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marlb91
August 14th, 2013, 07:04 AM
Hello all!

My BF has had a terrible scalp all his life and has been to the doctors before and had medicated shampoo's but without any great results. He has been WO for at least a year and his hair is so thick and shiny i'm terribly jealous!!!

Anyway although he says his scalp is better i can see at the top of his head around the middle his scalp is so flaky and almost chalky. He wont go to the doctors but he is open to me putting oils on his scalp.

Has anyone who is WO used oil on their scalp for flakyness (he says its dermatitis) i'm thinking tea tree or witchhazel, and have you had any luck washing them out ok?

Thanks

meteor
August 14th, 2013, 07:29 AM
Yes, I washed out oils with water only successfully. But the key is not to apply too much oil and to massage your scalp quite vigorously when you are washing it with water only.
Please do not apply tea tree oil undiluted! It's an essential oil and can burn and/or dry out your skin. You can mix a drop or so of tea tree oil in a few tablespoons of your favorite carrier oil or just in water.
For unspecified flakiness and problematic scalp, my personal preferences for carrier oils are: neem oil, mustard oil (both are powerful anti-fungal, moisturizing, but very stinky), coconut oil, castor oil.

Remember that both tea tree oil and witch hazel are drying, so don't apply too much or you can make matters worse.
Also, as far as I know witch hazel is not sold as EOs (not enough for commercial production), but you can get witch hazel hydrosols (distillates). If you buy your witch hazel "toner", read the ingredients very carefully first - most of them contain quite a bit of alcohol, which is very drying and may not be suited for your BF's scalp and hair.

marlb91
August 14th, 2013, 07:35 AM
Yes, I washed out oils with water only successfully. But the key is not to apply too much oil and to massage your scalp quite vigorously when you are washing it with water only.
Please do not apply tea tree oil undiluted! It's an essential oil and can burn and/or dry out your skin. You can mix a drop or so of tea tree oil in a few tablespoons of your favorite carrier oil or just in water.
For unspecified flakiness and problematic scalp, my personal preferences for carrier oils are: neem oil, mustard oil (both are powerful anti-fungal, moisturizing, but very stinky), coconut oil, castor oil.

Remember that both tea tree oil and witch hazel are drying, so don't apply too much or you can make matters worse.
Also, as far as I know witch hazel is not sold as EOs (not enough for commercial production), but you can get witch hazel hydrosols (distillates). If you buy your witch hazel "toner", read the ingredients very carefully first - most of them contain quite a bit of alcohol, which is very drying and may not be suited for your BF's scalp and hair.

Thanks i will keep that in mind, i have been wanting to try coconut oil for myself anyway so i will probably use that, i will tell him that it is OK to use oils and that i wont use alot. funny he always thought i was crazy for being a member of this community :P

meteor
August 14th, 2013, 08:10 AM
I'd say if you can convince him to put oils on his scalp, maybe you can convince him to go to a doctor, too? :D If in the past, the dermatologists weren't too helpful, it's better to get some references and look for another doctor.
Since your BF likes WO, he may have had an allergy or just a sensitivity to common detergents, like SLS / SLES.
But it could be a serious issue, like seborrhoeic dermatitis, for example.
Please note that one shouldn't use certain oils (e.g. olive) on unspecified dandruff, because it can make the condition worse (feed the fungus that feeds off sebum).

By the way, you don't have to buy an oil to dilute tea tree EO in - you can dilute it in water, or even heavily diluted ACV.
Some other good EOs for flaky/itchy scalp are: thyme, calendula, chamomile, basil, clary sage, geranium, bay, rosemary, lemon, cedarwood, cypress, patchouli, oregano, peppermint.

marlb91
August 14th, 2013, 08:20 AM
thanks for all the information if it does not improve i will try to get him to a doctor, sometimes i feel like his mother lol.

Flor
August 14th, 2013, 08:57 AM
Tea tree oil is used widely to combat oiliness, so not sure it would be a good idea to use on flaky skin altogether. Try straight coconut oil. It's very soothing and it softens skin. I actually been oiling my husband's hair and scalp with it a few times too, his also gets flaky sometimes.

McFearless
August 14th, 2013, 10:19 AM
There are a few things that may be necessary when WO washing, like a vigorous scalp massage followed by lightly running a wide toothed comb or bristle brush against the scalp to loosen shed skin, and finally moving sebum down the hair shaft with fingers to avoid build up on the scalp. Coconut or olive oil applied to a wet scalp should moisturize it well enough to combat dryness.

Firefox7275
August 14th, 2013, 10:33 AM
Hello all!

My BF has had a terrible scalp all his life and has been to the doctors before and had medicated shampoo's but without any great results. He has been WO for at least a year and his hair is so thick and shiny i'm terribly jealous!!!

Anyway although he says his scalp is better i can see at the top of his head around the middle his scalp is so flaky and almost chalky. He wont go to the doctors but he is open to me putting oils on his scalp.

Has anyone who is WO used oil on their scalp for flakyness (he says its dermatitis) i'm thinking tea tree or witchhazel, and have you had any luck washing them out ok?

Thanks

Which form of dermatitis - seborrhoeic, allergic contact, irritant contact, atopic (AKA eczema)? Appropriate topical self care for each is completely different, the wrong oils can do more harm than good. Given that all forms of dermatitis are fundamentally inflammatory, vigorous massage and scritching are not ideal. Has he made over his diet to be as anti inflammatory and nutrient dense as possible?