Itchy, red scalp - painful!

[hmmm]

I don't know if it's the change in the weather, the fact that I haven't washed my hair in so long (not more than a week I'm sure), or some skin problem I've contracted... my scalp started itching yesterday, so I oiled it a bit, braided it and left it alone, because I really didn't feel like washing it. Today in the morning I took out the braid and it was itchy, so I scratched it a bit. Not too much, not so much that it bled, but just enough to make it look scary and red in places. I haven't had this happen before, and if I have I haven't noticed it.

So I oiled it heavily with a lot of coconut oil, left it on for a few hours and washed it. I also did an amla rinse to soothe it a bit. It was reaally uncomfortable then, and it isn't that uncomfortable now, but I think it could be better. So my question is: what's good for soothing an irritated scalp? I don't want to try vinegar or citrus, that might irritate it more. So far I can only think of aloe vera. Suggestions?

[Anje]

Aloe sounds like a good idea for scratched up skin. Otherwise (and once it heals), I'd suggest doing a diluted vinegar rinse. It seems to solve a lot of scalp problems.

Consider having someone take a look at it, though. Itchiness could be a sign of lice, or you might have some other obvious irritation on your scalp that another set of eyes would uncover.

[Arctic_Mama]

My scalp gets itchy and inflamed if I wash too infrequently (6/7 days is about my max between washes before that happens) and that is because I have sebborheic dermatitis that oil can exacerbate. Too frequent of washes and it is dry and itchy, too infrequent and it is oily and itchy. But there is also noticeable white gunk/flakes of skin with it as well, not just itchiness with no skin issues. If I scratch at it too much it bleeds and looks raw underneath the flakes.

It's an autoimmune condition and there's not much short of prescriptions that fixes it, but it generally doesn't onset without cause. It may flare due to stress or environmental conditions, but it doesn't come on out of nothing, generally. I'd lean towards a candida overgrowth or bacterial issue that may be bugging your scalp, if you haven't changes any products recently that would cause an allergic reaction. A zinc based dandruff shampoo would clear it up if bacteria of some sort was the issue.