There are tons of herbs (roots, seeds, flowers, buds, leaves, stalks) that are just amazing for hair and scalp use. This is not something new, and has been widely studied for decades! One particular one that deserves the spotlight is: pumpkin seeds.
Now, if you follow us on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, you'll know that I'm not a big proponent of dunkin' your scalp in a combination of oils and letting them steep overnight. Especially if you're just using one particular oil – like rosemary, sesame, or even pumpkin seed oil. Oils are occlusive by nature, and they can form a film over your scalp, suffocating it.
I mean, would you leave oils on your face overnight? Of course not. Scalp is skin, so just don't do it for long periods of time. Please. Yes, i do think there are a lot of beneficial compounds in these herbs, yet you don't need to leave them on for such a length of time, as it's truly unnecessary and can cause more harm than good.
So let's get into it: What's in a pumpkin seed that helps with hair growth?
Pumpkin seed oil consists of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. It also has beta-sitosterol, a compound that has been shown to inhibit the effects of enzymes that can slow down your scalp's manufacture of hair. Unfortunately, much of this research has been done on poor cute little mice (don't get me started on how terrible a practise this continues to be! Just don't shoot the messenger, please) yet it also has been researched on actual people like you and I. Hurray!!!
So pumpkin is a good choice for supporting hair growth, and you can find some of this research here:
However, there are many reasons why you can be losing your hair, as we mentioned in this blog [HERE]. So first you need to determine why you're losing your hair, because regardless of how good a carrier or essential oil can be to help restore hair growth, you really shouldn't run out to buy one single ingredient and 'glug-glug-glug' (sound effect) pour it on your hair and scalp. Hair growth is much more complicated than that.
The other thing to consider, is that for pumpkin seed oil to help with the prevention of hair loss and hair growth, the best thing to do is to also EAT these heavenly morsels. YESSS, eat them! Consuming just 1 cup of pumpkin can provide a ton of goodies to your body, and many which we can all be guilty of losing due to stress and bad eating habits.
Check out our video on Instagram to see how we make this
super easy and fantastically delicious hair food using pumpkin seeds!
(You honestly cannot make an easier bark than this one!)
Pumpkin seeds can provide to your body:
20% of your daily Vitamin C requirements
10% of your vitamin E requirements
100% of your Vitamin A requirements
and a whole pile of vitamins and minerals, like riboflavin, potassium, manganese, thiamin, B-6, copper, folate, iron, magnesium, niacin, zinc and phosphorus. Whew!
What does this all mean? That your body is a well-oiled machine, and if you want healthy hair growth, or some of the best hair loss prevention advice, you want to start by eating pumpkin seeds! (I mean, why not? They are delicious!). Besides, a healthy body will make healthy skin (scalp) and healthy skin will help make healthy hair, we agree?
Pumpkin seeds for hair growth
One of my favourite ways of eating pumpkin seeds is roasting them in a pan and lightly seasoning them with Tamari sauce (the gluten-free and non-GMO version of soya sauce). I also posted this recipe on TikTok but there's really not much to it:
Roast in a pan (nothing on the pan - no oil, butter, NOTHING)
Once toasted, sprinkle with Tamari sauce
Turn pan off. Mix mix mix and twinkle on a plate to cool.
Eat. Lots! They're soooo good.
There are lots of amazing foods you can eat to improve your health and that of your scalp, which will help with hair growth and hair loss prevention. Pumpkin seeds are one of them, so why not try? They are not only a healthy alternative to popcorn's empty calories and fatty peanut snacks, but they are so delicious! Depending on the reason why you are losing your hair, pumpkins just may be one of the good foods that will help you regain some of the hair loss you're missing.
PSST: If you make our pumpkin seed chocolate bark, tag us on social media with the hashtag "truu_obloom" and let's see it! - - - -
#hairloss #hair #hairgrowth #hairgrowthadvice #truubynature #truu #obloom #pumpkinseedoil #pumpkinseeds #scalpoil #scalptreatment