Oily hair, flaky scalp?

[Shibe]

My hair tends to get pretty oily to the point of needing a wash about 2 days after it's shampooed. It's naturally pretty oily but I have noticed I have been having trouble with flaky scalp.

To give you an idea, the flakes are actually pretty hard- they feel kind of like scabs but they are obviously skin flakes.

Can I do anything to treat the flakiness? I don't mind the oiliness of my hair, but the flakes have to go!

[meteor]

It could be a seborrheic dermatitis flare-up. I'd look into something anti-fungal, like ketoconazole (Nizoral or Regenepure, etc) or selenium sulfide (Selsun Blue, etc) or zinc pyrithione (H&S, and many other standard anti-dandruff shampoos) or salicylic acid (Neutrogena T/Sal, etc), or even coal tar (Neutrogena T-Gel, etc). They will help not only with dandruff but with controlling excess oiliness, too.

[Knifegill]

My head was always like that until I went to water-only and daily massage/scritch with BBB on days between washes. I wash maybe every 5 to 6 days at this time, water and ACV. I was the dandruff guy before, I could take my fingernails and just scrape giant chunks of scalp off any time. Not anymore! I say try random things until something works.

[sapphire-o]

I went through that a few years ago. Seemed to be hormonal. Dr. gave me a prescription shampoo which kinda worked but not quite. I think I was allergic to some of the ingredients. What seemed to have fixed it was gaining some weight and balancing my hormones. I understand it's not the case for everyone, but I was really too skinny at the time to produce enough hormones.

DH swears by Giovanni Triple Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner. They're scented with various herbal essential oils and very soothing to the scalp. I've used Giovanni's Wellness System shampoo and conditioner as well and they're very good, too. They're reported to fix all sorts of scalp problems.

[Shibe]

Meteor, I looked into it and I'm not sure that is my problem- my scalp is not itchy or red at all, just flaky.

KnifeGill, I have tried WO for a few weeks and it was baad. Like terrible. My hair is too fine for it. The BBB makes my freshly shampooed hair look days old!

Sapphire, I am pregnant right now, and didn't have dandruff until recently. Before I was pregnant I was taking EPO to help balance out my cycle. It could absolutely be hormonal. I'll try out the Tea Tree shampoo if nothing else helps.

Do you think a sulfur leave in cream would work? I was at the hair aisle last night and noticed the use was a dandruff treatment? The name was Sulfur8.

[meteor]

Do you think a sulfur leave in cream would work? I was at the hair aisle last night and noticed the use was a dandruff treatment? The name was Sulfur8.

I don't know that product, but I'd definitely check with your doctor or pharmacist, to be safe, since you are pregnant some products can be counter-indicated.
http://www.drugs.com/cdi/salicylic-acid-sulfur-soap.html
I'd check with the doctor about tea tree oil, too: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/supplement-guide-tea-tree-oil
Many EOs are not indicated to be used during pregnancy, I'm afraid.

[lapushka]

Meteor, I looked into it and I'm not sure that is my problem- my scalp is not itchy or red at all, just flaky.

If they're big flakes, not just dandruffy pinpoint-flakes, I'd pretty much consider that SD and treat it as such. Just what I'd do, though!

[Shibe]

Ah, ok. They definitely do not look like dandruff flakes now that I looked at photos.

I bought some H&S and will be using tonight. Thanks for the advice everyone, hopefully a few washes will clear this up!

[Shibe]

Ah, ok. They definitely do not look like dandruff flakes now that I looked at photos.

I bought some H&S and will be using tonight. Thanks for the advice everyone, hopefully a few washes will clear this up!

[lapushka]

Ah, ok. They definitely do not look like dandruff flakes now that I looked at photos.

I bought some H&S and will be using tonight. Thanks for the advice everyone, hopefully a few washes will clear this up!

If it *is* SD, not saying it is, but then the H&S is not going to do that much to fix the underlying problem.

[gwenalyn]

The active ingredient of H&S is zinc pyrithione, which does treat seborrhoeic dermatitis for some people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pyrithione

[Aspsusa]

It may help a little bit, but if it is bad (big flakes or itchy), it won't help to the extent that you can go back to normal shampoo.

Switching around how I wear my hair, combing and scritching has helped me a lot. But using a pretty strong antifungal/antiseptic (as a solution on my scalp in between washes) is probably the thing that has helped most. I wish there was a dry shampoo with a nice fungicide!

[lapushka]

The active ingredient of H&S is zinc pyrithione, which does treat seborrhoeic dermatitis for some people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pyrithione

Never helped in my case, and I have quite mild SD (can have mad itching and huge flakes though).

[Lyv]

Mine does the same thing! I still can't figure out what to do about it. I've tried scritching, WO, CO, CWC, sulfates, sulfate free, H&S, Nizorol (not sure if that's the name/spelling), oiling, stretching washes, frequent washes, ACV, and more but nothing has fixed it. Now I'm using Seanick from Lush with Shine+ from Cocoa Pink and lightly oiling my scalp with baby oil once a week and it's not as bad.

[lapushka]

For me Nizoral is still the best when I have bouts. It comes in waves and bouts for me. Harsh sulfates keep it pretty much at bay though, and making sure my hair is washed weekly (that's the most I can stretch). When I do have it, only Nizoral will help! You do need to follow the instructions on it to a T (like letting it sit and marinate for 5 minutes after scrubbing it in).

[endlessly]

I have this same issue, but in my case, it's an eczema flare up with severe itching. My guess, based on your lack of itchiness, is that it might be a reaction to a new product you're using. Do you notice any pain at all since you mentioned the flakes were more like scabs?

[meteor]

Well, if conventional pathways (like ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, etc that I mentioned above) don't work for you or feel way too drying, I'd recommend looking into things like anti-fungal oils - my favorite is neem oil, it's excellent for problematic scalps, but it has that unpleasant smell that many people don't like. If you are not averse to oiling scalp, that could be an option worth trying.

And if standard anti-fungals don't work, I'd definitely go see a doctor! ;)

[Shibe]

I have no pain, no itchiness, no redness. Just larger than average flakes that are much harder than expected.

Mine look like this, just not as much: http://content5.videojug.com/b6/b65defe3-be53-9899-c03b-ff0008c9a987/how-to-treat-dandruff.WidePlayer.jpg

I only see the flakes if I do scritch my scalp, but other than that I don't.

[betterhairday]

My hair tends to get pretty oily to the point of needing a wash about 2 days after it's shampooed. It's naturally pretty oily but I have noticed I have been having trouble with flaky scalp.
To give you an idea, the flakes are actually pretty hard- they feel kind of like scabs but they are obviously skin flakes.
Can I do anything to treat the flakiness? I don't mind the oiliness of my hair, but the flakes have to go!

Hi Shibe I'd go with jojoba oil see link http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/scalp-care/tips/moisturize-scalp1.htm