Do you love to use natural essential oils for your hair, skin, and almost everything? Then here in this article, I have gathered some of the best smelling essential oils for hair. Also, you will learn some simple ways to use essential oils for hair.
Before starting with our list of best-smelling essential oils, let’s know why essential oils are good for your hair.
Benefits of Essential Oils for Hair :

Essential oils are made from natural plants, herbs, and seeds using a steam distillation process or sometimes infusing in carrier oil. That is why they are concentrated in nature. Different essential oils provide similar or different benefits to your hair like :
- Improve scalp health by providing deep nourishment to your scalp
- Many essential oils help to encourage hair growth, reduce hair fall
- Massaging essential oil on your scalp by mixing it in the carrier oil helps to reduce stress and anxiety
- Improves blood circulation in your scalp while massaging hence making your hair follicles healthy and strong
- Provides a natural fragrance to your hair, so you can make DIY hair perfume with essential oils.
So, above are some of the common benefits of essential oils for hair. As I mentioned above essential oils are concentrated in nature you should never use any essential directly.
Always dilute the essential oil and use just a few drops for the smaller batch.
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Now let’s know some of the best-smelling essential oils for hair :
1. Lavender Essential Oil :

Lavender essential oil is widely used in many skin and hair products. It is made from the lavender flowers. It has a very calming fragrance that calms and soothes the mind.
Smells like :
Floral, herbal, woody, and earthy etc.
Benefits :
- Lavender essential oil has anti-inflammatory properties
- Helps to reduce dandruff
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- It promotes hair growth and improves scalp health etc.
2. Coffee Essential Oil :

Coffee essential oil is extracted from the roasted coffee beans through the steam distillation. It is also sometimes infused with carrier oil. Its smell is powerful or not, usually depending on the type of coffee used to make the oil.
If you are a coffee lover, you will love coffee essential oil for your hair too.
Smells like :
Freshly brewed coffee
Benefits :
- Coffee essential oil promotes hair growth
- Provide a natural shine to your hair
- It helps to reduce frizzy hair
- Makes your hair smell like a coffee shop
- It also helps to increase blood circulation and calms the nerves.
3. Tea Tree Essential Oil :

Tea tree essential oil is extracted from the leaves and branches of tea trees. It is again made with the steam distillation process.
Smells like :
Herbal, woody, and slightly menthol-like
Benefits :
- Tea tree essential oil has anti-bacterial and anti-septic properties
- It helps to treat and prevent fungal infection
- Helps to reduce dandruff
- Prevents hair lice
- Tea tree essential oil also acts as a natural hair cleanser and deodorizer
- Soothes dry and itchy scalp.
4. Sweet Orange Essential Oil :

Sweet orange essential oil is extracted from the rinds of sweet orange. It is made with the cold process in which pressure is used on the orange rinds to extract the oil from them.
Smells like :
Fresh fruity, Sweet citrus
Benefits :
- The sweet orange essential oil has a very fresh fruity smell that helps to reduce stress and anxiety
- It is rich in antioxidants which help to fight free radical damage to your hair
- Adds a natural shine to your hair and makes hair silky smooth
- Soothes itchy scalp, reduces flaky scalp, and treats dandruff.
5. Peppermint Essential Oil :

Peppermint essential oil is derived from peppermint leaves and it is made in many ways. It can be made with the steam distillation method or by infusing in the carrier oil. It is a very refreshing oil and helps to calm the mind instantly.
Smells like :
Cool, Fresh mint, sweet
Benefits :
- Peppermint essential oil helps to balance the pH of your scalp
- It comes with natural soothing properties, that help to soothe irritated and itchy scalp
- Helps to balance out your scalp’s natural oil production and reduces excess oil from it
- When massaged on the scalp it helps to improve blood circulation and makes your hair thicker.
6. Rosemary Essential Oil :

Rosemary essential oil is extracted from the leaves of the rosemary plant and sometimes its branches are used too. It is a widely used herb for hair care and it is also used in food too. Rosemary essential oil is again made with the steam distillation method.
If you want to make it at home, then you can use the infusing method. You need to infuse rosemary twigs in a carrier oil.
Smells like :
Forest, woody, floral herb, camphor
Benefits :
- Rosemary essential oil helps to increase hair growth and reduce hair fall
- It helps to reduce premature hair graying
- Has anti-inflammatory properties which help to treat irritated scalp
- It also helps to improve blood circulation in the scalp and thus makes your hair healthy.
7. Ylang Ylang Essential Oil :

Ylang-ylang essential oil is extracted from the flower of the Cananga tree by the steam distillation process. It is a popularly used essential oil for aromatherapy due to its beautiful fragrance.
Smells like :
Sweet, floral, earthy, balsamic, rich creamy
Benefits :
- Ylang-ylang essential oil is a bit rich and a bit heavy, if your scalp is very oily then you can avoid it but for a dry, flaky scalp it is great
- It helps to nourish the scalp and reduces dandruff
- It helps to reduce anxiety and calms the mind
- Makes hair smooth and shiny
- It also helps to provide strength to hair roots.
8. Chamomile Essential Oil :

Chamomile essential oil is extracted from the chamomile flower with steam distillation. Usually, there are two types: Roman chamomile and another is German chamomile. They are slightly different in appearance and benefits.
Smells like :
Sweet floral, apple-like, soothing
Benefits :
- Chamomile essential oil helps moisturize your scalp and makes hair smooth
- It helps to balance your scalp’s oil production
- Helps ease stress and depression and provides calmness to the mind
- It also helps to promote good sleep.
9. Cedarwood Essential Oil :

Cedarwood essential oil is extracted from the bark, leaves, and branches of the cedarwood tree by steam distillation. Although, there are many different types of cedar trees. Its fragrance is usually used in men’s products.
Smells like :
Woody, warm, soothing, masculine, slightly spicy
Benefits :
- Cedarwood essential oil has antibacterial properties, that help to prevent fungal infection and lice
- It is also a natural sedative that helps to make you sleep better
- Helps to ease stress and calms the mind
- Promotes hair growth by making your scalp healthy
- Soothes irritated, dry, and itchy scalp.
10. Rose Geranium Essential Oil :

Rose geranium essential oil is extracted from the rose geranium plant by steam distillation. It smells almost like roses which is why its name is rose geranium.
Smells like :
Rose, sweet, floral, herby.
Benefits :
- Rose geranium essential oil has natural conditioning properties. It helps to make your hair smooth and shiny
- Helps to balance the oil production of your scalp
- Elevates mood and reduces stress.
11. Frankincense Essential Oil :

Frankincense essential oil is extracted from the resin of the Boswellia tree and made with steam distillation. Its fragrance is widely used in perfumes, soaps, and even incense sticks.
Smells like :
Woody, pine-like, sweet, earthy, rich, warm, slightly fruity.
Benefits :
- Frankincense essential oil has anti-inflammatory properties, that reduce irritated scalp and provide a soothing effect
- It helps to improve blood circulation and promotes healthy hair
- Prevents and reduces dandruff and dry scalp
- Reduces hair fall and hair thinning.
12. Clary Sage Essential Oil :

Clary sage essential oil is extracted from the flower tops and leaves of the clary sage plant by the steam distillation method. It is a popular essential oil used for hair care and relieving pain.
Smells like :
Nutty, herbal, floral, musky, sweet
Benefits :
- Clary sage essential oil helps to boost blood circulation, which improves scalp health and makes hair healthy
- It has anti-inflammatory properties, which helps to treat irritated scalp
- Helps to reduce excess oil on the scalp and reduces dandruff too
- Makes your smooth and shiny.
So, above are some of the best-smelling essential oils for hair. However, it depends on person to person because each person has a different opinion about the smell.
You can try any of the above essential oils and see what you like the most. So, below I am sharing some ways to add these to your hair care routine.
Simple Ways to Use Essential Oils for Hair :

- Make DIY hair perfume using blends of essential oils
- Add a few drops of your favorite essential oils to your shampoo
- Put some drops of essential oils in your hair cream or leave-in conditioner
- If you make homemade hair masks, then add a few drops of essential oils to it
- Use essential oils by adding them to your hair oil, massaging oil on your scalp improves hair health a lot. Also, it makes the mind calm
- If you love using shower steamers then you can also add essential oils to it. Steaming helps to open clogged pores on your scalp.
Above are some of the simple ways to use essential oils for hair. I am sure there are many other ways too. These above ways not only help to make your hair smell naturally good but you can avoid using hair perfumes filled with alcohol and chemicals.
Also, essential oils provide tons of benefits to your hair but always dilute them before using for your hair or skin.
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