Question for all you Indian Head Massagers

[allyballybee]

I have got a client coming in for IHM, really just wanted some tips and advice. She is coming in because of hair thinning due to PCOS. Her consultant advised her to help stimulate hair growth. She is also pregnant (7 mths). I have being doing IHM for 6 months and have just never came across this situation.

Also any advice on the oils that could help promote hair growth. (I'm aromatherapy trained, so I know some are contra's to the pregnancy). Managing expectations (have any of you seen good results with regards to the hair growth?). What about recommending the frequency of treatments for best results? Any other advice I can give her?

She is just in her twenties and is really distressed with the hair loss, so really want to help her the best way I can.

Thanks x

 

[Kayleighs Nail & Beauty Studio]

Hiya i do indian head massage but from what i gather from my training its the massage itself thats simulates the hair growth , i would avoid using almond oil , and maybe use something like grapeseed , if she doesnt have any allergies to it.
do you normally add a little aromatheraphy oils to your carrier oil for IHM.
I would avoid it and just use a plain carrier oil.
im sure verything will be fine .
Good Luck

 

[LADY STARDUST]

Hi,
Almond oil is traditionally used in Indian Head massage to stimulate hair growth and it can also relieve muscular pain and tightness which will be beneficial if she is feeling stressed at the moment. The actual massage itself will stimulate the follicles but scientifically i'm not sure if it will actually make the hair grow!
As for frequency of treatments she would be able to have them every week i would imagine if that is what she wants; i wouldn't advise more appointments than that as the healing process can be quite strong in IHM and when i was trained at college this is what they recommended for repeat treatments...xXx

 

[LADY STARDUST]

i would avoid using almond oil ,

Oh yeah, sorry forgot she was pregnant!! oops!:biggrin:

 

[beauty4you]

Remember that being pregnant can also cause her to loose her hair so after the baby is here and her hormones start getting back to normal the hair loss might not be so bad. My sister suffers PCOS and has thinning if the hair too!

The IHM massage with stimulate the blood flow to the folicules and as said might not actually make her hair come in any better. It will help her with the destressing which in turn should also help the hair falling out I would hope.

Cath
x

 

[Martin Duffy]

I personally can't see why sweet almond should be avoided & have yet to find a rational scientific reason or study that says this is the case. The carrier oil itself is highly unlikely to penentrate into the bloodstream & get to the foetus, & many scientists hold that avoiding foods in pregnancy will have no effect on the sensitisation of the unborn child. Indeed, a study by Gideon Lack et al (St Mary's, Imperial College, London), suggested that actually what is more likely to cause allergy is the use of nut oils to treat broken or inflamed skin on the born baby (i.e. nappy rash creams etc), the broken skin facilitating penetration of the nut oil.

The idea that rubbing a bit of almond oil on a scalp is going to cause any problems for the unborn baby or pregnant mother is really unfounded, much like a lot of the nonsense about essential oil danger in pregnancy, and is mainly put about by those repeating things they've read in populist books on the subject, rather than those written based on research & evidence.

 

[single sparkle]

When i was training in IHM we were told that rose oil is very good for the hair. I'm not an aromatherapist though and so far i don't use any oils in my IHM.