Sore swirl when stretching washes

[Chlorophylliac]

I have a swirly cowlick on the left side of my crown, and the skin gets tender as my hair gets increasingly dirty/greasy. It almost feels like the hair has been pulled too tightly, even though it isn't. Also, it gets very difficult to hide. Usually, I can deal with it ok - I use a baby toothbrush to mask it in updos and otherwise I just ignore it, but as I push wash day back, that swirl gets downright aggressive! Any ideas?

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Have you tried massaging it?

[Chlorophylliac]

I've gently brushed with a bbb, and I've massaged in dry shampoo at times, but I don't know if I've done a focused massage. I wanted to try scritch/preening, which includes a scalp massage, so we shall see.

[Silverbrumby]

I've gently brushed with a bbb, and I've massaged in dry shampoo at times, but I don't know if I've done a focused massage. I wanted to try scritch/preening, which includes a scalp massage, so we shall see.

Do you get increased shedding when stretching washes. I only ask because my scalp hates stretching washes and gets sore and hot in spots then sheds a lot. I've had to use anti fungal shampoo which fixes it up plus regular washing twice a week.

[Chlorophylliac]

I haven't had any noticeable changes in shedding. I usually wash every 3-4 days, but the range could be every 2-5 days at times. I've been experimenting with how long my hair is willing to go since I've been working out a lot.

[cathair]

If my head gets sore like that I consider it time to wash. It means my scalp isn't happy and it definitely doesn't get any better the longer I leave it. I try to wash it the day before this happens, if I can manage it. I don't think there is any benefit to stretching washes that far, just risk shedding more as other have said.

[lapushka]

Yes, sore and sticking to head: time to wash. I'd try to stretch to before that happens. I can't go that far in my regimen (most is 1 week) due to SD (seborrheic dermatitis).

[MsPharaohMoan]

Yeah I hate hot spots. They make it so every updo is painful. I also consider this a sign from my body saying I need to get the gunk off my scalp pronto. Stretching washes is trying to adjust your scalp to going longer and longer without stupid hot spots.

[Arctic]

I have what is called a double crown, that is, two whorls going in opposite directions at my crown. I also ave oily, sensitive scalp, that likes to be clean (otherwise it get irritated/infected, which is never good for follicles). When my hair get dirty, I start to get that pain sensation too, and I have never really been able to stretch washes. I wash almost daily, sometimes every other day. By third day my scalp would be achy and i would start getting bumps.

The regular washing also helps me to style the crown area, because for me, nothing apart from washing (and thus "re-setting" the whorls) really has any effects. My double crown laughs at my styling attempts. There are 3 things that I have found help me dry that area so, that it looks nice: blow drying (starting when hair is still very wet), head banging several times while hair is (air) drying, or making a strategically placed damp (cinna)bun, right over the area, and letting it dry like that. Sometimes making a french/dutch braid on damp hair, over that area, and letting it dry helps too.

[Knifegill]

Have you tried lining your part up to the cowlick? Or moving your part to the other side so it's nowhere near it? I had a horrible time with mine, on the right, for years. My part ended there and it just sprawled open and did what it wanted. I randomly started parting my hair on the opposite side and now it doesn't feel sore anymore. I think all the hair moving toward and across it forces the hair down better so it doesn't stand up like it used to. It might be specific to my head, but also, brushing straight back/bunning straight back helps a lot, too.

[spidermom]

Bending forward and brushing my hair toward the floor helps a lot, although when I get those "time to wash" signals, I usually just go ahead and wash it. Sometimes I can't and use the brushing trick. I think it gets the oil moving away from my scalp.

[meteor]

I think this is pretty normal when sebum builds up there while stretching washes, and it's probably caused by the fact that human sebum is pretty waxy, so without heat and massage and brushing, it doesn't necessarily move down the hair shaft as quickly as the softer, runnier oils can.

"Triglycerides and fatty acids, taken together, account for the predominant proportion (57.5%), followed by wax esters (26%) and squalene (12%). The least abundant lipid in sebum is cholesterol, which with its esters, accounts for the 4.5% of total lipids." (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835893/)

You could try adding more NW/SO cleansing techniques, like scritching and preening and using a BBB, a massager or even a fine-tooth comb in that area, or you could just add a scalp-only wash in-between your full washes. ;)
HTH! :flower:

[Duchess Fuzzy Buns]

Maybe you could try dusting your roots there with a little bit of corn starch to help with the excess oil? I know mine is harder to hide and the hair just wants to separate and be ornery when it's oily. I don't know if that would help with the sore scalp though, but maybe dusting it and then kind of massaging it in? Couldn't hurt to try. :shrug: