Onions are one of those vegetables that most people have strong feelings about. Typically, people either really love onions or really hate them. Regardless of which camp you belong to, I’m pretty certain you’ll be on team “onion for hair care” and be firmly pro onion after reading this post. With many plant-based hair-growth aids, there is often a lot of anecdotal evidence and not a lot of scientific research to back up the claims, but with onions, you have the best of both worlds. There are lots of YouTube videos that look at preparing your onion juice or onion oil for hair growth with before and after results and there are scientific studies that back up the claims that onions can improve the health of your hair and scalp and…..promote hair growth.
Using Onion Juice to Encourage Hair Growth
Hair is mostly made from a protein called keratin. Keratin and all other proteins are made up of smaller substances called amino. Different proteins have different combinations of amino acids and require different things for the production inside the body. One of the substances required for the production of the amino acids that make up keratin is sulfur and wouldn’t you know it, onions are high in dietary sulfur. When added to the hair and scalp, onion juice can provide extra sulfur to support strong and thick hair, preventing hair loss and encouraging hair growth. It is also believed that onions increase blood circulation and that applying onion juice to the scalp increases blood supply to hair follicles, which in turn improves hair growth. Studies suggest that onion juice:
Promotes hair growth
Moisturizes dry hair and scalp
Provides nutrients to the hair follicles
Presently, there are no peer-reviewed scientific studies to support the idea of onions reversing the process of graying hair. However, a lot of home remedies promise onion extract can help reduce gray hairs and I have seen this in my own life. The idea behind onion reversing graying is that onions contain an antioxidant compound, catalase, that helps reduce hydrogen peroxide at the roots of the hair. This is thought to keep the hair from turning gray. Whatever the reason, users of onion juice have frequently reported this unexpected side benefit of using onion juice on their hair and scalp.
A 2014 study evaluated the efficacy of onion juice as a treatment for alopecia areata, a hair condition that results in hair loss in patches. After 6 weeks, just under 87% of the individuals that used onion juice noticed increased hair growth. The study lead to the conclusion that onion juice may be an effective treatment for alopecia areata.
Preparing Onion Juice
Onion juice may be prepared by blending or boiling onions. The blending method requires you to puree the onion and then squeezing the juice from the puree. The other method is to cut your onion into small pieces, adding enough water to cover your onions and boiling the mixture for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, you strain the mixture and collect the liquid for use. The boiling method requires less clean-up afterward but the method you choose is all down to personal preference.
Onions can be used to improve your hair in many ways. It has been used for decades as a home treatment, is safe, natural, and affordable with little risk, unless you are allergic to onions when eaten. If this is the case, please do not use onion juice on your hair. Those who use it also report that onion juice improves thickness in addition to stimulating growth.
So, was I right? Are you now a member of the team onion for hair care? If your answer is yes, then I have one word for you. Welcome!
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