Ouch ouch ouch - Injured scalp advice please?

[Rio040113]

So like the absolute donut that I am, I just walked straight smack into a metal sign and gave the top of my head a good bang! :rolleyes: I'm so glad I was wearing my parka, I'm sure the thick faux sheepskin lining of the hood saved me some pain but it still made my eyes water :( Now I'm left with a lovely weeping/bleeding graze on my scalp... What the heck can I put on it that won't hurt my hair? (Hey, a girl has gotta have her priorities right ;)) I was thinking coconut oil might soothe it and it's antibacterial isn't it..? Any advice anyone??

[Barnet Girl]

Honey!! It is used to treat wounds so will be perfectly safe and won't burn or sting. Hope your noggin feels better soon!:)

[Wildcat Diva]

That's a really good suggestion!

[Rio040113]

Ooh, awesome! I shall have to send the man of the house out to get some in the morning, until then woe is me haha. Thank you :)

[Naiadryade]

Find some plantain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major) (the common leaf that grows amongst grass, widely distributed in temperate areas--not the tropical fruit). Crush or chew it until it's juicy. Put that on your cut as soon as you can to help heal it and prevent infection. I wouldn't imagine it would do anything much to the hair.

[Rio040113]

Find some plantain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major) (the common leaf that grows amongst grass, widely distributed in temperate areas--not the tropical fruit). Crush or chew it until it's juicy. Put that on your cut as soon as you can to help heal it and prevent infection. I wouldn't imagine it would do anything much to the hair.

Not sure I've ever seen those leaves before! Are they similar to 'dock' leaves? :)

[lunalocks]

Triple antibiotic ointment will prevent infection. I am sure it will do no harm to your hair. So sorry this happened to you.

[Rio040113]

Triple antibiotic ointment will prevent infection. I am sure it will do no harm to your hair. So sorry this happened to you.

Thank you! :) I have no one to blame but myself I guess haha, I'm horribly clumsy and always have been :doh: It'll teach me to pay more attention to where I'm walking and I now have a new found respect for hard metal things ;)

[Naiadryade]

Not sure I've ever seen those leaves before! Are they similar to 'dock' leaves? :)

Hmm, not really. They are smaller, at least in areas that get mowed. In my experience it grows almost exclusively in grassy, human-tended fields. Look around in the grass until you see roundish leaves--it's very common but often goes unnoticed. (At least, it's common here in New England--but apparently it's actually native to Europe, and is only naturalized here in the US.) Look at pictures online so you know what you're looking for. A good way to know you've found the right thing is that the "veins" in the leaves are pretty strong and tough, and will be sticking out from where you made the tear when you pick a leaf.

[Kaelee]

Ouch! :laugh: I do similar things all the time, usually the culprit for me is the edge of my car's door frame when I'm getting into it. I usually just let it heal on it's own, I hope yours isn't a sizeable chunk!

[BlazingHeart]

As long as it's not alcohol or peroxide based, I don't see anything you'd put on a wound being harmful to your hair (unless we're talking, y'know, a bandaid or something!). I'd just use whatever ointment or whatever you usually use on injuries, if I were you. That's what I did when I whacked the back of my head on the underside of a desk. I was retrieving something I'd dropped and a coworker startled the bajeesus out of me, and I had one of those hanging keyboard trays and man are the brackets on those things sharp! Anyhow, other than having a little spot that looked a shade greasy, the generic antibiotic ointment didn't do any harm to my hair whatsoever. If it'd been somewhere I could see better, I suspect the greasy spot would have been a lot smaller because I could be more accurate with the goop.

Do be careful brushing and combing for a bit! I wasn't thinking about it a couple days after that injury, and my brush ripped the whole scab off, along with a few hairs. Ouch!

[SleepyTangles]

I was going to suggest aloe vera (very good with bumps, and refreshing) but I second the antibacteric ointment, because having an infection on your scalp will be fairly more harmful to your hair than a little cortisone or even alchool. Maybe you can use the aloe later, when the scratch is no more at any "risks" and you need to deal with the bump :).
Also, if you use only homeopathic medicaments, propolis or tea tree ointment should be great.

[Firefox7275]

Assuming you do not have nor are at risk of infection (in which case use an antiseptic) aloe vera has scientifically proven healing, collagen inducing and anti inflammatory properties.

[YamaMaya]

Honey!! It is used to treat wounds so will be perfectly safe and won't burn or sting. Hope your noggin feels better soon!:)
I agree with this, honey is the best at healing, it's antimicrobial and as a bonus it's good for your hair as well :D

[Rio040113]

Hmm, not really. They are smaller, at least in areas that get mowed. In my experience it grows almost exclusively in grassy, human-tended fields. Look around in the grass until you see roundish leaves--it's very common but often goes unnoticed. (At least, it's common here in New England--but apparently it's actually native to Europe, and is only naturalized here in the US.) Look at pictures online so you know what you're looking for. A good way to know you've found the right thing is that the "veins" in the leaves are pretty strong and tough, and will be sticking out from where you made the tear when you pick a leaf.

I'll have a good google session and drag DBF and my 5 furries (dogs) out for a walk then to forage :) thank you!



Ouch! :laugh: I do similar things all the time, usually the culprit for me is the edge of my car's door frame when I'm getting into it. I usually just let it heal on it's own, I hope yours isn't a sizeable chunk!

Haha, kinda glad I'm not the only one :p Luckily it's not, I'm so glad I had my hood up, if I hadn't it probably would have been a lot worse, it's a pretty thick fleece (faux sheepskin) lined hood so I'm surprised it managed to cut me through it lol!



As long as it's not alcohol or peroxide based, I don't see anything you'd put on a wound being harmful to your hair (unless we're talking, y'know, a bandaid or something!). I'd just use whatever ointment or whatever you usually use on injuries, if I were you. That's what I did when I whacked the back of my head on the underside of a desk. I was retrieving something I'd dropped and a coworker startled the bajeesus out of me, and I had one of those hanging keyboard trays and man are the brackets on those things sharp! Anyhow, other than having a little spot that looked a shade greasy, the generic antibiotic ointment didn't do any harm to my hair whatsoever. If it'd been somewhere I could see better, I suspect the greasy spot would have been a lot smaller because I could be more accurate with the goop.

Do be careful brushing and combing for a bit! I wasn't thinking about it a couple days after that injury, and my brush ripped the whole scab off, along with a few hairs. Ouch!

It's funny you mentioned plasters (bandaids), first thing my DBF suggested was a plaster! I couldn't help but giggle as I explained why that might not work :lol: bless him, he tried! Oh my, bet that came with a sting... There should be a support thread for things like this! I've always been, how should I put it... spacial awareness deficient? Good point on the brushing as well, I'm not looking forwards to washing my hair, eek that's gonna sting :( Thank you!

[Rio040113]

I was going to suggest aloe vera (very good with bumps, and refreshing) but I second the antibacteric ointment, because having an infection on your scalp will be fairly more harmful to your hair than a little cortisone or even alchool. Maybe you can use the aloe later, when the scratch is no more at any "risks" and you need to deal with the bump :).
Also, if you use only homeopathic medicaments, propolis or tea tree ointment should be great.

Antibiotic cream first (luckily I have some in!) then on to the aloe and honey is my plan I think! Hoping to mix in some juice from those Plantain leaves as well if I can find any :D thanks for the advice :)



Assuming you do not have nor are at risk of infection (in which case use an antiseptic) aloe vera has scientifically proven healing, collagen inducing and anti inflammatory properties.

I'm sure I can pick up some aloe from my local Hollands :) thank you!


I agree with this, honey is the best at healing, it's antimicrobial and as a bonus it's good for your hair as well :D

Already picked up some honey, wish me luck haha. I have to microwave it (and cool it) first right, to stop it lightening my hair?? Thank you ^^