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Does Onion Juice Help With Hair Growth?

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You are no longer a teenager and your hair has passed its prime years. Now you are dealing with damaged hair and your biggest struggle is to keep the hair that you have remaining right where it belongs: on your head!

You are tired of trying everything under the sun to make your hair look thicker and healthier. But you haven’t tried one magic method that is made from just ONE simple ingredient that you already must have at home. What is it? Drumroll…. ONIONS!!

Yes, you read that right! There has been a whole lot of social media coverage on women using onion juice to promote hair growth and surprisingly, the results are quite worth it. It begs the question: will onion juice help me grow my hair? and the simple answer is: Yes! I say that because, like always, everything I post on here is something I have tried and tested. So, if it worked for me, I will definitely tell the world because it might work for others as well; not everyone; but most people- and I am happy with that.

If you would like to know how and why onion juice is an easy at-home hair growth remedy, keep on reading!

Onion Juice Hair Benefits

So why onions? What is so special about this specific vegetable and how does it help our hair?

There are 3 reasons why onion juice helps hair grow strong and let us look at each one of them.

1. Sulfur

Onions are rich in sulfur, the most common mineral in the body needed for adequate enzyme and protein production. Sulfur is also found in keratin, a protein that is the main component of human hair. Sulfur found in onion juice, therefore, provides hair with the nourishment it needs to grow strong and thick. This nourishment prevents hair from further damage and minimizes future hair thinning and breakage.

2. Antioxidants: enzyme catalase & flavonoids

Photo by Polina Tankilevich from Baseimage

Two main types of antioxidants, enzyme catalase and flavonoids, contained in onions help boost hair growth. Enzyme catalase help break down hydrogen peroxide and other damages done to the hair so new hair grows stronger, thicker and longer. Flavonoids, however, protect and shield the hair from free radicals. The reason why free radicals are damaging to our hair is because they destroy the hair follicles, leading it to premature aging and graying. Together, these antioxidants prevent the hair from becoming dry, brittle, and weak.

3. Antibacterial

The antibacterial properties in onions help keep the scalp healthy and free of any kind of infection or inflammation. Our daily styling tools and hair products can cause a great deal of scalp build-up and this can result in dandruff and flaky or itchy scalp. When this happens, bacteria from this buildup can easily lead to scalp infection or dermatitis, leading to more hair fall or hair thinning. A healthy scalp is more likely to have strong hair follicles. 

Onion Juice Hair Treatment Facts

Now that we know what makes onion juice so beneficial in boosting our hair growth, I must take some time to mention a few important need-to-know items before we can move on to how you can make your own onion juice at home.

Unpleasant Smell

I have to warn you, onion juice smells pretty bad. However, you can always add a few drops of essential oils to not just mask the smell of onions but also reap more hair benefits from these oils.

You can read my most recommended list of essential oils for hair here; although I would highly suggest you use rosemary, lavender, or peppermint as all of these promote hair growth.

Patch Test

A common side effect of using onion juice on the scalp is redness and itchiness. For most people this is tolerable. For those it is not, don’t leave the mask on for too long. Wash it off until you cannot bear the smell. However, it is strongly advised to do a patch test to ensure you do not have any kind of allergy. 

To do this, test a small area (ex. your inner wrist or the skin behind your ear) by applying the onion juice and waiting to see if you develop any itchiness. Another way you can reduce side-effects from onion juice is to dilute it with a carrier oil. You can read about the best oils for repairing hair and boosting hair growth here. My personal recommendation would be castor oil.

How Long ’till Results

Photo by by Susannah Townsend from Baseimage

Like every natural home remedy, results take time and a great deal commitment. You have to be persistent in order to see results and they could be visible anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks. I applied onion juice on my scalp with a 2-day interval and I saw visible baby hair re-growth in almost a month.

Onion Type

There are many different kinds of onions on the market and you can pretty much use any kind. No one type of onion has better properties than the other when it comes to hair-health. I personally prefer to use red onions.

More Hair Loss

It is likely that you might notice a lot more hair loss when you begin to use onion juice. Although onion juice does not cause hair loss, the main reason for hair shedding could be a vigorous scalp massage. Massaging the scalp is supposed to stimulate blood flow and aid in hair growth so make sure you are doing so gently.

How to Make Onion Juice For Hair Growth

Preparation:

Photo by by RDNE Stock project from Pexels
  1. Peel one onion and chop into small pieces.
  2. Blend the pieces in a food processor until completely pureed.
  3. Take a cheesecloth and strain all the juice out in a small bowl.
  4. Transfer the onion juice to a spray bottle for easy application. Your onion juice hair mask is ready to use!

 

How to use: Spray onto the scalp and massage gently for a few minutes. Wear a shower cap and leave the onion juice on the scalp for 15-30 minutes. Wash off with mild shampoo and conditioner.

Storing: I would advise to make small batches (one onion at time) so that you are using fresh juice each time instead of keeping it in the fridge for more than a week so it goes stale. Like most organic food products, onion juice will lose its potency with respect to time.

You can pair onion juice up with rice water, double up the benefits and speed up hair growth even more! 

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Final Takeaway

Feel free to use this hair mask as often as you would like but I would say every other day is a good start. 

When I first found out about this remedy, I was told to use it twice a day! LOL! 

Could you imagine smelling of onions for the entire day?? No, thanks!

Aside from using hair masks, it is important to remember that while they help clean out the scalp and making the hair stronger, we also have to do our part in maintaining a healthy diet. What we eat is super imperative when it comes to hair health and you can read all about the foods that help stop hair loss here.

I hope that this post motivated you to give onion juice a try if you are looking for an at home solution to help your hair grow! 

Like always, I would love to hear from you so do leave me a comment down below…even if that means you want to say “ewww… onions!” 

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Sasha

Sasha

Hair-enthusiast turned blogger helping women achieve their hair goals with natural and sustainable haircare methods.

10 Responses

  1. I have been using onion juice and it has helped a lot with hair growth. I was wondering for the longest time how to deal with the horrible smell. Thank goodness for your awesome post -now I can use essential oils to mask the smell! Thanks again for such an informative post…I can’t believe I never thought of something so simple! Can’t wait to try now…:)

    1. Yes, you definitely can!Sometimes, it is the simplest of things that can make a world of a difference! So glad to know your success with onion juice 🙂

  2. There is an old saying the old men always told us as kids, and that was eating onions grew hair on your chest. I never thought about onion juice helping your hair to grow, I thank you for this information and I am sure many people are going to be using more onion juice after reading this article

    Jeff

    1. Now that you mention it, I remember hearing this as a child as well! The only difference was that we, as girls, were told not to eat too much onion because it will grow hair on our body and which girl wants that, eh? thanks for bringing that up- i totally had forgotten all about it!

  3. Hi Sasha,

    I’m so glad you mentioned the list of essential oils, as the first thought that came into my mind was of course, The Smell.

    However, as you’ve mentioned, I am aware of the many health benefits of onions, and indeed onion juice, so it’s no surprise to me that hair growth is yet another plus.

    Just a quick question if I may – I note you’ve said that you applied onion juice in 2-day intervals, and saw improvements within a month – Did you wash your hair regularly during this period or would you suggest avoiding applying something such as shampoo while using this method?

    Thanks for a great article and I must say your website looks fantastic.
    Partha

    1. Hey Partha, great question! For starters, I usually wash my hair every other day anyway…sometimes even on the third day (it is best to not wash every day as it strips the scalp of its natural oils), so in that way, the onion juice mask worked perfectly well with my regimen as I would apply it on days I would need to shampoo. One should always shampoo the hair to wash off the onion juice completely – there is no need to skip shampooing, unless you want people to walk miles away from you because of the odor.

      Thank you for the compliment on my website! Means a lot:)

  4. I can see how this remedy will save my hair! I have always had thick hair and long hair for a guy, but recently it started falling out due to stress. I’ve tried lots of things to help stop the fall but it hasn’t helped much. I even cut my hair short-ish but nothing really helped. After reading this post, I am definitely motivated to try onion juice and look forward to results! I wont forget the essential oils though!!

    Thank you very much!

    Best wishes

    1. Hey Habib, life definitely gets stressful and that leads to hair fall, no doubt. The good news is that most of the time, that hair grows back. I am so glad you are being proactive and looking for ways to improve your hair growth. DO try the remedy but make sure to be persistent! it will be worth it in the end- Good luck!

      Cheers,
      Sasha

  5. Considering the smell of onion, it’s a turn-off for me to try these tips to keep my hair healthy. But, once I found that you also provide the idea of using essential oils to reduce the smell, which is a good idea LOL, I think maybe I can try to see how it goes for my hair.

    For the part of mixing onion juice and rice water, it is amazing that we can find natural ingredients in our daily life instead of purchasing expensive hair-care products for the same purpose. So, your artilce is very useful & helpful.

    Cheers,
    Matt

    1. Trust me, it is a horrible smell- I tried it without the essential oils and I couldn’t stand it. However, adding rice water makes the odor even WORSE! but that remedy is so powerful for hair growth; it is worth bearing the smell!

      Thank you for taking the time to read my post and finding it useful:)

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Sasha's Bio
hi, I'm Sasha

Covid-19 changed not just the world but my hair too. Unfortunately, for the worse.

As I struggled to try everything under the sun to tame my mane (while being in lockdown), I noticed that natural remedies were most effective!

Here I am now,  sharing my tried & tested haircare methods to help women who are in the same boat as me.

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