Serious scalp damage

[Eryka]

I think I seriously screwed up my scalp.

After using a protien heavy conditioner which was slowly frying my hair and scalp over several months, I had the bright idea of doing shampoo only in the shower and use a leave-in after. After 3 weeks of use I was able to take a large flake of my scalp off and some blood came with it.

So basically, I've dried out my scalp and chemically damaged it for the past 6 months, at least.

Fortunately now I'm using gentle and caring products which are slowly repairing the damage. It's been about a week but I'm still itchy and flaky.

How long does it take for the scalp to reset itself?

(Completely feels like crying and being miserable)

[Elenna]

How scary!

Can you afford natural hair products? Your scalp needs to heal given enough time.

[Shanarana]

Yikes, whatever your doing to your head....STOP....I wouldn't put anything on it right now if you have open sores on your scalp. I would leave it alone for a while so your scalp can heal. If you must wash your hair just do the length.

Hope things get better for you real soon.

[Bene]

well, damaged cells all over the human body don't take too long to heal. they regenerate faster than you can imagine. if it were anywhere else, i'd say keep it clean and moist so that the skin can pull itself back together. so maybe moisturizing treatments for your scalp?


of course, i defer to the experts. i'm just speaking from a first aid standpoint. but yes, natural products would be the best way to go.


good luck!!!

[ChloeDharma]

I would VERY gently apply something like wheatgerm or avocado oil...something rich in vitamin E to the area, put my hair up and leave it alone as much as possible to heal. Calendula infusions might be an idea too. But i agree with the others, super gentle natural products would be a good idea to minimise irritating it further.

[k_hepburn]

I am very surprised you believe to have damaged your scalp by doing something as harmless as using a protein rich conditioner or doing "shampoo only" for a while. I didn't start using conditioners until I was way into my twenties, and both my hair and my scalp were generally fine during this period. Using shampoo on its own should not damage your scalp. In fact, a lot of people here who are not doing CO would only apply conditioner to their ends, not the roots section of their hair.

As for conditioner "frying" the scalp, again, I'm puzzled. If used on the roots section, conditioner can make your scalp go itchy and build up more sebum, but what you describe sounds distinctly nastier than that. Have you considered seeing a dermatologist? There is a chance that this may be some kind of allergic reaction to an ingredient in the shampoo / conditioner you were using. Normally, when somebody is experiencing build-up, I would advice clarifying, perhaps by using a chelating shampoo but considering the condition of your scalp I am afraid that might make matters worse. One option might be to go WO (water only) for a while, just to settle your scalp, before you then try to establish a new, gentle beauty routine for your hair.

Greetings

katharine

[Eryka]

I myself am kind of puzzled about the conditioner thing. It worked fine for several months and then at some point I noticed small flakies of skin. I didn't think too much of it since I had just clarifyed my hair with baking soda, and that does make it dry. (I clarify once a month due to the water I have.) Things just did not get better with the conditioner, my hair got fragile and sticky while my scalp became more and more itchy.

The shampoo only came in several months after the itchies with the conditioner because I didn't know the conditioner had protien in it. This was something I had used before and apparently they changed ingredients as well as packaging. I had to stop using a protien rich shampoo for that very reason only worse. I figured to erase all trace of the conditioner I could use the shampoo and leave in method. Not so.

Fortunately I don't have any open sores at this time, those closed within 12 hours of using a gentle shampoo and conditioner treatment. Its been about a week but the itchy/flakies are slowly going away. I was just wondering if there was something to speed things up.

Thank you for the fast and caring responses. My original post was in the midst of a "that time of the month melt down". Hopefully I'm back to normal now.

[bunnii]

I agree with Shanarana if you get open sores again, but maybe just rinse with water. It sounds to me like you had a reaction to one of the ingredients. I can use something for years then all of a sudden i'm allergic :rolleyes: as far as I know there is no way to speed things up but you'll get there :)

[chrissy-b]

I agree that natural products would be best, and any oil that is rich in Vit E would help speed up the healing process and also soothe your scalp.

I'm glad things are getting better already and I hope you don't have this problem again, it sounds awful.:)