long been used for stimulating blood flow especially to minor capillaries. Fenugreek makes great topical applications like in shampoos, conditioners and in hair stimulators.

Fenugreek for hair care is an excellent choice especially for hair growth. Fenugreek also compliments sage, clary sage, lemongrass, lemon peel, burdock and ivy extract.

Lavender also soothes the scalp and the hair. Many people order baby shampoo with lavender as it can help calm infants.

Lemon: Lemon Essential oil gives golden highlights. It works well for treatments for dry scalp, dandruff, lice, and under active sebaceous glands. The sebum on the hair is what keeps it from drying out. Curly hair tends to be more dry and can benefit from lemon essential oils. Be very careful to only use lemon on hair that is too oily as this can seriously dry out the hair after just one washing or rinse.

Peppermint: Peppermint helps to stimulate blood flow to the root of the hair. This helps the hair to receive proper nourishment and to grow correctly. It is a great for hair that is growing slow or hair that is thinning. Peppermint makes the scalp tingle and this is what stimulates the blood flow to the hair. This stimulation can help with hair loss and thinning hair in women and men.

Rosemary essential oil works great for dry hair and dandruff as well as itchy scalp!

Sage is one of the best scalp clarifiers. It deep cleanses impurities and works well with other herbs to heal scalp problems such as scalp psoriasis. It is one of the most effective oils to develop a dandruff shampoo.

Tea Tree Oil: Works daily to get to the heart of dandruff and other scalp conditions that can be helped with Tea Tree oil as it works to purify the scalp. It is often included with Jojoba oil for hair as the two are used to deep clean. Tea tree oil works extremely good for those that suffer from scalp psoriasis and scalp dandruff.

Thyme is often used in deep cleansing shampoo and works well when used with even the mildest cleansing agents. It works well when combined with other oily scalp products.

So, there is a good summary and gives you a little bit of helpful “ammunition” next time you might stop to look at the ingredients of your favorite hair care product.

All told, hair care is the sum of its ingredients and effectiveness is often a result of a combination of ingredients that help dry hair, oily or greasy hair, hair growth and general hair and scalp health.

Here are some top tips on how to solve some of the most common hair care problems.

Flat, fine hair

For hair which is fine and flat, an ideal product is a quality volumising product. It’s important not to scrimp when it comes to volumisers, as the cheaper volumising products tend to coat the hair with plastic polymers which can build up and leave it looking dull and lifeless over time.

Higher end products, for example Kerastase products and Tigi products, will have superior ingredients such as soy proteins and keratin within them which will create a natural, healthy shine each time you use them.

Split ends

Unfortunately, there is no hair care product able to repair split ends, despite what some marketing campaigns might lead you to believe. The only solution with split ends so to trim them so as to remove them and prevent further splitting.

However, there are ways to reduce the likelihood of getting split ends in the first place. High quality or salon conditioners can protect the hair, and reducing the amount of chemicals products you use could also reduce the problem. If you are prone to split ends it is a good idea to visit the hairdresser every six weeks for a trim.

Greasy hair

Hair is ‘greasy’ if it shows signs of grease within 24 hours of washing. If this is the case with your hair, the best thing you can do is to choose a salon quality shampoo and conditioner which are suited to greasy hair.

Dry hair

Hair is considered ‘dry’ if there is no sign of grease three or more days after washing. If you have dry hair, choose a salon shampoo and conditioner which are suited to dry hair. Dry hair is sometimes also frizzy or static – read on to find out solutions to these, connected problems.

Frizzy hair

Hair is frizzy because of the nature of the hair follicle itself, and this is down to genetics rather than the way you treat your hair, although humidity can aggravate the problem. To reduce the appearance of frizziness the best option is to use a salon quality hair serum to even out texture and make the hair appear more smooth and glossy.

Static

This can be an irritating problem, usually suffered by people with fine, dry hair. The best answer is to apply a gloss spray to the hair when it is dry. This will cut out static by increasing the amount of moisture in the hair.

Whatever your hair type, it’s important to invest in high quality salon-style products if you can afford it, these will protect and nourish your hair and give you the shiny, healthy hair you want.