Hair loss happens to everyone. Age, lifestyle, and genetics can affect this process. However, our body does have the capability to regrow, rejuvenate, and strengthen our hair, even when it seems like it’ll never grow back again. All it needs is the right trigger.
So do scalp massages really grow hair? Current scientific studies suggest that it can. While more research is required to create a definitive link between scalp massages and hair growth, the existing studies show optimistic results.
Do Scalp Massages Work?
While there aren’t a lot of scientific studies done on scalp massages and direct hair regrowth, some research has shown some encouraging signs:
1. Short-Term Massages Might Increase Hair Volume
A 2016 study among Japanese men set out to check if scalp massages had any effect on hair. Their subjects participated in 4-minute scalp massages each day using a Panasonic scalp massager on one side of their head. After 24 weeks, they found that the side which got daily scalp massages had increased hair thickness compared to the side that didn’t.
2. Scalp Massages Can Improve Stress and Reduce Hair Loss
Women, stress, and hair growth are closely linked: a 2017 study shows that hair growth and pigmentation were more pronounced in stressed women. With a 2016 study showing that regular scalp massages significantly lower women’s stress levels, we think it’s not too far-fetched to think that scalp massages might help with female pattern hair loss as well.
3. Scalp Massages May Help Alopecia Patients
A recent study from 2019 showed that a standardized scalp massage (SSM) twice a day also helped people suffering from alopecia, a condition where your hair falls out in small patches. 69 percent of the participants reported less hair fall after 6 to 7 months.
While more studies are needed to create a direct correlation between hair growth and scalp massages, these studies show that scalp massages can influence the health of your hair.
How Does A Scalp Massage Help Hair Growth?
Most of our hair isn’t actually alive. Like your nails, the part of your hair that grows is located just underneath the skin: the hair follicles.
Hair follicles act as the root of a single hair strand, which grows by adding more cells and pushing its way up from the skin. We have about 100,000 hair follicles on our scalp, which grow a lot faster compared to the other 5 million hair follicles located all around our body.
Over the course of our lifetime, humans inevitably lose their hair regardless of genetic predisposition. The American Academy of Dermatology says that people lose 50 to 100 strands of hair on average. A scalp massage stretches the cells of your hair follicles so they “fill in” the remaining space by stimulating their growth. This boosts your hair’s growth rate, which gives you thicker hair.
Here are two ways scalp massages can help with hair growth:
1) Scalp Massages Increase Blood Flow
Scalp massages can reduce hair loss by dilating the blood vessels underneath your scalp. This process allows more blood to rush through your head, delivering more nutrients and removing waste products from your hair follicles. With better blood circulation, your hair follicles are more likely to stay strong and grow.
Blood also carries compounds from the food you eat around the body, which can also help increase hair growth. A 2014 study on omega-3 and omega-6 acids (which you can find in salmon, sardines, eggs, and tofu) showed signs that regular intake of these foods may help reduce hair loss. Scalp massages can boost your hair’s access to these much-needed nutrients.
2) Scalp Massages Reduce Stress
Scalp massages are great for relieving stress which is a big factor for hair loss. High levels of stress can push hair follicles in a dormant state, which makes them weaker and more prone to falling out. Specifically, stress can cause any of the following conditions:
- Alopecia areata, where your immune system malfunctions and starts attacking your hair follicles
- Trichotillomania, where you get sudden and irresistible urges to pull your hair out
- Telogen effluvium, where your hair’s structure weakens so much that they fall by combing or washing
Scalp massages indirectly stimulate hair growth by reducing the stress hormones that contribute to hair fall. Your body is more likely to spend its time and energy on helping your hair stay healthy if it doesn’t have to always respond to high-stress situations.
Professional vs Home Scalp Massages: Which One Is Better?
Science may have established a link between scalp massagers and hair, but the exact way you do a scalp massage is more tricky to pin down. The 2016 Japanese study used electric scalp massagers, but the 2019 alopecia study didn’t. So which one should you pick?
Dermatologists are split on the issue, but all of them agree that each approach has its merits. Most of them would recommend that you take the approach that suits your preference. A gentle fingertip scalp massage works wonders if you enjoy spending a long time in the bath, but some people may also appreciate something more intense with less effort by using an electric scalp massager. The crucial thing is to apply scalp massages consistently over a period of 3 to 6 months for the best results.
Do Oils Or Other Treatments Help?
Natural remedies like essential oils have been a staple of traditional hair treatments for centuries. The restorative effects of compounds like pumpkin seed oil, rosemary oil, and peppermint oil have been used to replicate the effects of many hair growth products like Rogaine.
Today, doctors and aestheticians use innovative skin care solutions like PEP factor-infused products for effective hair growth restoration. A nutrient-rich solution containing copper peptides and FGF (fibroblast growth factor) magnifiers, it’s a powerful and effective product that may be able to boost your hair regrowth.
Using products with PEP factor is also a great non-invasive option for people who don’t want to resort to surgery to grow their hair. Skin clinics and medical spas can easily integrate the treatment with their existing services. Combined with the mechanical benefits of scalp massages, skin care practices can provide a robust and revitalizing hair regrowth experience.
Get Quality Medical Products With FACE Medical Supply
Scalp massages are a fairly inexpensive way that may result in better hair. Combined with professional treatments, scalp massages could also be a great routine to help stave off hair loss a bit longer.
For quality skin care treatments like PEP factor products, visit our product pages at FACE Medical Supply. We have high-quality medical treatments at affordable prices compared to other suppliers, and pride ourselves on high-quality customer service.
Read more: 3 Treatments for Scalp Rejuvenation
Give your patients Pep Factor from FACE Med Store, and provide them with a unique alternative for promoting their skin and scalp health.
