Confused

Since i have been mixing my products i have yet to use an essential oil i wanted to try one for hair growth and scent so i picked the peppermint one i love the smell and decided to read on it and how to add it to my mixes well i came across a few places where they described it as an oil that help remove the excess sebum in one's scalp , and help with dandruff and dry scalp but the sebum thing made me reluctant to use it because if we are buying oils to physically add to our scalp and hair why add something that help remove excess sebum when the main issue in Curly hair is not enough sebum ? Should i use the peppermint oil anyways and what are great essential to use to stimulate hair growth ? also i read the same thing about lemon grass it gets rid of excess sebum

Well I have some peppermint essential oil and I only have used it in my whipped mixture and I only about 5 or 6 drops to mask the shea butter and coconut oil smell. and then whip it up, let it chill in the fridge abd voila, magic!!! LOL. But I can still smell the peppermint pretty good but not too strong. I use that mixture for everything damn near...Thats the only thing I have used peppermint oil for

Just throwing out my two cents...

That's a good question. I know Jojoba oil is meant to be great because it's similar to natural sebum, so who knows why you'd want an oil that reduces sebum when we don't have enough.
I think peppermint oil is antiseptic and calming though (and smells nice), so maybe those are the properties its users are going for and maybe it's ok to use as long as your products are balanced so your hair doesn't get stripped.
Anyway, I'm sure there are even curly girls who have greasy scalps for whom peppermint oil would be good. I'm sure we're not all the same. I try to find out my skin type, then research ingredients before I buy them. Mop Top Maven was awesome for that for me.
I've also heard some oils being described as they control sebum production, which I don't really understand. It sounds like they stop you producing when you have too much and stimulate when you don't have enough, but how on earth does an oil do that?!

LOL @ the soul glo image hehehe thanks @ laeepop that's my plan as well to add a few drop in my shea mango mix experiment but i'm still confused i need moisture moisture moisture lol
@josomebody i will get to the bottom of this lol

I use peppermint eo in my spritz because I love love love the scent!!! lol. I haven't had any issues with dryness either but I am curious about the whole sebum thing.

Wait a minute, just a thought. I always considered my hair to be dry because it doesn't produce enough oil/sebum, but are we mixing things up? Does sebum provide moisture? Maybe it simply provides nourishment and a natural 'sealant'/outer cuticle protection for the hair.

I wonder, can you have dry hair AND a greasy scalp?

Here's my 2 cents, our scalps may produce enough sebum, but since our hair is curly, the oils can't travel down the hair shaft the way they can on straight hair-so yes, you can have a grasy scalp and dry hair. My scalp produces enough oil, but I use pepermint oil mixed in a carrier oil to massage and stimulate growth (as a prepoo). I also add it to spray & conditioner mixes because I like the tingle and the smell. I have not had any adverse affects from using this oil. Rosemary oil is reported to stimulate growth as well, but do not use these oils undiluted as they pack a powerful punch. I use rosemary oil alone once and got a headache out of this world.

freckledmom4 wrote:Here's my 2 cents, our scalps may produce enough sebum, but since our hair is curly, the oils can't travel down the hair shaft the way they can on straight hair-so yes, you can have a grasy scalp and dry hair. My scalp produces enough oil, but I use pepermint oil mixed in a carrier oil to massage and stimulate growth (as a prepoo). I also add it to spray & conditioner mixes because I like the tingle and the smell. I have not had any adverse affects from using this oil. Rosemary oil is reported to stimulate growth as well, but do not use these oils undiluted as they pack a powerful punch. I use rosemary oil alone once and got a headache out of this world.

So the sebum moisturizes? Even though it's oil?

O Okay ... makes sense thank you i actually used it today in my deep conditioner mx today it made my scalp feel super clean

Our scalp DOES produce sebum and jojoba oil is a very close resemblance to the sebum that our scalp produces which makes it an excellent hair oil to use in hot oil treatments, as sealant etc. Since our hair is soo curly the sebum cannot travel down the hair shaft which leaves curly heads with dull, dry hair. It's important to clean our scalp regularly and the use of essential oils like Rosemary and Peppermint will remove sebum so that it does not clog/block our pores and hinder growth which is why these 2 oils are recommended to promote healthy hair growth.