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Is Onion Juice for Hair Growth Effective?
Despite its strong smell, onion juice for hair growth has become a cult favorite beauty remedy. Here's all you need to know about its properties and usage.
Your hair can make or break your look. And if you’re someone who prefers keeping and styling long hair, chances are that you may have waited patiently for your hair to grow. While the wait might be excruciatingly slow, it may not have to be too long. Wondering how? Meet onion juice which has silently (and rapidly) transformed into a cult favorite beauty remedy. Onion juice for hair is known to promote hair growth while nourishing your mane. But does it work? Ahead, we have lined up everything that you need to know about this magic ingredient.
Does Onion Juice Work for Hair Loss?
Small but mighty, onions are a powerhouse of essential nutrients. Studies suggest that onions contain several important vitamins and minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, germanium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6. The humble vegetable is also known to have a high amount of sulfur which is renowned as the ‘healing mineral’ and ‘beauty mineral.’ This sulfur component in onions may help you combat hair loss as it may be effective in promoting hair growth and also regenerating hair follicles (1).
Additionally, the sulfur in onions also leads to the healthy formation of collagen in your body (2). This collagen aids in building stronger roots which eventually helps prevent hair loss (3). Hence, onion juice for hair growth has become a popular DIY remedy today.
What you Should Know Before Using Onion Juice
Before you decide to finally apply onion juice to your hair, it is important to understand its properties and usage. Here’s everything you should know and consider:
1. Do a Skin Patch Test
While using onion juice for hair is generally considered to be safe, it might cause an allergic reaction in some people while consuming cooked onions. This reaction may result in consequences like asthma, dermatitis, and rhinoconjunctivitis (4). Hence, you may first do a skin patch test with onion juice before you proceed with using it on your hair.
2. Mix It with an Emollient
Before you use an onion for hair growth, make sure that you mix its juice with an emollient like coconut oil. Naturally potent emollients like virgin coconut oil are anti-inflammatory and hence, may help provide skin protection against unforeseen effects (5).
3. It May Not Help Treat All Forms of Hair Loss
Studies suggest that the benefits of onion juice for hair may be an effective topical therapy to treat hair loss problems like alopecia (6). However, you should know that it may not guarantee to treat other problems. Instead, those hair loss problems might require a hair transplant as a solution.
Benefits of Onion Juice for Your Hair
Even though onions have a spicy, pungent smell; their benefits for your hair are unparalleled. Ahead, we have put together all the advantages of using onion juice for your hair:
1. Helps Fight Dandruff
Using onion juice on your hair may help fight dandruff effectively. This is possible because of the antibacterial and cleansing properties in onion juice which can inhibit the growth of dandruff and may keep it from thriving on your scalp (1).
2. Promotes Hair Growth And Helps Regenerate Hair Follicles
Onion juice has a high amount of sulfur which is also called a ‘healing mineral’ or ‘beauty mineral’. This sulfur helps in promoting hair growth and regenerating hair follicles for a healthier, thicker mane (1).
3. Prevents Graying of Hair
Due to the presence of antioxidants in onions, using onion juice on your hair may help in combating oxidative stress-related issues such as premature graying of hair. These antioxidants reduce the level of hydrogen peroxide in your hair roots, which in return helps to prevent gray hair (7), (8), (9).
4. Reduces Itchiness on the Scalp
Another important benefit of using onion for hair is that its juice helps in reducing itchiness on your scalp. This is because of the anti-inflammatory properties of the vegetable which help combat itchiness and maintain a soothed and healthy scalp (8).
How to Use Onion Juice for Promoting Healthy Hair
Here’s a fact: making onion juice for hair is a simple process that may be done easily at home. Here are all the steps that you should follow to use onion juice for promoting healthy, luscious tresses:
1. Peel And Chop
The first step of using onion juice is to gather three to four medium-sized onions. Once you have them in one place, use a sharp knife to peel the onions properly, and cut them into quadrants.
2. Extract the Juice
After you have cut up the onions, the next step is to extract the juice from them. You may do this process in two distinct ways. You may use a stainless steel grater and grate up the onions finely into a large bowl. Or you may make the process simpler by using a food blender and turning the onions into a smooth paste.
3. Strain the Onions
Using a strainer or a cotton cloth, strain the onion paste to get the juice out. Make sure that you have placed a large bowl under the strainer or the cloth so that the onion juice drips into the container. Also, you may use additional tools like a spoon or press the pulp with your hands to get all the juice out of the onions.
4. Add Lemon Juice Drops
In case you particularly aren’t able to handle the pungent smell of onions, you may add a few drops of lemon to the onion juice to offset the smell.
5. Use a Cotton Pad for Application
Once the onion juice for hair is ready for use, you may use a soft cotton pad to absorb the product and start massaging it into your scalp and hair. After you have applied it to your hair properly, let it sit in your hair for an hour, and then wash it off using cold water and your usual shampoo. Ensure that you use a shampoo with a mild formula to rinse off the onion juice.
DIY Onion Juice Remedies for Hair Growth
Are you wondering how to make onion juice for hair? The benefits of onion juice for hair may be elevated by mixing it with different emollients and other natural ingredients. Ahead, we have compiled the ultimate beauty edit of all the DIY onion juice remedies that you may make at home for promoting hair health and growth.
- Castor Oil And Onion Juice Hair Mask
Ingredients: Two tablespoon castor oil, two tablespoons onion juice
Method: Mix the castor oil and onion juice in a small bowl. Once you achieve a well-combined mixture, massage it into your scalp, and leave it on for about an hour. After it has dried, wash your hair with a mild shampoo for the best results.
Why It Works: According to studies, castor oil has a regenerating and stimulating effect on hair which leads to thicker and healthier hair growth (10). Combined with onion juice, this DIY remedy helps to combat hair loss while promoting fuller hair growth.
- Egg And Onion Juice Hair Mask
Ingredients: Two tablespoons onion juice, one whole egg, shower cap
Method: Whisk the egg with onion juice to form a well-combined paste. Once mixed properly, apply this mixture to your hair and leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes. To avoid mess and the pungent smell, you may wear a shower cap. After the mixture has dried, use a mild sulfate-free shampoo to rinse off the hair mask effectively.
Why It Works: The water-soluble peptides that are derived from egg yolks have been proven to help enhance hair growth and health (11). Hence, this hair mask made with egg and onion juice is an effective remedy to nourish your hair naturally.
- Garlic And Onion Juice Hair Mask
Ingredients: One teaspoon of garlic juice, one tablespoon of onion juice, and one tablespoon of olive oil
Method: In a small bowl, mix all three ingredients until they form a well-combined paste. Once mixed, apply the paste to your hair and leave it on for about an hour. Rinse it off using a shampoo with a mild formula.
Why It Works: Just like onions, garlic has abundant minerals like calcium, zinc, and sulfur which promote healthy hair growth. When mixed with onion juice, this hair mask turns into an efficient DIY remedy that promises a boost in hair growth and also volume in your tresses (12), (13).
- Potato And Onion Juice Hair Mask
Ingredients: Two tablespoon potato juice, one tablespoon onion juice
Method: Mix both ingredients in a bowl till the distinct juices dissolve with each other. Once you get a combined mixture, apply it to your hair, and leave it on for 15 minutes. Rinse with a mild shampoo after it has dried on your hair.
Why It Works: Best known for its growth-boosting benefits, potatoes are rich in vitamins like B and C, and minerals like zinc, niacin, iron, and more. These minerals in the vegetable help promote hair growth and also nourish your hair follicles from within (14), (15), (16).
Side Effects of Onion Juice That You Should Know
While using onion juice for hair has amazing benefits for your hair, it also has its share of side effects that you should be aware of.
- May Cause Burning, Irritation, And Itching
Due to the high content of sulfur in onions, using onion juice on the scalp and hair may cause excessive burning, itching, and irritation sensations for some people. This allergic reaction might reverse the benefit and lead to hair loss (4). Hence, using onion juice is not ideal for people who are prone to psoriasis, allergies, or eczema.
- It May Cause Dryness in Hair And Scalp
If the onion juice is not rinsed and removed properly from hair, it may lead to hyper-sensitivity and irritate the scalp. Further, the irritation may cause dryness in the hair and scalp.
- Onions May Have a Foul, Unpleasant Smell
Onions have a very strong and pungent odor that lingers on your tresses even after shampooing. Excessive shampooing to get rid of the smell may lead to natural oils getting stripped from hair. The only way to deal with this is to let the smell reduce and fade away on its own (17).
Conclusion
In a world of harsh chemicals and artificial formulas, the use of natural beauty remedies like onion juice for hair has made a resurgence. Today, the benefits of onion juice for hair are recognized globally and the remedy is utilized for its effectiveness. As its benefits continue to pull people and gain wider recognition, beauty companies are now actively promoting onion juice as a major constituent in their hair care products. While using this natural DIY remedy on hair can help promote hair growth, nourish hair follicles, and enhance hair, its usage also has certain disadvantages. From making the scalp dry and having allergic reactions to leaving behind an unpleasant odor, the potential side effects of this remedy can be averted with cautious use. However, by making use of emollients and other naturally occurring products, the properties of onion juice can be utilized to their fullest potential to promote hair growth and combat hair loss efficiently.
Sources:
1. Onion juice: an effective home remedy for combating alopecia.
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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31603240/
3. Collagen Increasing and Hair Growth Effect of Supramolecular Cosmetic Materials Containing Phytochemicals
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5. In vitro anti-inflammatory and skin protective properties of Virgin coconut oil
6. Onion juice (Allium cepa L.), a new topical treatment for alopecia areata
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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22902824/
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10. Preclinical study on the hair growth and regeneration of external use lotions containing castor oil (Ricini Oleum) in rabbits
11. Naturally occurring hair growth peptide: water-soluble chicken egg yolk peptides stimulate hair growth through induction of vascular endothelial growth factor production
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29583066/
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13. Combination of topical garlic gel and betamethasone valerate cream in the treatment of localized alopecia areata: a double-blind randomized controlled study
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17314444/
14. Potatoes and human health
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15. The three-dimensional distribution of minerals in potato tubers
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3064541/
16. Influence of Nutrition, Food Supplements and Lifestyle in Hair Disorders
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9650738/
17. Investigation of volatiles emitted from freshly cut onions (allium cepa l.) by real time proton-transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (ptr-ms)
18. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3571771/
Preliminary observation on the effect of baking soda volume on controlling odour from discarded organic waste
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20. Aloe vera compositions used for medicinal applications: a patent review (2013-till 2020)
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ALSO READ: 20 Benefits of onion oil for hair growth
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