Ghee, or the clarified butter, is the butter that has been cooked for removing any remnants of water. Ghee is generally made from cow’s milk, goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, and buffalo’s milk. This clarified butter originated from India and is used traditionally in several Indian recipes. However, according to the Ayurvedic Medicinal tradition ghee is also known for its exclusive healing properties. Ghee is known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant ingredients in it that is known to be good for health. There is also anecdotal evidence that claims that ghee can be used for improving your hair health by making your hair grow, turn thicker and shinier, and also for conditioning your scalp.
So, let us read further and explore some of the potential benefits of ghee for your hair.
12 Potential Benefits Of Ghee For Your Hair:
Ghee is a popular ayurvedic remedy and has been used for wound healing in ancient periods. Ghee is also known for its excellent benefits for your hair.
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Ghee Makes Your Scalp Healthier:
One of the most crucial benefits of ghee for your hair is that it makes your scalp healthier. Ghee is packed with vitamin E, which is used for conditioning scalp and the skin. This is the reason why vitamin E is an active ingredient in multiple anti-aging hair and skincare products.
Ghee has an oil-like consistency in it and when it is applied on your hair, it can seal moisture into the scalp. Applying it to your scalp might help the scalp to feel smoother and less irritated, and this would result in less oil, fewer flakes, and more vibrant-looking hair.
There have been no large-scale studies that have been conducted for seeing if ghee can make the scalp healthier or can treat several conditions of your scalp. However, there is no harm in trying it.
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Ghee Might Make Your Hair Thicker:
We know that ghee contains a high amount of vitamins and proteins, and applying it to the hair might help to feel like it has more volume.(1)
Research in Japan has revealed that massaging the scalp can even boost the hair thickness.(2)
However, there is no clinical study that would prove that ghee can make hair thicker. It is true that whether your hair strands are becoming thicker would be hard to know, but healthier hair is easier to style and they appear to have more volume.
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Ghee Provides Hydration To Your Hair:
Moisture is essential for healthy hair. Dry and dull hair is more prone to damage. Properties of ghee are known to be good for your hair and promote healthy follicles.
Massaging ghee on your hair and scalp will support your scalp health and give appropriate moisturization to your hair.
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Ghee Might Make Your Hair Softer:
Topically applying ghee to your hair and scalp may make your hair softer. This is because ghee is made from butter and it also contains active antioxidant compounds in it. These antioxidant compounds can combat toxins that make your hair feel heavy and cause frizz. In addition to this, ghee is also loaded with vitamins like, vitamin A and vitamin E and both these vitamins are known to condition your hair.
There are a lot of styling hair products that we use hoping that they will make the texture of our hair better. However, serums and sprays tame your hair only temporarily. For a more effective and better hair solution, you can apply ghee directly on your scalp and hair. This would improve your hair texture by endowing the hair with extra shine and smoothness.
Centuries ago desi ghee was used as a conditioner in the Middle East.(3)
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Ghee Controls Frizz:
Frizzy hair is one of the most common hair problems. You can get rid of this problem using ghee. This is because ghee improves the texture of your hair, which makes it helpful in fighting frizz. You can just apply melted ghee to your scalp and your hair to fight frizz.
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Ghee Increases Hair Growth:
No evidence would suggest that ghee can make your hair grow faster. But, keep it in mind that healthier hair has stronger strands, and this means there is less hair loss. Also note that the longer you can keep each strand of your hair, the longer your hair might look, and this can create the illusion that your hair is quickly growing even when it is not.
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Ghee Treats Split Ends:
Ghee contains antioxidants and fatty acids and this makes it a wonderful home remedy for treating split ends. Split ends in hair occur when the ends of hair turns dry and brittle. Exposure to haircare techniques like straightening, blow drying, and curling, and to extreme weather might cause split ends. Apart from these, chemicals found in hair products also cause split ends.
Ghee hydrates and helps in removing dryness from hair ends. To treat your split ends, heat ghee and apply the heated ghee evenly on your split ends. Comb your hair after 15 minutes and then wash off with lukewarm water and mild shampoo. Repeated use of this home remedy would help you get rid of split ends.
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Ghee Prevents Premature Greying Of Hair:
An unhealthy and infected skin of scalp develops premature grey hairs and that too in early stages. Desi cow ghee has been used by our mothers and grandmothers as a treatment of premature graying of hair and to get long black hair.
For getting long black hairs apply slightly heated ghee on hair and wrap your hair with a steamed towel for at least 15 minutes. Then rinse off your hair with a mild shampoo. This will help you treat premature graying and also prevent symptoms of premature graying.
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Ghee Clears Bald Patches:
Bald patches or untimely baldness on the scalp can spoil your whole look. Our hair indeed looks contributes a lot to our overall physical appearance. Drink milk mixed with turmeric powder and ghee for hair repair. This cures your bald patches on the scalp gradually.
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Ghee Treats Dandruff:
Ghee can also be used to treat dandruff. During the winter months, dandruff is a common problem for most of us. Using ghee on your hair could help you get rid of dandruff.
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Ghee Prevents Itching On The Scalp:
You definitely would not want those white flakes coming out of your scalp because of constant itching. Ghee works as an excellent home remedy to get rid of constant itching on the scalp. The minerals and vitamins found in ghee help in preventing the itchiness.
Mix ghee with the juice of a lemon and apply the mixture on your scalp and massage for some time and then rinse it off.
If you have dry hair, you should mix hot ghee and almond oil and massage this into your scalp and all along the lengths of your hair. You should wait for 15 minutes and then rinse it off using rose water for removing the oil from your hair. Then, wash your hair with a mild shampoo. Repeating this twice in a week would gift you surprising benefits.
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Ghee Protects Your Hair From The Damage Caused By Sun And Chemical Exposure:
Exposure to chemicals (present in hair products or hair treatments) and sun exposure can cause oxidative stress to hair and thus damage them. Vitamin E is a natural means to protect your hair from any such damage. And we know that ghee is a natural means of vitamin E.
How To Use Ghee For Your Hair?
Now the point is, how to use ghee for your hair. So, below are some ways you can use ghee for improving the health of your hair.
Use Ghee As A Topical Hair Treatment:
Using ghee topically as a hair mask is simple. You need to heat a few tablespoons of pure ghee for about 10 seconds or less in your microwave, or just rub the ghee with your hands and warm it up. After it gets warmed up you can apply it to your hair and scalp directly. Make sure that you coat your scalp and any split ends that you might be having.
You can leave this ghee hair mask on your hair for at least 2 hours in the beginning, and then leave it for longer the next time when you apply. You can wear a shower cap over your head while the ghee sets in to keep things from getting excessively slippery. Once this treatment is done, you can wash your hair with shampoo and thoroughly rinse your head.
Consume Ghee Orally To Benefit Your Hair:
Your hair could look better in the long run if you are taking a diet that is packed with healthy fats and fatty acids. So, you can add ghee to your diet. It could be a delicious alternative to butter.
Precautions While Using Ghee For Your Hair:
You need to maintain some precautions while using ghee for your hair. Let us take a look at some of them below.
- Always use pure ghee that is extracted directly from milk.
- Don’t heat desi ghee for too long.
- Don’t use cold water for washing off ghee from your hair. Instead, make use of warm water.
Conclusion:
We have listed so many hair health benefits of ghee. Though there is not much in medical literature for proving that this is true, however, there is still reason to believe that ghee has potential benefits for your hair. Some people find ghee quite beneficial for their hair. It is safe for most people to use ghee, so you can give it a try for your hair and experience the benefits(if any)
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