mysterious flakies!

[amanda_the_tall]

Hi guys, I have a rather weird issue that's came on suddenly. At least I think it's suddenly, but I know it's been within the last week. I have these weird white flakes in my hair! At first I thought it was just product residue, because they stick to my hair somewhat. Here's what I've been up to recently:
- two and a half weeks ago I henna'ed my hair for the first time using the Rainbow henna I purchased from Whole Foods. I don't remember my scalp feeling weird or anything, but I think my scalp has lost sensitivity from being sunburned so many times over the years. (I used to get it burned probably twice a year because I was in colorguard and we'd have band camp). However it hasn't gotten sunburned in at least 3 years so it isn't recently burned or anything. (I wear a hat now).
- the henna mixture turned out too dark, so I tried a shampoo/citric acid soak thingy. Which turned into it being on my head all night because I fell asleep. It wasn't an intense thing, I don't think, because I just used some of my sister's shampoo, Tresemme Clean & Natural Shampoo, and some of her old guinea pig's vitamin c tablets which weren't that high of a mg.
- after the shampoo/citric acid thing, my scalp was a little sore for a few days. Then I was super nice to it and put oil and did conditioner only for multiple days and it seemed fine. That was probably two weeks ago.
- I ran out of the conditioner I normally use for CO washing (suave), so I bought some vo5 on Wednesday because it was on sale, and suave. Bad mistake because I forgot VO5 makes my hair feel like wax. I thought maybe the different scent would work ok but it didn't. This is when I noticed the flakies. They're not big, but when I found them they were near my scalp but not on it, from what I could tell, maybe about an inch or two from the roots. So I figured hey maybe it's the waxy buildup from the conditioner. So I co-washed with my regular suave and did a double wash. Scrubbed a ton, and to my surprise, the flakies persisted!
- This is when I noticed it looked like it was coming from my scalp. So about 30 minutes ago I did a double shampoo with the Tresemme stuff again, and only put conditioner on the very bottom part of my hair to see if it got rid of whatever it was. Still no luck.
- I don't have a history of dandruff, however I do have eczema on other parts of my body so I do have dry, freakishly sensitive skin.

Would a dandruff shampoo be the best bet? Or piling a bunch of oil on my scalp? Right now I have coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, lavendar and lemon essential oils at my disposal. Sorry this is so dang long!!!

[curlytwirlykate]

Before you move on to the dandruff shampoo, I would really recommend a few scalp treatments of coconut oil + lavender EOs. Tea Tree EOs, if you can get them, would be magical, too! And don't scrub! And don't shampoo! Treat it like a newborn kitten for now, and just baby it. Be very gently with your scalp, and give it some time to heal. Sounds to me like you've injured it in some way (or, at least, made it very unhappy), so my focus would be on healing.

Granted, this doesn't come from any medical or scientific understanding... just from my own experience.

It's possible that you disrupted the pH of your scalp with the lengthy vitamin C exposure -- perhaps research some ways to restore pH balance to a damaged scalp, and go in that direction?

[amanda_the_tall]

Before you move on to the dandruff shampoo, I would really recommend a few scalp treatments of coconut oil + lavender EOs. Tea Tree EOs, if you can get them, would be magical, too! And don't scrub! And don't shampoo! Treat it like a newborn kitten for now, and just baby it. Be very gently with your scalp, and give it some time to heal. Sounds to me like you've injured it in some way (or, at least, made it very unhappy), so my focus would be on healing.

Granted, this doesn't come from any medical or scientific understanding... just from my own experience.

It's possible that you disrupted the pH of your scalp with the lengthy vitamin C exposure -- perhaps research some ways to restore pH balance to a damaged scalp, and go in that direction?

That's what I was thinking... I'm going to try to not wash it for a few days and oil it and see what happens. Thanks for your input!

[ravenreed]

I had something waxy build up on me and flake for a while. It took a few washes to get it all out. If your scalp is unhappy, I would be VERY cautious with EO's, especially tea tree oil. It can be beneficial, but it can also make the problem worse. TBH, I would go back to whatever routine you were doing before it gut upset and not try anything new for a while.

[amanda_the_tall]

I had something waxy build up on me and flake for a while. It took a few washes to get it all out. If your scalp is unhappy, I would be VERY cautious with EO's, especially tea tree oil. It can be beneficial, but it can also make the problem worse. TBH, I would go back to whatever routine you were doing before it gut upset and not try anything new for a while.

That's what I did, that's why I was confused haha, but I guess I haven't given it enough time yet. Just in case, I got a travel size Head and Shoulders shampoo if it doesn't go back to normal in the next week or two. I think I'm just going to put regular coconut oil on it for now.

[Kaelee]

I'm wondering if the citric acid that you did didn't burn your scalp somewhat, and now it's peeling, like a sunburn? I know sunburn doesn't peel immediately but takes a week or so (on me at least).

[amanda_the_tall]

I'm wondering if the citric acid that you did didn't burn your scalp somewhat, and now it's peeling, like a sunburn? I know sunburn doesn't peel immediately but takes a week or so (on me at least).

I didn't think about that! Plus the shampoo has some in it too (at the very bottom). I currently have a boatload of coconut oil on my head so I'm hoping that will keep any infections away plus moisturize it a bit. It's very hard to keep from rubbing it, because if I have flakes on my skin I always want to rub/pull/mess with them until they come off (which is why I can't get my eczema to chill)

[amanda_the_tall]

Ugh I got my CV shampoo bars in today! Which is good, it's a day early, but I want to use them! *Must wait until scalp is happy*

[Firefox7275]

Hi guys, I have a rather weird issue that's came on suddenly. At least I think it's suddenly, but I know it's been within the last week. I have these weird white flakes in my hair! At first I thought it was just product residue, because they stick to my hair somewhat. Here's what I've been up to recently:
- two and a half weeks ago I henna'ed my hair for the first time using the Rainbow henna I purchased from Whole Foods. I don't remember my scalp feeling weird or anything, but I think my scalp has lost sensitivity from being sunburned so many times over the years. (I used to get it burned probably twice a year because I was in colorguard and we'd have band camp). However it hasn't gotten sunburned in at least 3 years so it isn't recently burned or anything. (I wear a hat now).
- the henna mixture turned out too dark, so I tried a shampoo/citric acid soak thingy. Which turned into it being on my head all night because I fell asleep. It wasn't an intense thing, I don't think, because I just used some of my sister's shampoo, Tresemme Clean & Natural Shampoo, and some of her old guinea pig's vitamin c tablets which weren't that high of a mg.
- after the shampoo/citric acid thing, my scalp was a little sore for a few days. Then I was super nice to it and put oil and did conditioner only for multiple days and it seemed fine. That was probably two weeks ago.
- I ran out of the conditioner I normally use for CO washing (suave), so I bought some vo5 on Wednesday because it was on sale, and suave. Bad mistake because I forgot VO5 makes my hair feel like wax. I thought maybe the different scent would work ok but it didn't. This is when I noticed the flakies. They're not big, but when I found them they were near my scalp but not on it, from what I could tell, maybe about an inch or two from the roots. So I figured hey maybe it's the waxy buildup from the conditioner. So I co-washed with my regular suave and did a double wash. Scrubbed a ton, and to my surprise, the flakies persisted!
- This is when I noticed it looked like it was coming from my scalp. So about 30 minutes ago I did a double shampoo with the Tresemme stuff again, and only put conditioner on the very bottom part of my hair to see if it got rid of whatever it was. Still no luck.
- I don't have a history of dandruff, however I do have eczema on other parts of my body so I do have dry, freakishly sensitive skin.

Would a dandruff shampoo be the best bet? Or piling a bunch of oil on my scalp? Right now I have coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, lavendar and lemon essential oils at my disposal. Sorry this is so dang long!!!

Did you do a patch test before the henna on an area of thin/ sensitive skin, if so was that totally clear?

Sounds like you have damaged and irritated your skin barrier - possibly triggering irritant contact dermatitis - leaving harsh surfactants in contact with skin for hours at a time is the classic method researchers use to induce irritation so they can test cosmetic products. Acid exposure (usually lactic 10% IIRC) and the resultant redness/ stinging is the classic researchers test for sensitivity. Then you've carried on stripping, irritating and damaging your skin barrier with yet more shampoos and scrubbing (exfoliating). Don't attack your poor skin barrier further with harsh dandruff shampoos or tea tree oil, these are designed to strip all traces of sebum from the skin and kill yeast overgrowth (seborrhoeic dermatitis) that may well not even have and can be very irritating.

Sulphate surfactants are not recommended in eczema (AKA atopic dermatitis), they thin and dehydrate even healthy skin at concentrations as low as 1%. http://www.eczema.org/aqeous

A healthy skin barrier needs a balance of saturated fatty acids (stearic and palmitic), cholesterol and ceramides, it does not require any of the unsaturated acids found in most oils. Oleic acid is a known irritant in susceptible individuals and is a penetration enhancer so don't use any oil (olive, avocado, sweet almond, argan and others) rich in that either. Many essential oils risk worsen the irritation/ inflammation you are currently experiencing, or you may even tip over into allergic contact dermatitis. Please get a formal diagnosis or just leave your scalp alone to heal, only using super gentle pH appropriate (4.5 to 5.5) products and proven anti inflammatory healing agents like aloe vera inner leaf gel, maybe some plain live yoghurt (source of lactic acid and lactobacillus bacteria both found in healthy skin).

[amanda_the_tall]

Did you do a patch test before the henna on an area of thin/ sensitive skin, if so was that totally clear?

Sounds like you have damaged and irritated your skin barrier - possibly triggering irritant contact dermatitis - leaving harsh surfactants in contact with skin for hours at a time is the classic method researchers use to induce irritation so they can test cosmetic products. Acid exposure (usually lactic 10% IIRC) and the resultant redness/ stinging is the classic researchers test for sensitivity. Then you've carried on stripping, irritating and damaging your skin barrier with yet more shampoos and scrubbing (exfoliating). Don't attack your poor skin barrier further with harsh dandruff shampoos or tea tree oil, these are designed to strip all traces of sebum from the skin and kill yeast overgrowth (seborrhoeic dermatitis) that may well not even have and can be very irritating.

Sulphate surfactants are not recommended in eczema (AKA atopic dermatitis), they thin and dehydrate even healthy skin at concentrations as low as 1%. http://www.eczema.org/aqeous

A healthy skin barrier needs a balance of saturated fatty acids (stearic and palmitic), cholesterol and ceramides, it does not require any of the unsaturated acids found in most oils. Oleic acid is a known irritant in susceptible individuals and is a penetration enhancer so don't use any oil (olive, avocado, sweet almond, argan and others) rich in that either. Many essential oils risk worsen the irritation/ inflammation you are currently experiencing, or you may even tip over into allergic contact dermatitis. Please get a formal diagnosis or just leave your scalp alone to heal, only using super gentle pH appropriate (4.5 to 5.5) products and proven anti inflammatory healing agents like aloe vera inner leaf gel, maybe some plain live yoghurt (source of lactic acid and lactobacillus bacteria both found in healthy skin).

I was hoping you'd see this thread! :) I do have to co wash tomorrow for church but then I think I'll just let it chill for a few days to build back up its natural oils