The Truth About Using Rosemary Oil For Your Eyebrows. When everyone’s beauty Bible (a.k.a. TikTok) has “rosemary oil for eyebrows” trending as the solution to getting the Cara Delevigne-esque brows of your dreams, it’s no shock that many are jumping at the chance to try it. Essential oils, after all, have been the go-to natural remedy for those looking to nourish and grow hair on our scalps and for our brows and lashes. But does rosemary oil for those latter areas actually work?
To answer that, we turned to the experts. For a complete breakdown on how rosemary oil works to help hair grow and how to safely use it, see what they had to say below.
Rosemary Oil For Eyebrows and Lash Growth
Rosemary oil, as Nkem Ugonabo, MD, board-certified dermatologist and Skin of Color Society leader explains it, is an essential oil derived from the rosemary plant (more formally known as rosmarinus officinalis) that is traditionally used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Marisa Garshick, MD, board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology, adds that it is native to the Mediterranean region and has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties.
Other essential oils, such as castor oil or almond oil, are often associated with hair growth, and you’ll find many products containing these ingredients to help nourish those hair follicles. Rosemary oil has been studied for years to better understand its effectiveness on hair loss and to determine if it can be considered a legitimate hair loss treatment, it’s natural for many to think it would be just as beneficial for the brows and lashes.
In 2015, for example, a study showed that men suffering from androgenetic alopecia saw a significant increase of hair when using the oil. When compared to the other group that used hair-growth drug minoxidil, rosemary oil had similar levels of efficacy. Garshick adds that it is thought to help improve and increase blood circulation, which may help stimulate hair follicles to grow.
While this provides some evidence to support rosemary oil for hair growth, Ugonabo says that more research is needed before fully claiming it as a possible hair growth agent. She adds that the studies available don’t mention if it will work for eyebrows or lashes. So even with those TikTok testimonies claiming that rosemary oil helped eyebrow hair and lashes grow, more scientific proof is needed to prove it.
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Other Benefits
Rosemary oil can still be beneficial for your hair care. Besides possible hair growth, Garshick says that rosemary oil can help condition and strengthen hair and work to reduce damage and breakage. Ugonabo adds that the oil is also thought to have antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory benefits as well.
The Drawbacks
Just like any essential oil, rosemary oil may have some major side effects if not diluted and mixed with other ingredients. These include burning, redness, and other signs of irritation or allergic reaction. Ugonabo urges those with sensitive skin to be extra cautious before trying this on skin, especially near the eye area where the skin is thinner and more fragile compared to the rest of the body.
Additionally, Garshick says that it can take a long time—and consistent effort in applying it—to see any results. Some studies show that it can take up to six months to see any improvement in your hair.
But as mentioned before, the biggest downside is that more studies need to be done. Both Garshick and Ugonabo say that while there are a few cases that show a correlation between the essential oil and hair growth, there isn’t research that definitively shows this to be true for brows and lashes specifically. Larger studies, says Garshick, are needed to better understand rosemary oil’s role in hair growth for not only those areas but overall as well.
How to Use It
Because rosemary oil is generally safe to use (you just have to use it the right way), there’s no real harm in trying it if it has piqued your interest. Both experts say to never put pure rosemary oil directly onto brows, lashes, or even skin. Instead, you’ll want to either dilute it or look for a product that incorporates the oil with other ingredients.
As Ugonabo explains, many essential oils need to be diluted to help with its tolerability and minimize the chances of irritation. This can be done by mixing it with a carrier oil, such as coconut oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, argan oil, grapeseed oil, or avocado oil. After dilution, she recommends doing a small patch test first to gauge how your skin will react to the mixture. If there isn’t any irritation, then you can start applying it on larger areas.
So if you’re looking for a topical solution to grow your brows and lashes, your best bet might be a growth serum with proven ingredients to help with brow and eyelash growth. The jury is still out on whether rosemary oil is really doing anything in the hair growth department—at least until we get more research.