This Viral Ingredient Is The Missing Piece In Your Hair Growth Routine

With new products, brands, and categories popping up every day, beauty can be a bit overwhelming. Back to Basics is our rudimentary beauty series that serves as your crash course on the science behind some of the best formulations in the game. This week, we’re taking a look at amla oil for hair.

We do a number on our hair. We straighten and curl it with heat-based tools, change its color with bleach and hair dyes, and even throw it off its normal growth pattern with diets, stress, and sometimes uncontrollable hormonal changes. But no matter the type of wear and tear we put on our strands and scalp, adding a restorative ingredient into your hair care routine can help reverse the effects. Enter amla oil.

For hundreds of years, supporters of herbal and Ayurvedic medicine have turned to amla oil to naturally rejuvenate dry scalps and strengthen and moisturize hair. The antioxidant-rich fruit from which the oil is extracted is now making headlines for its ability to help regrow hair while increasing shine, softness, and smoothness. Thanks to viral DIY TikTok treatments, the oil hit the mainstream, particularly since it does so much more than the average hair and scalp oil.

While amla oil is far from a new ingredient, its incorporation into modern hair care cements it as a what’s-old-is-new-again must-have, and for good reason. Dermatologists love it, hairstylists swear by it, and numerous hair brands are formulating everything from shampoos and conditioners to hair-repairing oils and serums with the anti-inflammatory, vitamin-rich ingredient.

So, is amla oil the missing puzzle piece from your hair care routine? Ahead, TZR turned to the experts for the full story on what amla oil is, how it works, its benefits, and the best amla-oil-packed hair products that deserve a spot in your routine, so your styles look great, every day of the week.

What Is Amla Oil?

Derived from the fruit of the Indian gooseberry tree, amla oil (also listed as Indian gooseberry or Phyllanthus emblica on ingredient labels) is an antioxidant- and vitamin-rich extract that New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Dr. Brendan Camp, M.D., says has been used for centuries in Chinese, Indian, and Tibetan cultures as well as Ayurvedic beauty and wellness practices. Best known for balancing the gut and for hair oiling, the viral hair-restoring DIY treatment involves saturating hair with the oil overnight, so that it emerges shinier, glossier, and healthier, while improving scalp health.

While the oil is typically extracted from its fruit, it can also be crushed into a powder. “Powders have long been part of classic hair rituals, but oils can be massaged directly into the scalp and hair, making them both sensorial and functional,” says Monica Miglani, founder of Asna. “From a modern formulation perspective, oil is more compelling because it delivers nourishment, softness, shine, and moisture retention while also serving as an effective medium for scalp massage, masking, and leave-in care.” Some brands, including Asna, incorporate certified, USDA organic, cold-processed amla oils within their formulas, which Miglani says help preserve and harness the oil’s nutrient-rich, antioxidant-dense profile.

What Are The Benefits Of Amla Oil?

When it comes to improving hair health and reducing hair thinning and hair loss, Miglani calls amla oil an “effective scalp-first wellness ingredient.” Because it is loaded with fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins, it is known to promote healthy cell turnover, nourish the scalp, increase circulation, and improve the scalp’s environment, making it a natural option for reducing breakage, thinning hair, and hair loss.

According to Camp, antioxidants, such as those found in amla oil, can reduce the negative impact of free oxygen radicals, which damage cellular structures, including DNA, lipids, and proteins, and contribute to inflammation and hair loss, thereby creating an overall healthier environment for the scalp. Beverly Hills, Calif.-based double board-certified dermatologist and Live Conscious dermatologist consultant Dr. Ohara Aivaz, M.D., adds that amla oil can do wonders for promoting new hair growth and does so through several different mechanisms. “It stimulates blood flow to the scalp, enriches hair follicles with powerful antioxidants and polyphenols, like tannins, and blocks dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the hormone responsible for age- and hormone-related hair loss.”

But that’s not all that amla oil is known for. Miglani says that amla’s nutrient-dense, polyphenol-rich profile helps reduce the visible effects of dryness and stress while comforting the scalp. Applying the oil from the mid-shaft to the ends deeply hydrates and nourishes hair by increasing its moisture content and improving shine. It also protects the cuticle, so hair becomes more resistant to environmental damage, making it look healthier. “Hydration is the foundation of hair health. Dry hair is more prone to roughness, dullness, frizz, tangling, and breakage,” Miglani explains. “Amla oil delivers nourishment that is restorative, so that the hair looks healthier and feels more supple.”

Amla oil also has antibacterial and antiseptic properties, which help reduce inflammation triggered by microorganisms. That’s because, as Aivaz explains, the various saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the oil are toxic to fungal organisms, especially bacteria such as E. coli and certain salmonella organisms. By tackling those issues, the scalp and hair are often less greasy with fewer scalp breakouts, dandruff, and itchiness, Camp adds.

Who Should Use Amla Oil?

Just about any hair type will benefit from using amla oil regularly, but Miglani says those with dry, stressed, or damaged strands that tend to break easily see the most benefits. Since amla oil is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants that help hydrate, it’s a natural way to restore moisture to the hair. Plus, amla oil is a hair staple if adding shine without weighing down your strands sits high on your hair wish list.

How To Use Amla Oil In Your Hair Care Routine

The easiest way to incorporate amla oil into your existing hair care routine is with topical products that contain it as an ingredient, but it also works equally well when straight amla oil is used. “The beauty of amla oil is that it lends itself to hair rituals, either as a prewash scalp and hair treatment, an overnight mask, a leave-in, or a styling aid to smooth frizz and add shine,” Miglani says. You can find amla oil in virtually everything from shampoos to conditioners to serums and masks.

However, if a DIY approach is more your speed, Camp recommends applying the oil to the scalp and hair as a leave-in treatment. “Or mix it in powder form with water or oil to create a hydrating, anti-inflammatory scalp and hair mask,” he says. Leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes as a pre-shampoo treatment, or overnight for deeper penetration and more extreme hydration.

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