Cayenne Pepper As A Hair Growth Aid?

Most of us know cayenne as a food spice, right? It’s in our favorite hot sauces and it can be used as a cure for some illnesses. Heck, cayenne pepper is even used as a weight loss supplement.

But what would you do if I told you that some of us are using cayenne pepper as a growth aid. EERRRRRRRR!!! Stop the press… I’m guessing this is probably some of you guys responses huh?

Yes, what I said was what you saw, cayenne pepper has been popping up more and more throughout many hair boards and blogs as a growth aid and we are about to bring you the 411 on cayenne pepper and its contribution to hair growth.

What is Cayenne Pepper?

Cayenne pepper, which also goes by other names such as bird pepper and cow horn pepper, is a red chili powder used mostly to season foods and heal ailments. It is has really high amount of vitamin A* & C and trace amounts of vitamin E*, manganese*, potassium*, vitamin B6, and riboflavin.

While these are very good vitamins* for all of us to have they aren’t the reason why that some ladies have been having a huge bang for their buck in regards to hair growth.

Why in the world would one think that Cayenne Pepper would be a good hair growth aid?

Well, actually there is a pretty good and valid reason for why cayenne pepper would be considered as a hair growth aid. Cayenne pepper contains a high amount of something that goes by the name of capsaicin.

Capsaicin is an irritant, yes irritant (doesn’t sound pleasant huh?) to humans and animals that is largely found in hot peppers. This is the stuff that causes that burning sensation that makes you want to put two gallons of milk down your throat (almond milk for my vegans out there) to just stop the agonizing pain.

It is also known as a metabolism booster because it produces secondary metabolites which can aid in our go go go nature. Here’s the good part in all of this: The irritant nature of capsaicin is actually the biggest reason of why cayenne pepper may work as a growth aid.

When we consume cayenne pepper or apply it to our skin it, the capsaicin that’s contained within the pepper causes dilation in our blood vessels. This dilation means that wherever we apply the cayenne pepper, there would be increased blood flow to that area and if we digest cayenne pepper then we experience boosted metabolism. Now I have a feeling that this question coming up may be the next question on your mind…

Rhetorically speaking: If I wanted to use cayenne pepper as a growth aid, how would I use it and how often should I apply it to my head?

Well, from the ladies who have experienced results, such as ladies from Long Hair Care Forum and Black Hair Media Forum, there were two main ways that the cayenne pepper was used as a growth aid.

1. Cayenne pepper with olive oil*

This concoction is the most common way of using cayenne pepper as a growth aid. One of the first reports of cayenne pepper working as a growth aid came from a lady on LHCF who shared a story on how one of her relatives went from a shaved scalp to hair down her back. Now, there wasn’t any evidence that was shown to prove this story but assuming that we take it at face value…

To make the concoction, mix two tablespoons of powdered cayenne pepper into 4 oz. of olive oil* (she had originally described the bottle as being around the size of a bottle of Wild Growth Hair Oil*, which is 4 oz.).

Shake it up to mix up the ingredients and then apply it to your hair and scalp on one day and then the next day you should shampoo out the cayenne mixture. Alternatively you can use the mixture as a prepoo treatment and shampoo it out after an hour or two.

2. Cayenne pepper tonic

This is a more “classic” version of the cayenne growth aid. This one involves liquor so for my ladies who likes a good drink every now and then, please make the tonic first or heck take a drink beforehand just in case you need to numb out the tingling.

To make this tonic, you will need 4-6 medium sized fresh Cayenne Peppers and 50 ml of cognac or vodka or 90% alcohol. First, you should start by cutting the pepper into pieces and place them into a bottle.

Then fully cover the peppers by adding cognac, vodka or alcohol. Lastly, shake and store the mixture in a dark place away from sunlight for about two weeks for the juices from the peppers to seep into the alcohol. The alcohol with have a reddish tinge after the time has passed.

Once ready, strain the mixture and then dilute it with water. The ratio should be approximately 40:20. This can be applied before or after washing your hair, but is recommended to be applied before shampoo so that the tingling effect won’t be as harsh and so that if it does become a nuisance , you can shampoo it out straight away and will not have to worry about the double manipulation during wash day.

How often do you use it?

This seems to vary from woman to woman. Those using the mixtures as prepoos will obviously just use it on wash day which is either once or twice a week. There are those women however who use their mixtures two to three times a week (without washes) and further some have reported to using theirs once or twice a day!

I suppose it’s safe to assume that “how often” will completely depend on the person using it and whether the slight irritation from the cayenne really bothers you or not. There are those who seem to enjoy the tingling sensation but some have reported feeling nothing at all!

Are there any side effects?

For most women there have not been any negative side effects. The only expected effect is the tingling that most would experience. If you feel really uncomfortable from the tingling sensation, rinse out right away and for goodness sake try not to get any mixture in your eyes!

So that’s it girls, if you try this put please let us know how it went in the comments below.