Enhancing Hair Follicle Stimulation: A Nanoliposome-Based Delivery of Lavender Essential Oil (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.)

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.), a popular garden herb widely cultivated for its essential oil (EO), has long been used traditionally for its therapeutic benefits. The use of Lavender EO (LEO) has already been proven to have hair growth stimulating activity. However, traditional use of LEO often has low bioavailability, making them less effective. This study aims to develop a novel nanoliposome-based delivery system of LEO, enchancing its delivery to accelerate hair growth. Nanoliposomes were prepared by a combination of LEO, Lipoid Phospholipon 80 H, and Lipoid PhytoSolve 4021 using thin layer hydration method. The resulting LEO-Nanoliposomes (LEON) had a slightly fatty thick consistency, distinctive lavender aroma, homogenous milky yellow color, as well as morphology of single layer spherical shape without aggregation as observed through Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) results was 83.0 nm ± 3.2 in size with Polydispersity Index (PDI) value of 0.4 PDI ± 0.0 and Zeta Potential (ZP) value of -14.4 mV ± 0.3. The LEON gel preparation met the acceptability requirements for pH, viscosity, spread ability, adhesiveness, and microbial contamination tests. Irritation and hair growth effectiveness tests were carried out on male white rats of the Sprague Dawley strain for 1 month where it showed no irritating effects in topical use. Statistical analysis using One-Way Anova and post-Hoc test resulted in LEON gel exhibiting significant hair growth length higher than that in the other groups (p<0.0001). These findings indicated that LEON has improved effectiveness compared to traditional use of EO.