I have been natural since 2008 and in all my years of caring for my own hair and writing about the ups and downs of natural hair care, I have never heard of anyone using Vicks vapor rub on their natural hair until now.
We have had a few strange things that women swear by for hair growth including the infamous Monistat Vaginal cream which we have debated to death; As well as a variety of hair products and creams that have claimed to give increased and fast hair growth with a number of side effects.
To add to that list, recently, I have been seeing videos on youtube with women trying Vicks Vapor rub on their hair and scalp for faster hair growth. When I did a quick search it seemed like the trend has been around for years but was recently popularised on youtube by one YouTuber who used it on her daughter’s hair to increase her hair growth.
She has 5 videos on the topic, and I will allow you to search for them yourself but here is a FAQ video she did recently where she talks about using the cough suppressant on the scalp:
Watch:
My thoughts
One of the active ingredients in Vicks Vapor rub is Camphor and when used topically increases local blood flow which might be the reason you may see some growth. Vicks also contains Menthol and Eucalyptus oil which when used topically can also increase blood flow to the areas applied and create growth acceleration.
In addition to that, you will also see warnings that state not to apply camphor to broken skin because it can enter the body quickly and reach concentrations that are high enough to cause poisoning. Vicks also contains petroleum which is still used in the natural hair community by some while others avoid it like the plague.
Now that we have that out of the way, to be fair I have never been a supporter of quick fixes for hair growth especially with products that may have some side effects because they are designed for other uses.
I truly believe that hair growth it is a very natural process driven by your overall health and genetics. Vitamins, healthy proteins, fats, exercise are all safe and natural components that are directly related to the growth of your hair.
In addition to that, there are way too many natural oils that are extracted from natural sources that can be used as part of a healthy hair growth regimen.
I personally would not use Vicks on my scalp nor would I suggest that you do, instead, make a potent hair growth oil mix for yourself and use that to help with hair growth if you are really focused on seeing results. If you need a recipe click here!
Would you use Vicks Vapor Rub on your scalp? Comment below!
