You many notice hot oil treatments and shampoos featuring tea tree essential oil and ginseng extract. As with many modern botanical beauty products, it's difficult to determine whether herbal hair products are worth the investment. If you have serious hair disorders, talk to your practitioner about whether prescription treatments may be more effective. Otherwise, consider experimenting with tea tree and ginseng hair formulas.
History
Ginseng extract and tea tree essential oil appear, paired or individually, in commercial shampoos and hair treatments. One manufacturer of a tea tree and ginseng hot oil treatment claims that the tea tree essential oil provides antibacterial cleansing properties while the ginseng extract is conditioning and strengthening for hair. Independent sources praise the two botanicals for their effectiveness in hair formulas. In 2009, Fitness Magazine awarded its "Best Shampoo" designation to a product which contains ginseng oil for shine. MayoClinic.com acknowledged tea tree oil as the most likely herbal relief for dandruff.
Tea Tree Oil
The essential oil of the Australian tea tree, Melaleuca alternifolia, comes from the plant's leaves. Products including the oil range from dandruff and lice shampoos to nail fungus and athlete's foot formulas and acne treatment. Herbalist Cynthia Olsen recommends tea tree oil products for general scalp care to stimulate growth and treat damaged hair by unclogging hair follicles and releasing natural moisturizing oils. It may keep dandruff and lice at bay with its antifungal and antibacterial properties.
Gingseng Extract
Ginseng is less well-studied for its effect on hair health than tea tree oil is. An herbalist may recommend ginseng extract as either an internal or external treatment for stimulating hair growth, linking its better-known ability to boost the immune system and lower stress to an indirect effect on hair strength and growth. The University of Maryland Medical Center, UMMC, notes that American and Asian varieties of ginseng, Panax quinquefolius and Panax ginseng, have similar properties, but current research focuses on their use as internal medicine. A 2003 Japanese laboratory study comparing unpeeled, red ginseng root extract's ability to stimulate hair growth to that of peeled, white ginseng root extract found the red variety to be more effective.
Homemade Treatment
Look for ginseng extract and tea tree essential oil in health food or specialty stores. Gently heat about 1 tsp. olive oil, then add 1 to 2 drops each of the extract and essential oil. Massage into your hair, cover with a plastic cap and towel, and leave on your hair at least 1 hour before rinsing and shampooing. Alternatively, purchase red ginseng root from a health food store and steep in olive oil for at least three weeks. Strain the mixture and combine the infused olive oil with tea tree essential oil.
Considerations
UMMC notes that proper nutrition and internal herbal medicines may be at least as helpful to hair health as external botanical applications like ginseng and tea tree oil hair products. The medical web site recommends eating antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, grains and leafy greens high in iron and B vitamins, lean meats and beans for protein and herbal teas such as ginko biloba to stimulate scalp circulation. Its recommendations for external herbs include peppermint, rosemary and sage essential oils for optimum scalp health and hair growth.
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