I LOVE today’s question!

Hello, all my life I have had really oily hair, I can not go more than two days without washing my hair because of all the sebum that is produced. I was wondering if anyone could help me with some essential oils I could mix with my shampoo to try and help regulate the sebum production.

Before jumping into recommendations, there are a few points I wish to make.

One, we have no idea how old this individual is, yet, clearly, they’ve struggled with oily hair for some time now. As we all know, oily hair is not uncommon in our teenage years and is the result of hormonal signaling.

The reason for this is acetylcholine, a primary neurotransmitter / hormone, is responsible for regulating the autonomic nervous system. We could break it down to subsystems, and there is no reason because everyone has their own epigenome which means not one person responds to stress in the same way.

Did I say stress?

Yes. And what’s more puberty is a stress system response. Stress is another way of saying, a change is needed.

So, why oily skin and hair?

Acetylcholine is instrumental in helping to keep the body moist. This is why dry skin, eyes, and mouth are considered part of the aging process. The truth is, aging is highly regulated by the stress system.

Think about this. Decades of emotional, physical, and mental distress (lest we forget environmental) and it stands to reason the body appears to be drying out. Acetylcholine has been functioning as a sympathetic activator for HOW MANY YEARS?

This of course leads to weight gain, degenerative health issues, low testosterone, sexual dysfunction, and so on all because the digestive system has NOT FULLY functioned for as long as we’ve lived with stress! AND, this is an entirely different post.

Back to oily hair.

Based on what I’ve said thus far, you might think that since oily hair is the issue, then this person’s issues are much different. Not exactly!

Each of us has our own unique genetic wiring and how this plays out in one person simply represents their epigenetic function. It doesn’t mean their system isn’t stressed because if we took a full assessment, my guess is they have other concerns they haven’t shared because we’re trained to believe it’s all unrelated.

For one thing, oily hair as a teen represents a body in stress mode. If it continues into adulthood, that says something about the autonomic nervous system and digestion! Therefore, I recommend the following oils to not only combat oily hair BUT help restore the body to a more stable environment.

1. cedarwood atlas for the himachalene content which is an astringent constituent that helps regulate the oil on the scalp plus the synergy supports the body's ability to stabilize the stress system which is leading to the production of excessive sebum

2. rosemary verbenone for the a-pinene constituent, helping to regulate acetylcholine which is responsible for the moisture levels of the skin plus the synergy of this oil supports hormonal regulation

3. myrtle (CT cineole) because it is very soothing to the autonomic nervous system and helps with regulating hormones and improving the quality of digestion as well as improving skin and hair. (by CT, I mean chemotype which indicates the predominant constituent in the oil) Not to mention, cineole modulates nitric oxide synthase processes supporting both neurochemical and immunochemical activity.

4. ylang ylang complete for the germacrene D and farnesene content which support the body’s use of cholesterol for hormonal production (DO NOT use if currently taking blood pressure medications). Needless to say, including ylang ylang complete facilitates the stabilization of the stress system.

Keep in mind, this is a generalized recommendation! Every body is different which means symptoms vary between people. Being clear on what your body is experiencing is essential to choosing the best oils for you. Then again, this suggested blend is suitable for many people. Please comment as well as email your questions!

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