How did we develop this hair and beard oil? The answer is with the help rescue hedgehogs. As you know we sponsor a local hedgehog charity called Hog House in Long Stratton, just around the corner from our warehouse. Do take a look at our Charity Page.
We provide natural products for the care of the hedgehogs, advice on natural therapies and occasional financial support. Many of the poorly hedgehogs arrive without fur or spines – they have been so ill, from stress, massive tick and flea infestations, parasites, poisoning, or malnutrition that both their furry undercoat and spines fall out.
In the rescue centre, hedgehogs are bought back to health – but they can’t be released until they have a complete coat of fur and a set of spines. Without their warm undercoat the hedgehogs would succumb to hypothermia and would never survive the hibernation period and without spines, the hedgehogs have no defence against cats, dog, rats, foxes, birds and other predators.
A photo of a hedgehog who used our hair growth oil to restore its undercoat and growth new spines.
Quite a few of the hedgehogs in the rescue centre had been bought back to health - only their fur and spines hadn't grown back - meaning they can not be released. The healthy hedgehog (except it is lacking fur and spines) needs to kept in captivity for its own safety. However it is unable to live its natural life, raise its family or hibernate. With most hedgehogs living for 4 years (some do go on to reach much greater ages), being kept in captivity for months on end means the hedgehogs can't live the best of its short life.
The aim of all rescue centres is to help hedgehogs get well quickly and to release them back to the wild as soon as possible. At the rescue centre we support, the carer had lamented how one hedgehog was waiting for 3 months for the spines to regrow. Some other hedgehogs had needed to wait 5 months.
At the rescue centre, their carer, had been applying linseed oil to help new spines and fur re-emerge. However the oil would dry into a sticky paste at the bottom of the new spines and it would take hours to clean it off. The carers try to handle the rescue hogs as little as possible because they are wild animals and destined to be returned to the wild. Also cleaning dried oil off the spines was not only stressful and uncomfortable for the wild hedgehogs, it was also very time consuming for the carers.
I invited the carer to try some pure hemp oil instead of the linseed oil. After being left on the hedgehog for 20 minutes, she found the oil could be washed out completely with a rhassoul clay bath. So that was the first problem solved, reducing hours of labour. The next good news was that the carer recognised that the spines and fur were coming through more quickly with the use of the hemp seed oil.
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The before photo of an adult hedgehog which has lost nearly all its spines. The same hedgehog a few weeks later following daily applications of the hemp and pine tar hair and beard oil, following by a wash with rhassoul clay. |
Hemp oil is very special as the oil is high in Omega 3 and Omega 9 oils. Unlike many other seed oils, hemp seed oil contains significant amount of γ-linolenic (GLA), 0.5-6%, and stearadonic acid (SDA), 0.3-2.5%. GLA is an omega-6 PUFA found in human milk. Hemp oil is also high in anti-inflammatory phytosterols. No wonder hemp oil is used in so many cosmetics.
As so many of these furless and spineless hedgehogs also had skin injuries, caused by borrowing ticks, flea bite allergies and ringworm, I then made some hemp oil up with the addition of some pine tar, used so often in the past for veterinary wound care of superficial wounds. With a mixture containing both hemp oil and pine tar, results were achieved more quickly again and we were seeing the emergence of the new undercoat and spines in a week. We also felt that the hedgehogs would not mind the smoky, woodsy aroma of the pine tar because hedgehogs are not averse to hiding under bonfires.
Finally we created an oil which was more ‘activated’ with our organic, clay, seaweed; and more ‘medicated’ with essential oils to bring integrity to the skin more quickly. With our final formula, we found that fur and spine regrowth was visible within a few days!
| This little hoglet was one of a pair from the same litter, both of which lacked a full cover of fur and spines. We tried the new 'medicated' hemp and pine tar hair growth oil on these siblings and within a few days the new hair and spines started to appear. Within a few weeks, they had a full coverage of hair and spines. |
Here they are with perfect coats and spines.
So, no, we don’t test on animals, but the hedgehogs have helped us to create a powerful hair (and spine) growth formula, that has proven to be as safe and effective on these delicate animals as it is on us. The conclusion is that if our formula not only stimulates the growth of hair, but spines too, then it definitely works!
Thanks to the hedgehogs, we were able to develop a safe formula with proven results. Using our hair (and spine) regrowth oil has been great for the rescue centre. The treatments are easy and quick for the carers to perform and the treatments are probably pleasant for the hedgehogs - Who wouldn't mind having oil massaged into the skin followed by a warm clay wrap, and a quick rinse in warm water? The ingredients probably seem quite familiar to hedgehogs - especially the pine tar, clay and herbal components. The results are very rapid which means the hedgehog can quickly be returned to the wild and can continue with its reproductive and hibernation cycle. This is especially important, because, in the UK, hedgehogs are at risk of extinction.
A human experience using the hair oil
For many years my Moroccan researcher had been nagging me to start using oil on my scalp and hair. He did send me a sample of one which he had formulated, but some of the Moroccan ingredients weren't on the EU cosmetic ingredients list and it could never have passed a safety assessment. So I cast the idea aside.
However, over the last year, I have joined the hedgehogs and been using the hemp and pine tar hair oil too. I apply it before each hair wash and when possible I leave it on overnight. I have noticed more hair growth especially around the edges of the hair line, less hair ending up in my comb, less frizz, and better condition for longer. I think overall, my hair is thicker now.
My current regime is to pre-oil the hair before washing it, to wash the hair using rhassoul clay as shampoo (occasionally, soapnut liquid) using the military wet and dry hair brush to work the clay into the scalp and along the shafts of the hair.
For conditioner, I use our organic seaweed which is a great conditioner or sometimes a mixture of seaweed and marshmallow hair conditioner which gives the hair more body.
For daily combing – I always a horn comb as it brings my natural oils down the hair and removes far fewer hairs than a hair brush.
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I use henna too to cover the grey hairs and always make that with hot seaweed conditioner, meaning I loose very little hair through the hennaing process and get a deep conditioning treatment for several hours and when I come to rinse, the henna leaves the hair easily and quickly.
I don’t think any other hair regime is as complete, as natural or as effective. Please do have a look in our hair care department and discover everything for yourself. Do call us for advice if you need help or guidance. There are all sorts of reasons for hair loss, so we can't guarantee it will work on everyone. If the loss has happened a long time ago, the hair follicle may be so deteriorated, that no regrowth is possible. However here is no doubt in my mind that through using it my hair stays in much better condition and is more manageable. I expect with this high level of care, I will continue to keep a good cover of hair.
We have produced our Hemp and Pine Tar Hair and Beard Oil in two sizes, 100ml and 200ml and both are packed in glass. You can read more about it on our product page.
FAQ What to do if you find an injured or sickly hedgehog?
Please search online for your local rescue centre. There are many very small centres across the country. They are best placed to help you.
If you can't identify a centre near you, please call the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, on 01584 890801. Hedgehog centres are very busy so if you can't get through, leave a message or try another centre. You may also find information about you local rescue centre on Facebook or call a nearby centre to see if they can locate one closer to you. To stand the best chance of saving the life of the hedgehog, please act immediately. In the meantime keep the injured hedgehog in a box with food and water and a heat source such as a pet heat pad or hot water bottle. Make sure the hedgehog can move away from the heat source if it gets to hot. Make sure the hot water bottle stays warm.
FAQ Does the hair regrowth oil work on hair thinning due to menopause?
Yes, it does really help!
FAQ Does the hair oil help against male pattern baldness?
Yes it does. But please follow our complete regime and stop using foaming shampoos and chemical hair conditioners - they damage the hair follicles each time you use them. It is so easy to switch over to using rhassoul clay as a shampoo.
Back to how the hedgehogs helped us develop our hair, beard (and spine) regrowth oil. We took the development one step at a time, first establishing whether the main ingredient was beneficial, then testing and monitoring at each stage as further ingredients were added. It was wonderful to see the results getting faster and better each time. Our local rescue centre uses nothing else now.
I hope that you will try our hair oil for yourself and we’d love to see your comments if you do use our Hair Oil on yourself or on any of your furred, spiny or feathered friends too!