Getting started is easy! In fact, you can just buy some inexpensive peppermint essential oil^ right now. But investing a bit of time reading this description of our practice, with important cautions and our recommendations, will save you time and money in the long run.

Goal

The goal is to get the Peppermint Essential Oil in contact with your scalp (but not directly – it must be mixed with a carrier!). Do this regularly, once a day, 5-6 days per week.

Ingredients

To build your own practice, you’ll need:

• Peppermint essential oil (with dropper)^
• Conditioner^ (This is the conditioner I use because it is just the right thickness – but you can use whatever you have in your bathroom today)

Other items mentioned below but not required:

• A plastic cosmetic container^
• Scalp brush^
  
  

Preparation

Peppermint essential oil should never be applied directly to the skin.

Instead, it should be mixed with a carrier — something in which to mix the essential oil. Our recommendation is your regular shampoo or conditioner. I use conditioner since it wants to sit for a few minutes in any case.

The thickness of the carrier matters. It shouldn’t be too thick, or too thin. It’s best if, once the peppermint essential oil is worked in, it stays mixed in.

Here are two different methods I’ve used with success.

Ad hoc

I started out by hand-mixing each application:

• Put a regular amount of conditioner in my hand
• Put 3-7 drops in my hand (I adjusted upward over time)
• Carefully mix it all together in the palm of my hand

This operation is easy and takes about one minute to complete. But I found it awkward — trying to properly measure while the shower is running, hold it in one hand while putting the cap back on, don’t spill the precious peppermint essential oil, etc.

In bulk

Now I pre-mix enough for about a week. This works for me — it’s not so much that the concoction goes sour or loses potency, and it is enough bulk that it doesn’t feel like an imposition.

I have a cosmetic container. I:

• Add 3 squirts of peppermint essential oil to the container before I get into the shower – the dropper will not fill all the way, only about a third full
• Get in the shower with the container
• Fill the container halfway with conditioner
• Mix the oil and conditioner carefully (if you move too quickly you can spill the oil over the side).
• Fill the remainder of the container with conditioner
• Mix the fresh conditioner into the original mix. This is easier since the oil has already been mixed into the previous half.

This operation takes about two minutes to complete, once/week. Get started with some peppermint essential oil today.

Usage

The goal here is to apply Peppermint Essential Oil to the scalp.

It can feel a bit tricky because your hair will soak up the conditioner (and by the way, the peppermint oil can help make your hair healthy and shiny).

When I first began, sometimes it felt like none of the oil reached my scalp! I didn’t think about it at the time, but I was also trying to conserve the peppermint essential oil.

So I carefully applied small amounts at specific locations (crow’s feet, brow, specific spots on my head) and really tried to make sure the conditioner was put on my scalp and not my hair.

This was always a bit finicky for me; it takes too long, it’s hard to “aim” the carrier at the right place on my head, I was constantly trying to calculate the right small amounts, move the hair aside, etc.

Finally, one day I tried using a slightly larger than usual amount of conditioner and just not worrying about it. I got the conditioner applied evenly across my head and could feel it working.

So now that’s what I do — I simplify the application to just a regular application of conditioner but put slightly more in my palm. In the end I believe this is the same amount of conditioner that I was using when I made several smaller applications.

I’ve also come to realize that the tiny delta in how much peppermint essential oil I’m using is negligible compared to the benefit of making this whole process easier.

I scoop out the portion of conditioner into my fingers, rub them with both hands so that the conditioner is spread around, and then apply it across my whole scalp all at once.

I work the conditioner in thoroughly with my fingers; I also do tend to give a little extra attention to the top of my forehead and the front of my scalp.

Another trick from my hairstylist is to use a scalp brush to really work the oil into the scalp. I feel the difference when I use this tool, but I don’t use it every time.

When I use it, I just gently scrub my scalp from front to back.

Check out the list of ingredients again.

Cautions

1. Do not use if you have an allergy to menthol.
2. No testing has been done with respect to pregnancy.
3. Do not apply unadulterated oil to your scalp or other skin. cautions
4. Do not get oil in your eyes. If you do, rinse your eyes with water.
5. Do not continue application if skin rashes and irritation follow.
6. Keep away from and do not apply to infants or young children.

Get started with some peppermint essential oil today

Notes

• You will feel it when the peppermint essential oil has been applied to your scalp. It is a cold glow-y kind of a feeling. It does not last (it will take about 10 minutes to go away).
• It should not burn. If it feels too intense, add more (plain) conditioner, or wash your hair and scalp with water and soap. This will reduce any intensity, but you will still feel the glow.
• Adjust how much oil you mix with how much conditioner to get the right amount for you.
• If you get peppermint essential oil in your eyes, you will know it. Wash your eyes with running water and blink until the sensation lessens. Any feeling will go away quickly. While this happened on occasion, it’s not something to stress about.
• When I use the brush, it is full of loose hairs. I have a shower head that allows a condensed, hard stream — this makes it easy to clear out the brush.
• After my shower, I take some toilet paper and collect any loose hair by the drain. I give myself these minutes to stand in the hot shower and chill. I’m not meditating, but it’s similar.
• I don’t worry if I miss a day. I try to manage 5-6 times a week, but if I’m busy, or late, or forget, I just move on.

Check out the list of ingredients again.

What’s next?

This is our personal practice; take these notes and make them your own. Let us know if you find a different way — we share best practices and updates.

• Thank you

e-mail us at hello at mintmane.com
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