
Yes! As a matter of fact, scalp massage is one of the most effective way of stimulating hair growth. However, if not done right, it can bring undesirable results probably even affect your hair growth. The best shot is hiring a massage therapist or learning how to do it right. This article is designed to help you know all about scalp massage and how it can help stimulate hair growth.
What is scalp massage?
In simple terms, scalp or head massage is manual stimulation of the scalp using a specially designed device or hands. Scalp massage is used for different reasons including help relieve headaches, lower stress levels and it can help stimulate hair growth. Scalp massage is already proven to stimulate hair growth and it has become a very common practice for this purpose and if you are wondering how, keep reading and you are going to learn all about that.
Benefits of scalp massage
Scalp massage has many benefits including stimulating hair growth and it’s time we take a closer look at them.
- Scalp massage stimulate blood flow
When you experience hair loss because of androgenetic alopecia, it is mostly because of presence of DHT. It triggers a process in the body known as hair miniaturization which leads to decreased blood flow to the follicle. Essentially, inflammation normally occurs when DHT is attached to the hairline and crown or any other sensitive hair follicle. This makes the follicle to miniaturize and with time hair can’t grow over the scalp. And if it is not treated, it can eventually lead to baldness.
There is another issue that occurs under the surface and that’s cutting off of blood flow. As the hair follicle miniaturize, the connection between the blood vessels and the bulb is weakened mostly because of inflammation. The oxygen and nutrients that are supplied by blood to the hair is cut short. And in addition to that, the waste and DHT cannot be removed effectively since the connection between the bulb and the blood vessels is weakened.
So even if decreased blood flow to the hair is not the cause of hair loss, it contributes to continued problem with hair growth. Fortunately, scalp massage is a proven strategy of stimulating blood flow to the scalp. And when the DHT is targeted simultaneously then it is possible for your hair follicle to return to their former health.
- Scalp massage promotes hair growth
If you are struggling with hair loss, you will be happy to that regular scalp massage help stimulate hair growth. A research that was carried out in Japan, 9 men received scalp massage from a professional mobile massage Therapist for 4 minutes with help of a massage device. The total hair number, thickness as well as the growth speed was then measured for each of the 9 participants after 0, 12 and 24 weeks.
There was not really a huge improvement with number of hair but there was a noticeable improvement in hair thickness. According to the researchers, there are two reasons why there was a noticeable growth of hair after the scalp massage sessions. One is because of increased blood circulation and the other one is because of the direct stimulation of mechanical force to the dermal papilla cells. Scalp massage enables stretching which increase the follicle thickness.
- Reduce stress tension
Stress is a major contributor to hair loss whether it is one-time stress or chronic stress. There are a couple of ways to combat stress including exercise, meditation and connecting with nature. Massage is also an exceptional way of combating stress whether it is Swedish massage, sports massage or scalp massage.
The effect of stress to the hair growth is proven and it was recently confirmed in 2017. The study was conducted with 33 female students of which 18 were sitting for exams while the other 15 were free. The researchers used different ways to measure stress levels and after the study, those who had more stress levels (18 sitting for exams) experienced change in cytokine balance.
When there is an increase in cytokine levels, it shows that there is increased inflammation which affect the hair follicles negatively. Scalp massage can help lower stress levels which will in turn help prevent hair loss.
- Promotes production of sebum
Production of sebum (skin oil) is a vital part of a healthy and a nourished scalp. Low production levels of sebum lead to scalp dryness and flaking. This encourage hair loss because it leads itching and rubbing. Sometimes low levels of sebum can lead an oily scalp as the scalp will try to overcompensate and end up producing more oil than needed. Scalp massage is an effective way of regulating the production of sebum and it keeps the levels of sebum on your scalp at a healthy level.
Tips for performing scalp massage
As already mentioned, you need to do the massage the right way in order to increase its effectiveness. Below we give you some important tips to help you out:
- Use hands
Use of hands is the easiest method of performing scalp massage. You can do it at home or you can hire a mobile therapist to help you. A massage therapist will know how to do it right and you are going to enjoy the maximum benefits of the massage.
- Use a scalp massager
The scalp massager provides the same benefits as use of hands and it can help you get done with it faster. There are different types of scalp massagers that comes at different prices but they all serve the same purpose.
- Combine with oil
Combining the scalp massage with oil especially essential oils makes it even more beneficial. There are different types of essential oils and the one that will work with the best will depend on your goal. It is important to note that some essential oils can have reaction with your scalp so you should be very careful with the oils you choose.