Ageing, hormones, stress: there are many reasons why our locks may not be as thick and luscious as they used to be. 

Whether it’s seasonal or long-term, our confidence takes a hit when we experience hair loss.

We reach for products that contain hair-enhancing ingredients, but why not go straight to the source? 

They say nature has a cure for everything, and we agree—the benefits of emu oil are enough to convince anyone.

However, thick and healthy hair is a combination of good hair care practices and the right products. 

So to get the most out of all those hair-growth promoting ingredients in emu oil, we’ll start by taking a look at how the efforts you put into making your hair look good could actually be the cause of your thinning hair.

Today’s guide will show you:

How you are damaging your hair

What you need to do to stop, and even reverse, that damage

Why emu oil is best for reversing the damage and promoting hair growth

How to use emu oil for maximum effectiveness

What Emu Joy can do for you

Let’s get started.

What You Do Matters

Cornrows. Man buns. Ponytails. Dreadlocks.

Fashionable? Yes.

Visually appealing? Yes.

Good for your hair? No.

All of these styles involve your hair being pulled tightly at the scalp. This tight tugging damages the hair follicles, impeding hair growth. And that can cause your hair to thin and fall out prematurely, especially along the edges.

It’s Actually a Medical Condition

This process is called traction alopecia.

It’s different from other types of thinning hair in that it tends to be topical rather than patterned. It only appears along the scalp where the hair is being pulled or tugged.

Traction alopecia may initially appear as other forms of male pattern baldness — especially if you wear man buns, ponytails, or braids that tug at the hair along the front and sides of your hairline.

A receding hairline is just the sign of a man getting older, right? Not necessarily.

One thing to look for is small bumps on your scalp, especially where your hair is being pulled tightly by your hairstyle. In the case of most men, that occurs at the hairline in the front and at the base of the hair strands — which make up the individual braids or dreads.

Those little bumps are the inflamed hair follicles showing their displeasure at your styling choice and limiting new hair growth.

Here are some other signs to watch out for:

• Redness, itchiness, or soreness of the skin.
• Scaliness or flakiness, like extreme dandruff.
• Pimples or blisters. 
• Inflammation of the follicles, a medical condition called folliculitis. 

Note: You may also experience traction alopecia in your beard, especially if you have a habit of nervously pulling at it. It’s still tightly pulled hair, after all.

What You Should Do 

There are steps you can take to mend the situation, starting right now. 

Take a Break

The most important thing is to give your hair and scalp a break. Let that poor damaged hair have a much-needed rest.

Professionals recommend giving your hair at least a 2-week “break”. Take out your braids. Let the man bun go for a while.

Giving your hair a break promotes hair growth and repair.

Another recommendation is to change your style every two weeks. Try something looser, more natural. If you’re using rubber bands or hair elastics, switch to strips of cloth, ribbons, or wrapped hair bands.

Wear thick braids and dreads. They tend to put less stress on the individual hairs and do less localized damage, which is less inhibiting of new hair growth.

Lastly, avoid harsh heat and chemical hair treatments, like blow dryers, straighteners, dyes, and perms. These work overtime to create damage, adding to the stress on your hair, scalp, and follicles. Don’t add fuel to the fire, so to speak.

And then, there are natural treatments that can promote hair growth and thickness. Let’s take a look at these options.

Hair Oils and Vitamins Can Help

Many doctors prescribe biotin supplements for patients with traction alopecia. Biotin is one of the B vitamins and it promotes hair growth along with overall skin, hair, and nail health.

While a biotin deficiency is not the cause of traction alopecia, it has proven helpful as a treatment measure.

Another choice for treating traction alopecia is the use of oils for hair growth. A great choice is emu oil.

Here at Emu Joy, we’re backed by the science and good sense to advocate emu oil as the best choice of hair oil for growth. Let’s take a look at the reasons why.

Why Emu Oil Is One of the Best Oils for Hair Growth 

Emu oil is one of the best natural oils to stimulate hair growth for many reasons. Here are just a few:

• Highest in fatty acids: Emu oil has more fatty acids — specifically linoleic, and palmitic acids. These acids most resemble the protective coating found on your natural hair.
• Antibacterial and antimicrobial properties: Emu oil has qualities that help heal the scalp and prevent infection in any open sores caused by traction alopecia.
• Vitamin E: Emu oil’s anti-inflammatory properties are partly due to its high vitamin E content. The result is better blood flow to the scalp and follicles, which promotes natural hair growth.
• Clinically proven: Emu oil reawakens dormant hair follicles. It also absorbs faster into the skin than other oils.
• Universal benefits: Emu oil works for men and women with all hair types. It has also been proven effective for all ethnicities. Emu oil can help anyone, with any natural hair type, at any age, with their traction alopecia.

How to Use Emu Oil as a Hair Treatment

Using emu oil as a hair growth treatment is relatively easy. Simply follow the steps below for maximum effectiveness of hair growth with this natural hair treatment.

1. Pour a small amount — a few drops — of emu oil into your clean palm. One drop can cover an area the size of the back of your hand, so judge accordingly.
2. Rub your hands together.
3. Using your hands and fingers, apply the oil from the roots to the ends of your hair strands.
4. Part your hair in the front in a small section and apply more oil — a few drops at a time — directly onto your scalp.
5. Continue to apply the hair oil to your scalp by moving over about a half-inch and repeating step 4 until your entire scalp has been oiled.
6. Cover your hair with a towel.
7. Rest for at least 5 minutes, but no more than overnight, to allow the oil to penetrate deep into your scalp.
8. Wash your hair with a gentle shampoo, followed by a gentle conditioner.
9. Avoid applying heat and don’t style as usual. Give your hair the break it needs.

Curly hair, long hair, and thick hair may require more oil than straight, short, thinner hair types. Likewise, if your hair or skin is naturally oily, you may only wish to apply the hair oil to the areas where you have hair loss or your scalp is inflamed.

Emu Joy, Your Hair, and You

There you have it.

Focus on a gentle routine on your hair and use emu oil as we recommend. Your scalp will thank you with thriving locks.

Emu Joy’s all-natural emu oil is the best quality hair oil you can buy. It’s 100% pure and AEA Certified so you know you’ll get the most out of its benefits.

We know this is true because our customers report that it takes several weeks to a couple of months to see an improvement using our emu oil.

Here’s what one happy customer has to say about it:

"It DOES work for hairloss. I use it everyday and have hair growing back in places that have become almost bald (temple areas)."

It can work for you too. Try a few drops of our Pure Emu Oil today.