Akalapalitha is a mildly perfumed herbal hair oil made in Sri Lanka by Link Natural, and it is the best-known product in the company's Sheershapathi range, which the carton describes as "Total Head and Hair Care". The oil takes its name from an old Ayurvedic term for hair that turns grey before its time, and that is exactly what the maker sells it for: premature greying and premature hair loss. This page explains the name, what goes into the bottle, what the maker claims and what is actually known, and how people use it.
What the Names Mean
Akalapalitha (අකාලපලිත in Sinhala, அகாலபலித in Tamil) joins two Sanskrit words: akala, "untimely" or "out of season", and palita, "grey" or "hoary". In Ayurvedic writing the condition is called akala palitya, premature greying of the hair, and the classical texts group it with the disorders of the head (shiroroga). They explain it as an excess of pitta, the fiery principle that is also held to give hair its colour, and their standard responses are medicated oils massaged into the scalp and herbal drops taken through the nose.
Sheershapathi (ශීර්ෂපති) is a brand name rather than a medical term. It is built on sheersha, "head", and Link Natural uses it for a small family of hair and scalp oils. So "Sheershapathi Akalapalitha" simply means the Akalapalitha oil from the Sheershapathi range.
Who Makes It
Link Natural Products was founded in 1982 and makes herbal and Ayurvedic products at its factory in Malinda, Kapugoda, east of Colombo. It is best known in Sri Lanka for Link Samahan, the herbal drink it launched in 1995. The Akalapalitha carton describes the company as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and GMP certified and HACCP certified, states that the product is registered with Sri Lanka's Department of Ayurveda, and marks it for external use only.
What Is in the Bottle
The English panel of the carton refers you to an insert for the herbs; the Sinhala and Tamil panels print the list, and Link Natural's own product listing gives the botanical names. Between them the oil contains:
- Keekirindiya (Eclipta prostrata, also written Eclipta alba), the false daisy known in India as bhringraj. It is the classic hair herb of South Asian oils and the one most often studied.
- Beli (Aegle marmelos), the bael tree.
- Olinda (Abrus precatorius), the rosary pea, a plant whose seeds are highly poisonous if swallowed.
- Puwak (Areca catechu) and Kithul (Caryota urens): the Sinhala and Tamil panels specify the flowers of the areca palm and the kitul palm.
- Diyamiththa (Cissampelos pareira), velvetleaf.
- Pamba (Lygodium flexuosum), a climbing fern.
- Madu (Merremia tridentata), a slender creeper of the morning-glory family.
- Savendara (Vetiveria zizanioides), vetiver root, which gives much of the mild, earthy scent.
- Suduhandun (Santalum album), white sandalwood.
Link Natural's listing also names coconut oil, sesame oil and natural vitamin E, which the carton panels do not print. Older descriptions of the product, including earlier Lakpura listings, sometimes give "Madu" as liquorice; the maker's own list gives Merremia tridentata, and that is the name used here.
What the Maker Claims, and What Is Known
The carton calls Akalapalitha an "effective Ayurvedic hair oil treatment for premature greying and premature hair loss" and says that with daily use and massaging it prevents premature greying, prevents premature hair loss, promotes the growth of healthy hair and gives a lustrous head of hair. Those are Link Natural's claims, based on a traditional formula.
What can be said independently is more modest. No clinical trial of this product has been published. Eclipta prostrata has been tested for hair growth, but mostly in laboratory and animal studies rather than in people, and none of that research tested this oil. No oil massaged into the scalp has been shown to bring colour back to hair that has already grown out grey, because the colour is set at the root before the hair emerges. An oil massage can still make dry hair look glossier and feel softer, which is a reasonable reason to use one.
Hair is usually called prematurely grey when it greys before about 20 in people of European descent, 25 in Asians and 30 in people of African descent. Family history is the strongest factor, but early greying has also been linked with low vitamin B12, thyroid problems, low iron or vitamin D, and smoking. Sudden greying, or hair falling out in clumps or patches, is worth showing to a doctor before trying any oil.
How to Use It
The pack's direction is short: apply directly to the scalp and hair and massage gently. In practice a teaspoon or two is worked into the scalp with the fingertips, taking the hair section by section, and many people in Sri Lanka leave the oil on for an hour or overnight and then wash it out with a mild shampoo. Link Natural recommends storing the bottle in a cool, dark place.
- It is for external use only. Keep it out of the eyes and mouth and well out of reach of children: one of its herbs, the rosary pea, is poisonous if swallowed.
- Try a little on a small patch of skin first, and do not use it on broken or inflamed skin.
- The pack gives no guidance on use for children or during pregnancy; ask a doctor first.
Akalapalitha and Hair Care Cool
The Sheershapathi range has a second oil that is easy to confuse with it. Hair Care Cool is built for a different job: it blends nine herbs, sharing keekirindiya and vetiver with Akalapalitha but adding gotukola, indigo and Indian gooseberry among others, with natural menthol, so its point is a cooling, fresh-smelling scalp massage rather than greying. Akalapalitha has no menthol and a gentler, earthier scent. Both come in 100 ml bottles.
Sri Lanka has a long tradition of herbal hair oils beyond this one, from indigo-dark Neelyadi oil to the family recipes of village Ayurvedic practitioners. Akalapalitha is simply one of the most widely sold, found in pharmacies and supermarkets across the island, and Lakpura ships Link Natural Akalapalitha worldwide from Sri Lanka.
