Scalp Issues

[hairconvictions]

Hi there,
I have been dealing with scalp issues for about 2 years now with no answer in sight. Ever since I moved to the Northern (ie dry) climate that I am in now, my scalp has been flaky and extremely itchy. I have tried numerous products including completely natural shampoo, CO, WO but I refuse to use Head and Shoulders (since I know that just fixes the symptoms but not the problem). I recently read that itchy scalp could be caused by a gluten intolerance (which I have recently been diagnosed with), but I have been gluten free for at least a month now, and there doesn't seem to be any change.

Any ideas?
I'm at the point of going to a dermatologist, if there is even one in this city ... le sigh. But I wanted to give the super brains of LHC one more go at it before I go to the evil dr lol

[ravenreed]

Going CO really helped with my itchy scalp. Using an ACV rinse also helped tremendously. I thing there is a difference between a dry scalp prone to flakes and outright dandruff. If you just have dry scalp, an occasional scalp oiling might be helpful. When I do a scalp oiling to deal with random dry scalp, I always use the CO method to remove the oil. I am not familiar with dandruff, so if that is the problem, I have no suggestions.

[MungoMania]

Try Aubrey Organics aloe vera gel liquid applied to scalp before bed. It's cooling and soothing for people who live in cold and/or dry climates and may help with your scalp issues.

[Rosa Harris]

About the Head and Shoulders - you may actually have an infection that causes this - one of the reasons this shampoo works is that it kills off one of the main causes - if I recall its a yeast? A short treatment with it would at least rule it out out baring being able to see a Dr. If it works you should be able to use it only for a short while and then stop it.T-gel will also do a kill-off of nasties that might be causing it - personally I go for keeping a flurishing scalp-garden of bacteria that maintain a healthy biostasis of the scalp... in other words I never wash or use water on it and my dry-flaky- crazy itchy with even psoriasis cause hair loss poor scalp is no longer that way and re-growing lost hairs.

[Anje]

I recently read that itchy scalp could be caused by a gluten intolerance (which I have recently been diagnosed with), but I have been gluten free for at least a month now, and there doesn't seem to be any change.

Have you checked out the ingredients on your products? Some (conditioners especially) can contain wheat proteins, oat proteins, etc. If you're reacting to those, it might be good to get them off your scalp.

[hairconvictions]

Thanks guys, you've given me some things to try... I'll see if they sell aloe vera gel here, that makes a lot of sense since it's so DRY here.
Head and shoulders is also on my list, although after I try everything else :P since i seem to react to every shampoo on earth
My shampoo currently comes from The Mountain Soap Company, everything they have is "natural", no chemicals at all...

[Drosmand7]

I can give my two cents here:

Dandruff could be caused by either fungal infection; by change of routine, lower immune system, sharing brushes etc. - or - you could have eczema, have you been itching everywhere else?

I wouldn't use Head and Shoulders, I find that it damages hair with little benefit, T-Gel is very harsh on hair and some find it damaging, the less of evils would be Selsun blue.

Selsun blue works best if you let it "work" on your scalp for 10 mins or so while you do your other shower rituals. You wouldn't need it all the time either, possibly a use-as-needed basis.

If that doesn't work and you're tried other herbal remedies such as Henna and Cassia (that have also been shown to remedy scalp issues), I would then suggest a doctors visit to make sure your nutrients levels and blood circulation is adequate. :)

[Nope]

This is kind of a gross suggestion but... Some people have seen improvements in their dandruff when using monistat on their scalp, which also promotes growth in some people.
I found that doing a rinse with filtered water and peppermint oil helps prevent my boyfriend's dandruff quite effectively.

[meteor]

Some excellent ideas were already presented here, and I'm glad you are going to see a dermatologist to get an actual diagnosis, because the diagnosis will drive the solution.

There are lots of natural things that can give relief: aloe vera, honey, chamomile/calendula tea, some EOs (tea tree, cedarwood, basil, lemon, bay, etc), but my all-time absolute favorite solution for almost all problematic scalps is pure neem oil. It works against fungus, xerosis, eczema, psoriasis, even lice... You can google it and if like it you can get it at most Indian shops cheaply. Just use it as a pre-poo for at least an hour (overnight would be much better) and then wash it out. A nice bonus is that it leaves hair really moisturized. If you can't stand the smell for so long, it can work added to diluted shampoo.

[meliel]

My boyfriend has this problem as well, except I don't think it's caused by dry weather, his scalp gets oily quickly and he seems to get lots of scabs on his head and then dandruff... It's unfortunate because he has healthy, shiny, hip length hair, yet he has dandruff and seems to have lots of oily patches, I can't even explain it... After reading these posts, I wonder if apple cider vinegar would be of any help to him. Neem oil seems like a good suggestion as well... I think psoriasis/eczema runs in his family, strange he doesn't get it on his body but gets a lot of the symptoms on his scalp :(