How to deal with scalp pimples?

[thunderseed]

I have 1bfiii hair, and it's very long (just above my butt). I've never had this scalp acne issue before in my entire life, but in the last year I've had an itchy scalp which only seems to get better when I drink water, worse after I work out or go in the steam room (I'm guessing toxins in my sweat are making it itchy) and I get scalp acne really easily.

I have naturally oily skin that is never prone to dryness but my hair itself gets really dry, and I think I have some dandruff (there are dry white flakes when I scratch my scalp sometimes), and I get a lot of sebum buildup on my scalp, and a lot of dead skin builds up really fast on my face and body too.

My scalp has been giving me these issues ever since I tried some natural DIY shampoos. Some of them really seemed to make my hair itself feel healthy, but I think the oils I tried to put on my scalp really messed my scalp up and ever since it seems my scalp health is super off balance, even though I try to stay away from oils. I've even had terrible results with using all oils on my skin elsewhere, oils have given me worse acne and milia, so I'm pretty sure oils are my worst enemy.

I've been washing my hair only once a week, because I wanted to go the no-poo route and noticed decreasing the amount of washings made my hair have less split ends and it has more moisture when I don't wash it frequently, but... it may be making my scalp suffer.

I normally only use the Paul Mitchell Clarifying Shampoo once a week, and sometimes I will put in conditioner after, but I usually don't use conditioner at all. I use natural brushes to try and bring natural oils into my hair.

I have tried using tea tree oil, both in essential oil form added to the shampoo, and also just dripping it directly onto my scalp and it did not help the itching and scalp acne at all, it made it worse, I guess because it's also an oil.

[Arctic]

For me scalp acne means I am not washing enough and/or with strong enough cleanser.

[thunderseed]

That might be the issue since I'm only washing once a week, but I don't know... from what I read online once a week seems fine for most people, hopefully someone can recommend some products that are good for this issue and a suggested frequency of washing.

[vampyyri]

Perhaps look into scalp-only washing as needed. I wash my scalp every other day(or every day depending on stress level) since I'm super oily myself... it's as simple as braiding your hair, clipping it into a large claw clip, and washing your scalp in the sink. It's helped me tremendously, otherwise I would be doing full washes every other day.

[lapushka]

By any chance, have you switched anything in your routine, like switch to a sulfate-free shampoo? I can't do without sulfates either or my scalp *will* act up. Oh, now I read that you switched to a natural DIY shampoo - bad move in your case, I think. I also wash once a week, but I use a sulfate shampoo and have no issues! I do have SD (seborrheic dermatitis), so I have to be careful. I can't go sulfate-free. I can't CO-wash, or I will have a flare-up.

I always say, it's about what your hair wants and not about what you want for your hair!

Please go back to what worked!

Scalp health is extremely important for hair growth!

[thunderseed]

Yes I also switched to sulfate free for awhile before the DIY shampoos, because I heard bad things about sulfates, but I'm pretty sure the Paul Mitchell clarifying shampoo that I've been using for awhile now has sulfates in it.

I'm confused now, so sulfate-free shampoos are bad? Because I was going to look into a sulfate-free product that is more gentle, since I'm thinking of trying to wash my hair more frequently.

I think that's great advice, doing what your hair wants, but I've been having a difficult time trying to figure out what my hair wants LoL.
Before I began changing everything up, I was using Redken All Soft and had amazing results with that, but that was before they changed the formula, my hair hated it after the formula change.
Then I started testing all sorts of different shampoos and conditioners out, then researching stuff because I really wanted to grow my hair out long but it seemed to not be growing any longer before it would get a bunch of split ends and have to be cut off.
So when I started the natural homemade shampoos and using a natural wooden brush, my hair began growing amazingly, but I'm pretty sure it was the oil experimentation that messed up my scalp.
Now that I'm using the clarifying shampoo, it seems my hair isn't growing anymore and getting split ends faster again also easy breakage.

So right now, I'm equally reluctant and eager to try the DIY recipes again (but this time avoiding the oil based ones). I think when I used the flour, yogurt, and fruit based recipes my hair really loved it. I am certain it was just the oil recipes that messed up my scalp.

And thanks Vampyrri, it seems like it would be difficult to do scalp only washes, but I will give it a try if I have to be washing my hair every day, since I think my hair and oiliness sounds pretty similar to yours. Can I ask what products you use? I need to figure out a good routine, I don't know if I should go the natural route again or just buy some good products.

[Anje]

It's mostly about what you need, personally. Some people have dry skin, some have oily skin, some are nicely in between, and some (like me) have skin that reacts to getting dried out by producing more oil to compensate. And you might not stay in the same category. Now for the people with dry, normal, and "reactive" scalps, milder cleansers and sulfate-free are often ideal. But if your scalp is always pumping out oil without regard to anything, it often pays off to use a stronger cleanser like sulfates to get it really clean. Furthermore, a decent chunk of the population gets seborrheic dematitis and similar conditions, where you get irritation from your body reacting to the fungi that like to live off the nutrients in sebum. Those people especially benefit from relatively frequent and thorough cleansing to keep the sebum at low levels.

Regarding your hair getting more breakage (which is likely what's making it look like it's not growing -- more that it's treadmilling than that it's not growing at the roots), the first really easy question is whether you're shampooing from root to end normally? Most of the time, it's best just to shampoo the scalp and not work the suds down the length. That saves it from a lot of dryness and overcleansing. (Once in a while, you *do* want to wash all the way down, because products like conditioner build up eventually. Easiest just to do that when your hair is feeling overly dry or gunky or generally "off".) Another option is to smear some conditioner on your length before you even start shampooing, to further reduce shampoo exposure (CWC washing).

[vampyyri]

And thanks Vampyrri, it seems like it would be difficult to do scalp only washes, but I will give it a try if I have to be washing my hair every day, since I think my hair and oiliness sounds pretty similar to yours. Can I ask what products you use? I need to figure out a good routine, I don't know if I should go the natural route again or just buy some good products.

Washing: Suave daily clarifying shampoo, V05 strawberry conditioner, Suave green apple conditioner.
Styling: Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, Garnier Fructis sleek serum

Basically: Cheap stripping shampoo and cheap cone free conditioners.

It's worth a shot to give scalp washing a go (even if it's once to try it out), I know my scalp acts up/gets sore/develops acne if I don't wash it enough. The longest I can go is 4 days before my scalp is screaming at me. I also have extremely oily skin too, which doesn't help the cause.

[thunderseed]

Anje, yes, for some reason it didn't occur to me to just shampoo the scalp area and not the ends, so I'll take that into consideration and it's also on terms with what vampyrri is suggesting. Not a fan of waiting for my hair to dry so I'm going to try just washing the scalp in a sink.

I'm sure it's the simple things that count because I even noticed a huge difference when I stopped rubbing my hair with a towel, and just started patting it dry instead. Probably a lot of weird things like that I haven't thought of. I never really wear my hair up, so maybe that has something to do with it as well.

I never heard of CWC washing either!

I might also try to use some oils on just my ends. For some reason I never tried that, I just lathered it all over and that was terrible for my scalp, but made my hair nice and soft overnight.

Vampyyri, I'm so surprised that you use the cheaper products since your hair is so amazing, I was expecting you to use super expensive ones or something.

Well, I just went to winners and bought some cheap shampoo and conditioner that were on sale for 5 bucks. Not sure about the shampoo, but I really liked the idea of the conditioner since it's fragrance free and meant for sensitive skin, it's Oneka brand. I don't react well to fragrances. They're both apparently low in ph, and I read that might be good for scalp health so I'm gonna give it a try.

[mizukitty]

My boyfriend suffers from this and we still haven't figured out a cause. He's used my harsh shampoos, we switched him to sulfate free, oiling before, it's not improving. He also has flare ups on his face, chest, and back though, so it's probably hormone related and no amount of changing the routine will fix it. He has a normal scalp and it does dry out if we abuse it too much, but nothing helps the blemishes, unfortunately.

How is the rest of your acne? Do you suffer from it anywhere else? You mention oily skin - perhaps the oils you are using (coconut by chance?) are just too comedogenic for your skin type. A lot of people can't use oils, especially if they are acne prone. If you notice that oils make the problem worse, please stop using them. You have to listen to the cues you get from your scalp, it'll let you know when something's working or not! I neglected the subtle cues for a long time, and paid the price by having to see a doctor for the terrible SD flare up I got.

I hope the new products you got help your issues, please let us know how they are working out in a few days.

[Doom]

I used to get pimples on my scalp shortly after entering puberty. I went to see a dermatologist, who prescribed me a specific scalp washing product (I don't remember how it was called, sorry), which solved the problem.
Anyway, I suggest you to do what I did and go to see a dermatologist. Tell him/her exactly what you do to your hair, and mention the specific products you use (don't say vague things like "the blue one").

[patienceneeded]

For me, I got itchy scalp "acne" when I wasn't washing my hair (scalp) as often as my scalp preferred. I could only stretch washing 2-3 days, after that I risked getting scalp-acne or itching like crazy. You may just need to wash more often than you are. YMMV.

[Anje]

Anje, yes, for some reason it didn't occur to me to just shampoo the scalp area and not the ends....
No worries, it didn't occur to me either. Or that I could shower without washing my hair! I think people tend to go on autopilot when it comes to super-basic stuff like daily hygiene.

I still get the odd pimple on my scalp, and on my face. I've tried various things, but I think much of it is just hormones and maybe my lazy imperfect diet. My skin is more uncomfortable if I overdry it than the occasional zit is.

[Deborah]

You might also find it best to not put conditioner on your scalp; only put it on the lower part of your hair, such as from your ears or from your chin down. Conditioners can upset your irritated scalp and also cause your scalp to get oily much faster.

[Aphra]

I get scalp pimples if I wash every day OR if I wash less than every two to three days. I also get it as a reaction to certain shampoos, or if I use certain shampoos more than a couple of times in a row.

It's a question of finding your sweet spot. Mine is washing alternate days when working and every third day if I can stretch it (I condition the ends before washing, and let my hair hang down in the shower rather than massage the suds through), and currently mostly using herbal essences shampoos and conditioners. I have no idea why my scalp likes HE and throws a strop at near identical products - I just find what it will tolerate via experimentation and work with that till it gets grumpy.

The other thing which my scalp really hates is "natural" shampoos with genuine fruit / fruit oils in, if I go out in the sun - it appears to be the UV causing chemical reactions in the residue (natural compounds still being chemicals). It causes a really red itchy reaction, a bit like instant sunburn. Commercial shampoos that mention fruit oils somewhere in the bottom of the ingredients list are fine, so it is presumably a dose thing.

[turtlelover]

I have to wash my hair every day and a half or I have itchy spots, scalp zits and SD flares. Stretching washes is NOT going to work for me, so I don't even try anymore -- I just do what my scalp prefers. I have to use a sulfate shampoo at least every other wash as well. Consistently using sulfate free shampoo will mess up my scalp pretty quickly. Oh....and all of the articles saying that you can "train" your scalp to be less oily by gradually washing less and less.... in my case, it was a load of bologna! HAHA

[Pixiebella]

Have you tried tea tree oil? That's pretty helpful for clearing regular acne, so I'd bet it works the same for scalp acne. Also, washing more at just the scalp. You can coat your ends with mayonnaise or conditioner to protect them.

[Pixiebella]

I should clarify: coat the ends, then wash scalp, rinse, then condition.

[lapushka]

Have you tried tea tree oil? That's pretty helpful for clearing regular acne, so I'd bet it works the same for scalp acne. Also, washing more at just the scalp. You can coat your ends with mayonnaise or conditioner to protect them.

TT is an EO, so it needs to be diluted in a base / carrier oil. You can maybe put it on one or two pimples but not on half your scalp without the dilution!!!

[EbonyCurls]

Brushing my scalp daily with a bristle brush has been helping me. This mechanical cleaning honstly helped more than washing more frequently. I have noticed with this method that each time I wash my hair my scalp stays cleaner longer and longer and it continues to improve.