Hemp Seed Oil for Dandruff

Cannabis sativa is used for hemp

Hemp seed oil is oil that has been pressed from the seeds of a hemp (cannabis, or marijuana) plant. Hemp has been used as a healing herb, and for many other practical purposes, throughout recorded history. The ancient Egyptians used hemp as one of their medicines. Very little scientific research has been done in the United States on the medicinal properties of hemp. Since hemp comes from the same plant species as marijuana, it was viewed with suspicion in the United States for many years. Researchers are just beginning to study it. There is no scientific evidence that hempseed oil can help with dandruff, but since hemp is rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs), which are known to reduce dryness and itching in skin, it seems plausible that hemp could turn out to be an excellent treatment for dandruff.

Using Hemp Seed Oil to Prevent Dandruff

Method

• Take one tablespoon of hempseed oil each day as a dietary supplement. Alternatively, you could try drinking hemp milk or including some other form of hemp in your diet.
• Mix some hemp seed oil with another oil, such as olive oil or sesame oil, and apply it to your scalp. Allow the oil to soak into the scalp for at least 30 minutes (or apply the oil at bedtime and leave on overnight). Then shampoo.

Why It Works

Hempseed oil is rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs), including omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. It is so rich in fatty acids that one tablespoon of hempseed oil will give an adult human enough fatty acids for one day. Fatty acids, especially linoleic acid (which our bodies convert into gamma-linoleic acid), are important for skin health. Including essential fatty acids in the diet helps to keep the skin, including the skin on the scalp, smooth and supple. In fact, an EFA deficiency is one of the most common causes of dandruff. Taking hempseed oil internally should remedy the EFA deficiency, while applying it topically to the scalp will have an immediate soothing, moisturizing effect. You may have to include the hempseed oil in your diet for a week or two before the dandruff begins to diminish, but the topical applications should at least relieve the itching and irritation of dandruff.

Precautions

There is no need to worry about psychoactive effects from hempseed oil. Hemp and marijuana are both varieties of Cannabis sativa, and when they are in bloom, they have a similar smell, but marijuana is a variety that is made up of 10 to 25 percent of psychoactive substances (called THC), while hemp contains less than one percent of THC. In addition, hempseed oil is rigorously tested for any trace amounts of THC before it is distributed.

However, a few people do have allergic reactions to hemp, including the development of rashes and hives, and anaphylactic reactions (difficulty breathing, swelling of the throat and mouth, etc.).

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