Dandruff comes with a whole lot of itching, an inflamed scalp, a shoulder full of white flakes, and an unbelievable amount of hair fall.
Dandruff shouldn’t and mustn’t stagger your confidence, especially when we have the simplest and most effective treatment for your hair.
Camphor and coconut oil.
‘Is Coconut Oil Good for dandruff?’ we get asked numerous times. Our answer to that question every time is a gleeful yes. Read on further to know why.
Why is camphor powder used to treat dandruff?
Camphor (known as Kapoor in Hindi) is typically used to light a fire in pujas in Indian households. So whether you purchase Patanjali camphor, Bhimseni camphor balls, or even camphor powder, you will see camphor’s differences on your scalp.
Interestingly, Bhimseni Camphor also has specific benefits for your hair. This white round pill can also be used as a natural treatment to cure dandruff and camphor, which is effective for solving hair fall. Camphor is proven to be good for your hair, and there should be no reason to be concerned about applying it.
When camphor is applied to your scalp, especially when it is itchy, camphor increases blood flow and acts as a counterirritant. In addition, its antibacterial and antifungal properties make it effective to fight dandruff, reduce hair fall. Camphor is also known to moisturize a dry scalp.
Why use Virgin Coconut Oil for dandruff control?
Coconut Oil is suitable for your hair as it is packed with vitamins and minerals. It is antifungal and antibacterial. It does a fantastic job of locking in the moisture to beat the dryness. The virgin, cold-pressed and natural coconut oils are the best for your hair as it soothes itchiness instantly—purer the oil, the more significant the impact in warding off dandruff.
Dandruff can sometimes cause eczema too. A study showed that applying coconut oil for eight weeks reduced symptoms of eczema which can be sometimes caused by dandruff.
Virgin coconut oil benefits for hair
- Virgin coconut oil is good for your hair, and it can help you maintain frizzy hair. If you have applied virgin coconut oil and left it overnight, the oil locks in the necessary moisture so that your hair is manageable.
- Virgin Coconut Oil prevents dry & brittle hair strands. This means that your hair will not break easily, nor will you see signs of hair damage like split ends. Virgin Coconut oil is known to benefit your hair by giving it essential nutrients to keep it healthy.
- Virgin Coconut Oil maintains scalp health by ensuring that your scalp does not get too dry or too oily. This means that coconut oil keeps a dry and itchy scalp at bay.
- Virgin coconut oil has antifungal properties that are very beneficial to fight issues like dandruff and lice.
- Coconut oil is good for your hair as it prevents itching in the scalp due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Itching can be caused by a dry scalp as well as dandruff.
How to use Coconut Oil for dandruff control?
Coconut oil can help fight dandruff if massaged onto the scalp and left overnight.
Use a teaspoon of melted coconut oil for fine hair. In case you have thick hair, you should use around a tablespoon.
Apply it directly to your scalp. Then, spend some time giving yourself a gentle yet effective massage to ensure that it evenly coats every hair strand and is absorbed by your scalp.
Leave it on for about 10-20 minutes and then shampoo and condition your hair normally.
If you choose to replace your shampoo and conditioner with coconut oil, repeat the process mentioned above. Instead of shampooing and conditioning, rinse your hair thoroughly in cold water.
How to make Camphor coconut oil at home
Adding camphor (Kapoor) to coconut oil is the hack to treating an itchy scalp and dandruff quickly and effectively.
To make camphor coconut oil at home, you need to:
- Take two camphor tablets and crush them to make camphor powder.
- Heat half a cup of extra virgin coconut oil
- Mix camphor powder with coconut oil and allow it to dissolve.
- Massage coconut oil and camphor powder into your flaky scalp at least 30 minutes before you wash your hair. Applying camphor coconut oil and allowing it to stay in overnight is also advisable.
- Make sure to massage your scalp. Research says that massaging your scalp increases blood circulation at the hair follicles. This will strengthen the hair follicles and will reduce hair fall.
- Store the excess oil and use it next time.
Camphor for Hair Lice
Head lice is yet another problem apart from dandruff that troubles a significant chunk of the population. Lice are tiny parasites that survive on the scalp and hair and feed on the blood drawn from the scalp. These parasites reproduce quickly and, in the process, cause red bumps on the scalp as well as an itching sensation.
As they reproduce quickly on the scalp, it becomes challenging to eliminate lice parasites by combing them out as it becomes a tiring and slow process. Can camphor kill hair lice? Camphor powder and coconut oil help treat Hair Lice - you can make this at home.
Use a combination of coconut oil and camphor as the oil will coat the lice, and the camphor will kill them because of its anti-parasitic properties.
Mix two tablespoons of coconut oil and one tablespoon of crushed camphor or bhimseni camphor and apply this paste to your scalp. Leave it overnight and wash it off the following day. Use this hair mask about thrice a week to get rid of head lice. Isn’t this a simple addition? Applying camphor oil (Kapoor oil) before you shampoo your hair will allow the combination of camphor and coconut oil to work its way to solve both the dandruff problem and reduce hair fall.
It is also highly effective in treating hair lice. So doing this at least once a week will surely be beneficial for you.
References
Mara Therese Padilla Evangelista, Flordeliz Abad-Casintahan (2013) The effect of topical virgin coconut oil on SCORAD index, transepidermal water loss, and skin capacitance in mild to moderate pediatric atopic dermatitis: a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial (National Library of Medicine) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24320105/
Robert S. English Jr., James M. Barazesh (2019) Self-Assessments of Standardized Scalp Massages for Androgenic Alopecia: Survey Results (Springer Link) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13555-019-0281-6
