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Home » Hair Products

How to Make Rosemary Water for Hair Growth: DIY Step-by-Step

Kenneth ByrdBy Kenneth ByrdMBA · 15+ years in hair care · Co-founder of Curl CentricUpdated Sep 13, 20266 min read · Reviewed by Kira Byrd

Evidence-basedPublishing since 2008May contain affiliate links
Woman with long dark curls pushing both hands up into her hair, tinted round sunglasses, yellow cardigan, blue wallPin

Whether we like it or not, TikTok has become an unofficial resource for hair care and styling tips and tricks. And one of the latest tips to come from the platform is to use rosemary water for hair growth and other healthy hair benefits.

Some benefits touted by those who have tried rosemary water include decreased hair loss, longer hair, and enhanced hair strength.

If you want to see if the hype is true, this article will be helpful to you. In it, we'll tell you how to make rosemary water for hair so you can give the remedy a try. Let's get right into it! 

Table of Contents

  • 1. What Is Rosemary Water?
  • 2. How to Make Rosemary Water for Hair: Step-by-Step
  • 3. How Rosemary Water is Used for Hair
  • 4. Does Rosemary Water Really Work?

What Is Rosemary Water?

As you might expect, rosemary water is water infused with rosemary. Rosemary is a shrub with leaves that resemble needles and flowers that may take on several colors, including blue, pink, white, or purple. 

Some benefits associated with rosemary water, according to experts, include: 

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  • Hair loss reversal
  • Hair growth stimulation
  • Enhanced shine

The water is made with either rosemary oil or the herb itself. Once the water is made, you can apply it to your hair using one of several methods. In the following sections, we'll get into how to make your own rosemary water at home. 

How to Make Rosemary Water for Hair: Step-by-Step

You've got the basics of rosemary water down, and now it's time to get to work. Here, we'll give you step-by-step instructions on how to make the most potent rosemary water.

Rosemary Leaf Method

The best way to make potent rosemary water is to use the actual plant. Here's how: 

  1. Grab your supplies. In order to make rosemary water with the rosemary plant, you'll need dried rosemary leaves (or fresh rosemary sprigs), water, a colander, an applicator bottle, and a heat source. You can get rosemary from a health food store or order it online. Any other items can be purchased at your local department store. 
  2. Boil some water. Dispense one quart of water into a large pot and place it on a burner on high. You want the water to boil. Once it does, take it off of the burner. 
  3. Add your rosemary leaves. After taking your bowling water off of the burner, add your rosemary leaves. Allow the leaves to steep for several hours. The number of hours you'll leave it to steep will depend on how much time you have. The longer you leave the leaves in the water, the stronger the resulting water will be. On average, people steep their leaves for about 5 to 6 hours. 
  4. Strain your water. Use a colander to strain any leaves out of the mixture. 
  5. Add water to the mixture. Use a 4-to-1 ratio of water to rosemary. 
  6. Transfer the mixture to your application bottle. Your rosemary water is ready to use. 
Woman holding up a peace sign, heart-shaped pink sunglasses, yellow cardigan over a white tank, blue backgroundPin

Rosemary Essential Oil Method

Perhaps making rosemary water from scratch seems like too much trouble. In that case, opt for this method instead - the essential oil method.

In this method, you'll mix rosemary essential oil with water to make your rosemary water. Here's how to do it in detail: 

  1. Gather your materials. You'll need rosemary essential oil from the health food store. Ensure that your essential oil is 100% natural. If you don't, your water may not be as potent or effective as you hope it'll be. In addition to the essential oil, you'll need some water, a pot, a heat source, and a bottle to put your rosemary water in. 
  2. Boil your water. Pour 2 to 3 cups of water into a pot and then place it onto a burner. Turn the burner on high to get the water boiling quickly. 
  3. Add your essential oil. When the water boils, it's time to put the essential oil in. Add 10 to 15 drops of rosemary essential oil to the pot, turn off the heat source, and allow the mixture to cool down. 
  4. Transfer the mixture into your bottle. It's ready for use.
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How Rosemary Water is Used for Hair

With your rosemary water made, you're ready to incorporate it into your haircare routine. But how do you do it?

You may not have been aware, but there are a few ways to do so. In this section, we'll explain how you can leverage the benefits of rosemary water.

 

Spray Your Hair With It

In cases where your hair needs a quick burst of moisture and shine, you can spray your hair with your rosemary water mixture (i.e., rosemary water spray). It takes just a few seconds to reap the benefits. All you'll need to do is transfer your rosemary water into a spray bottle and mist your hair all over with it. 

Do a Hair Rinse

For more of an in-depth treatment, you can do a rosemary water hair rinse. This simply requires you to put your rosemary water in a bowl, spray bottle, or application bottle and apply.

Once your hair is drenched, you'll wait for up to 20 minutes and then rinse your hair thoroughly. It's best to do a rinse on recently shampooed hair. When your hair is clean, it'll be better able to absorb the nutrients and moisture from the rosemary water. 

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Do a Scalp Massage With It

If you want to maximize the scalp-revitalizing benefits of rosemary water, you can massage it into your scalp. You'll do so with the pads of your fingers. Doing so will increase scalp blood circulation so the goodies in the rosemary water will penetrate deeper. 

Add It to Your Shampoo

Another easy way to add rosemary water to your hair care rotation is to add it to your shampoo. The amount you add is up to you, but you'll use the shampoo just like you would if you hadn't added anything to it.

Just know that adding rosemary water to a low-quality sulfate-laden shampoo won't eliminate the questionable ingredients in it. So, it's important to keep that in mind.

Pair your rosemary water with a high-quality shampoo for the best results. 

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Does Rosemary Water Really Work?

The truth about rosemary-infused water is that it hasn't been proven to do anything significant to your tresses. The bulk of claims relating to rosemary water are based on the experiences of users.

But that doesn't mean that rosemary water doesn't have any benefits at all for the hair and scalp. If you want to find out yourself, we recommend giving it a try using the information we've given above.

If you don't see a marked difference in how your hair looks, feels, or behaves, within a few months, you can probably conclude that it's not going to work for you. 

With that being said, rosemary oil does have a testosterone-blocking function, which can stave off hair loss and excessive shedding. It stimulates and enhances scalp blood circulation for better hair growth.

It also protects the hair from free radicals that damage the surface of the hair.

But it's important to know that the way rosemary is processed before it's applied to the hair can affect how well it works. So, if you want to give rosemary water a try, feel free! Just know that its benefits differ based on how you use it.

Related Articles

  • Rose Water for Locs
  • Rosemary Water for Hair Before and After
  • Is Rosehip Oil Good for Hair?

So, there you have it - clear instructions for how to make rosemary water. As you can see, rosemary water isn't difficult to make and has the potential to change your hair for the better.

We hope you found all the information you needed in this article and that the rosemary water does your hair some good. We wish you the best with your hair's health!

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Kenneth Byrd

About the author

Kenneth Byrd

Co-founder and Managing Partner

Publishing on textured hair since 2008MBA, University of Alabama at BirminghamExecutive education, WhartonTop 40 Under 40, Birmingham Business Journal

Kenneth does the research behind the guides here: reading the studies and checking whether a claim holds up before it gets published, under our editorial guidelines. Outside Curl Centric he leads an operations organization of more than 1,000 people, and he serves on the board of Oasis Counseling for Women and Children. Curl Centric's hair typing system is the first listed reference in a peer-reviewed paper in the International Journal of Women's Dermatology, and it is cited by Wikipedia.

More about KennethAbout Curl Centric

Kira Byrd

Hey, I’m Kira

Curl Centric is run by me and my husband Kenneth. We’ve been publishing evidence-based hair care since 2008 to help you care for your curls with confidence.

More about us →
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Written and reviewed by Kenneth and Kira Byrd Independently owned, publishing since 2008 950+ guides, fact-checked before publishing Editorial and advertising teams kept separate

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