Coconut Oil for Hair Growth- Its a Myth

The triglycerides in coconut oil have a high affinity for the keratin that forms hair.  When you rub coconut oil into your hair, it binds to your hair strands and forms a protective barrier.  It can also penetrate within the hair strands and prevent pollutants such as airborne chemicals from entering.  Pollution has become a contributing factor to hair loss in modern times, so keeping your hair clean from pollutants may indirectly help avoid environmental-related hair loss.²

Coconut oil is an excellent moisturizer and skin softener.³ You can use it to alleviate dry skin, and researchers have found it has applications in helping a growing number of skin conditions.  If you suffer from atopic dermatitis, topical coconut oil can help alleviate symptoms.⁴ Healthy skin on your scalp is important for proper hair growth, so topical coconut oil could potentially keep skin problems from disrupting your hair production.

As it stands, the state of medical research does not support the use of coconut oil to directly support hair growth.  Coconut oil has been used as a base for other herbal essential oils that are for hair loss, but on its own, coconut oil does not perform nearly as well as other remedies for hair growth disorders.⁵

A team of researchers from Japan recently discovered that massaging the scalp for a few minutes every day can stimulate hair follicles to increase hair production and can increase hair thickness.  The hair growth benefits that many people experience from rubbing coconut oil into their hair may actually be due to the mechanical stimulation of hair follicles that the massaging provides.⁶  So, if you want to stimulate the follicles on your scalp to increase their yields, you might try gently massaging your head for four minutes every day.