Scalp massagers are constantly increasing in popularity, especially over the past few years. Dwayne Lace, a designer, and manufacturer, first introduced the original head massager design in 1998. Since then, the design has evolved into multiple variations, offering plenty of options for shoppers.
Most people think this is only a fun tool to give yourself a head massage. But, it does much more than that. Several health-related benefits come along with using a scalp massager. But, to understand the benefits, you should know how they work.
What Is a Scalp Massager?
A head massager is precisely what you think it is. It is a device you can use to massage your scalp, and there are two primary types of scalp massagers on the market. There are the metal spider-looking ones and the spiked silicone ones that you can use in the shower. You can even find electric versions of these if you don’t want to use them manually.
How Does a Scalp Massager Work
The spider and silicone scalp massagers work a little differently. To use the metal-pronged ones, use an up and down motion allowing the prongs to extend and contract on your head. To use the silicone massagers, you should rub them on your scalp in circular motions.
These work by giving you a nice head-scratching while also stimulating your scalp. This stimulation is what causes the health benefits to kick in. By stimulating your scalp, you are essentially waking up the blood vessels, encouraging circulation in your scalp.
The intended purposes of head massagers are:
- To exfoliate your scalp and get rid of dandruff
- Improve circulation in your scalp
Benefits of Scalp Massagers
With exfoliation and increased blood flow come some great benefits. Here are some scalp massager benefits you might not know.
Increase Blood Flow
Good circulation is a vital process that your entire body needs. Even your scalp needs good blood flow to keep your hair healthy. When you use a massager on your head, you stimulate arteries located beneath your scalp. By doing this, the arteries open up and enlarge, bringing extra blood flow to your scalp.
Successful circulation is crucial in delivering nutrients and promoting the growth of your hair follicles. Circulation is key in the hair-growing process. Without good blood flow, your hair can thin. Lack of circulation is the cause of balding for most people, and by increasing blood flow to your scalp through a scalp massager, you are encouraging your hair to grow.
Promote Hair Growth
Using a scalp massager daily can increase hair growth and hair thickness. When you massage your head with a massager, you stimulate your hair follicles. By stretching your follicles, you are promoting thicker hair to start growing.
The correlation between massagers and hair growth was recently proven in a scientific study. In 2016, a group of men participated in a study where they gave themselves a four-minute scalp massage every day for 24 weeks. The results concluded that using a scalp massager promoted hair growth and thickness.
Promote Calmness and Reduce Stress
Stress is a part of everyone’s daily lives and can be quite taxing on your mental and physical health. Constant stress can cause anxiety, affect your concentration levels, and decrease productivity. Scalp massagers will not completely rid you of all of these ailments, but they can aid in doing so.
They seem to have a direct link to the stress hormone. In a study published in 2016, researchers studied a group of women on how daily scalp massages affected their heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels.
The study went on for ten weeks. In the end, researchers found that the women’s blood pressures and cortisol (stress hormone) levels dropped significantly. Lower blood pressure levels and cortisol levels make the body feel an overall sense of calm. So, the study proved that daily scalp massages reduce stress over time.
Relieve Tension
Tension headaches are one of the most common headaches people suffer from today. They feel like a band is wrapped around your head, ultimately causing a bothersome pain. The pain comes from contracting muscles, most often due to stress.
Because stress is usually the trigger of tension headaches, when you reduce stress, your tension headaches should improve. Results might not happen immediately, but you should notice improvements within a few weeks.
In 2002, researchers studied a group of people who frequently fell victim to tension headaches. Over four weeks, these people received two massage therapy treatments per week. The findings show that tension headache frequencies and durations decreased with these massages.
Reduce Dandruff
All scalp massagers on the market come with soft spike systems. Rubbing these spikes against your scalp loosens debris and dandruff. Releasing this debris and dandruff allows it to fall out and wash out.
Exfoliation is vital to the health of your hair and hair follicles. Doing this will unclog the pores within your scalp, allowing hair to grow. Oils and dead skin naturally clog the pores in your scalp, so without removing debris, your scalp will have buildup. After using scalp massagers to clear this away, your scalp will feel much better, and your hair will thank you.
Using a massager daily has many benefits to your health and virtually no repercussions. The best part is that they are easily accessible. You can buy them almost anywhere. If you want to improve the health of your scalp, investing in a scalp massager is a great idea.
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