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Estrid
October 9th, 2014, 04:59 AM
Hello everyone!

My scalp has been itchy for about a week now. My mother checked my scalp (for lice with a special comb) and saw that it was irritated in some areas (red) and that I had sores (probably from scratching). No lice though.

I have never had itchy scalp before (why I expected lice). Mother said that this may be because of some shampoo that my scalp might not just like, she had gone through something similar. Now... I have been using 3 different shampoos these past months. I bought a new one in august that I have used the most but I wanted to finish the other bottles so I have switched a bit between them. I guess I have to figure out which one has caused this... I gave away one of the old bottles because I didn't really like that shampoo, so it's only the new one (which is Urtekram camomile shampoo) and another one (dove nourishing oil care shampoo) that I have left.


How should I handle this? Should I try to wash with only one of them for a few weeks to see if the itch goes away? How many weeks would I need to wait to feel a difference?


I am a bit bummed out about this. :/

faeriehaerie
October 9th, 2014, 05:58 AM
What did you use before you bought the new shampoos?
Personally I'd suspect the camomille. Trying one at a time is a good idea, the itch should get less rather fast, the sores will probably take some time to heal.

lapushka
October 9th, 2014, 05:59 AM
If you never had this before, then it's safe to say, it may be one of the shampoo formulas - yes. I'd give each a few weeks. I don't know how much you wash, but maybe a month would be more realistic.

Estrid
October 9th, 2014, 07:14 AM
Thank you both for your replies :) I wash my hair 3 times every week.

I don't have much left of the dove shampoo but I will try to keep to the camomile shampoo for some weeks (or a month) and see if the itch stays or goes away. I personally suspect the shampoo I gave away or the camomile, I have used the dove shampoo before without any problems.

hennalonghair
October 9th, 2014, 09:17 AM
Ok I have a correction to make. Two tbsps. Per litre of water is far too strong a dilution.
Whenever I've had any fungal issues I've added a cup and a half of borax to a tub of water. It helps with vaginal problems to athletes foot. Sorry if that Too much info but it is a fantastic gentle antibacterial anti fungal remedy.

Also if you are using henna to stain your roots then you might want to eliminate adding any oils to it, especially if you are doing this once a week. Maybe just use peppermint tea or a few drops of peppermint or tea tree oil.
In fact try not to put any oils silicones or conditioners anywhere near your scalp for now.
This definitely just feeds the fungus.
Essential oils are however extremely beneficial as some are antifungal/ antibacterial .

Massage works very well also. Bending your head so your scalp is facing the ground and massaging your scalp helps blood circulate which in turn speeds up healing. It also helps reduce any build up that you might have.
Just make sure you have clean hands before and after doing this.

If you don't wsnt to brush your wavy curly hair ( totally understanding) then you might want to consider getting a scalp massager. They are about a buck at the dollar store.
They are plastic round things with spikes at the ends and a handle. These are great to use but you need to use very gently.
If you use this in circular motions around your scalp it will help blood circulate and slough off any dry flakes or excess build up.
Just don't use it too much on the sore or sensitive areas.

I've had these issues and I know many other people do especially people with thick hair. I've seen your pics and I'd day you have thick hair ! It's lovely by the way.

So I hope I haven't scared you. This is definitely fixable.

hennalonghair
October 9th, 2014, 10:31 AM
Sorry estrid. I got the wrong itchy scalp thread

Estrid
October 9th, 2014, 10:55 AM
No worries. :p

I wonder what I should do if this is because of the camomile shampoo, I had like..decided to move on to Urtekram completely since I liked the shampoo, but now I don't know. I have no idea what ingredient it would be that I'm sensitive to, I have used a lot of different shampoos without getting this side effect.

spidermom
October 9th, 2014, 12:48 PM
My daughter gets scalp itch like crazy with change in seasons. Could it be the same for you?

hennalonghair
October 9th, 2014, 01:01 PM
No worries. :p

I wonder what I should do if this is because of the camomile shampoo, I had like..decided to move on to Urtekram completely since I liked the shampoo, but now I don't know. I have no idea what ingredient it would be that I'm sensitive to, I have used a lot of different shampoos without getting this side effect.

If you noticed you have this problem since you changed shampoos then I'd seriously take that into consideration.
Maybe switch back and see what happens. It happened to me when I switched to WEN conditioning cleanser. My scalp hated it.

Estrid
October 9th, 2014, 01:36 PM
spidermom, I have never had that before so I don't know why it would be so now :/ but maybe? I don't know.

hennalonghair, I have only had the itchy scalp for about a week, so I can't say for sure which product caused it. I don't really feel like buying a "bad" shampoo just to check if the itch goes away (I don't have enough left of the dove one, would need to buy one more). I will wash with the camomile for a while and see if it improves or stays the same, until I know I guess I can look around for another good shampoo.

I was so happy to get out of the shampoo-jungle and now I might have to dive into it again.

Sparklylady82
October 9th, 2014, 03:05 PM
I have a reaction to some sls shampoo like suave clarifying and also some sulfate-free. I do better with professional shampoos for some reason?

meteor
October 9th, 2014, 03:59 PM
Estrid, since you've never experienced itchy scalp before, you were using the right product before you tried these 3 new shampoos... So why not just go back to your old shampoo?

I would say, it's pretty hard to isolate the specific ingredient/trigger for your reaction (many ingredients in each shampoo), but natural extracts can easily cause allergies in some people... it's a long elimination process, so I would just use the shampoos that worked well in the past! :)

hennalonghair
October 9th, 2014, 04:40 PM
[B]hennalonghair, I have only had the itchy scalp for about a week, so I can't say for sure which product caused it. I don't really feel like buying a "bad" shampoo just to check if the itch goes away (I don't have enough left of the dove one, would need to buy one more). I will wash with the camomile for a while and see if it improves or stays the same, until I know I guess I can look around for another good shampoo.

I was so happy to get out of the shampoo-jungle and now I might have to dive into it again.

I get what you're saying about trying to get away from shampooing but really all you need is some specific treatment shampoo on the scalp only. What I normally do is condition my hair from from about chin length down to the ends. Keep the conditioner on the length of your hair while you treat your scalp to a shampoo. These types of treatments are ALL drying whether you use a conventional treatment or holistic one but the scalp needs to dry out some.
This at least saves the length of your hair that doesn't need treatment. I would however make certain that you do a final rinse with ACV. This will help keep the pH balance of your hair in a healthy state.

Estrid
October 9th, 2014, 09:49 PM
meteor, I have used about 20 different shampoos (cheap ones) in the past, most of them have worked fine (my hair isn't very picky). I tried to find something that would be more kind to the hair and scalp (which obviously didn't work very well). I normally have a bit dry scalp and I do have some dandruff (not much, but a little).

hennalonghair, I am not trying to get away from shampooing, my hair don't mind shampoo, but looking for a good one when there are so many of them is hard! x) I don't know what I would be treating my scalp for since this irritation probably is caused by one ingredient and I don't know which :/


Now when I think of it...maybe I should go and buy some other shampoo (wella? dove? head n shoulders?) and just throw out these other ones. If it is the camomile shampoos fault I don't know if I want to wash my hair for another month with it... This itch is seriously annoying.

Estrid
October 9th, 2014, 09:52 PM
I have a reaction to some sls shampoo like suave clarifying and also some sulfate-free. I do better with professional shampoos for some reason?

It is strange. This was the second more expensive shampoo that I have ever bought, the first one didn't work for me at all and this one (if it is urtekrams fault) did this... maybe I should just stick to the cheapish things until I got enough money to experiment.

Estrid
October 15th, 2014, 02:58 AM
I've been using the other shampoo for the last 3 showers now and already feel a difference. Not sure if it is because of the shampoo change though, it might be that I am less paranoid, have avoided to scratch or something else. Still feel some itching but it's definitely less noticeable.

hennalonghair
October 15th, 2014, 03:14 AM
I'm glad you found some relief. :)