Indian Hair Oil for Bald Goats

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Fairlight's head when it was improving

During the spring when the goats lose their wild and wooly look and become a bit sleeker (we don’t shave our goats), Fairlight was having issues with an itchy rash (?) or some sort of dandruff on the top of her head between the nubs where her horns were removed. It drove her nuts and she spent hours rubbing this part of her head against anything that she could find. She rubbed and rubbed the hair clean off the top of her head and continued to rub the area raw. It became swollen, pink and bare. As she is a pale-skinned goat, the sun began to also affect this spot. Sunburned and peeling, her skin flaked off under the rest of her hair and spread to other areas of her head. Her entire scalp was covered with white, scaly skin and my pretty little goat was looking rather shabby.

I momentarily considered buying her one of those silly little dog costume hats to help keep her delicate skin from being further damaged by the sun. A bonnet or a straw hat would just look absolutely adorable as well! I imagined an entire calendar spread featuring Fairlight in various hats to reflect the month and seasons. But reason won out over the urge to dress my goat as “Little Bo Peep” and I wasn’t fancying living up to my “crazy goat girl” title just yet.

There was also the consideration of Fairlight. Her Ladyship would simply fling any offending item from her head and proceed to eat it with disgust.

Normally, when it comes to skin conditions, the first thing I consider is the lack of something in the diet. But our goats get plenty of minerals, herbs, and kelp. This was something else that was becoming a problem because Fairlight wouldn’t let the area rest and heal.

To help my bald goat, Anais and I turned to our natural beauty remedies. We have long used Indian hair oils containing henna and amla to condition and treat our hair and keep it healthy. (See some of our natural health/beauty solutions) Almost every morning, we massaged a “handful” of this oil into Fairlight’s scalp and worked it into the skin and surrounding hair. A week later, the flaking had stopped and the skin came back to a healthy pink. But it was still bare as a baby’s bottom and there wasn’t a single hair to be found.

We continued these treatments and some weeks later, we were excited to see a slight fuzz on the bare spot. They were microscopic strands of hair and no one could really see it unless you caught a barely-there glimpse of them glistening in the sun but Anais and I were convinced things were improving.

The best improvement was that Fairlight had stopped her obsessive scratching against every post and corner she could find.

The hair got thicker and thicker and came back with a rush and our pretty little goat was back. Today, the top of her head has never looked better. It’s thick, shiny and not a bare spot to be found! Even though Fairlight occasionally still rubs her head (it’s a goat thing), the hair has held fast and strong and hasn’t even broken under the abuse of being rubbed against wood.

So, it might be something to add into your livestock medicine chest…. and in your own bathroom cabinet as well!

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