Needing help. OCD with hair

[Darkhorse1]

Hello friends. It’s been a while. Lots happening and sadly, I’ve developed OCD regarding my hair.

I think it’s related to my two favorite shampoos being discontinued ( herbal essence tealightfully clean 2020), then neutrogena anti residue in 2022.

I’ve struggled to find a shampoo to really clean my scalp. Finding clarifying shampoos saved me . But they eventually were discontinued or rebranded and the scents in them are brutal.

im seeing an ocd specialist but it takes time. This developed over time during the pandemic.

im not sure anyone else here suffers from this ? I am going every other day for washing because it’s so time consuming. But I cringe when it’s not washed. Even though it doesn’t need it. When it’s washed, I can’t touch it unless my hands are scrubbed and anything that touches it has to be clean. It’s always up in a topknot with a clean claw clip. My hair seems to have gotten thicker with time- my hair dresser said my gray is thicker. I’m sad I can’t color my hair right now either.

I need a clarifying shampoo with a light scent that has sulfates. No oils or only castor oil. My hair is oily enough. This is becoming and issue with todays shampoos. I live in Canada so some brands are not available here.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I did get my hair cut and layered but it’s still long and thick. I’m lucky I have an amazing hair dresser.

shampoos I’ve tried include:
herbal essence tealightfully clean shampoo and body wash. Scent is fine, cleaned well but made my scalp coldHead and shoulders green apple and smooth and silky: green apple cleaned better but both left a residue . Green apple was strong scented, I prefered smooth and silky scent but the wash wasn’t as good
kristen ess clarifying: made my hair an oil slick. Scent made me light headed.
Pantene clarifying : works great but the unscented smells like plastic .

lined up to try:
Attitude clarifying shampoo. Scent is nice but leery about no sulfates
herbsl essence shine shampoo, and orange blossom. They have a clarifying tea tree one but it’s too heavily scented for me
loreal elevive clay shampoo: scent is pretty strong though

Thanks

[mochichichi]

I'm not sure exactly what about your hair is triggering your OCD, but for me, the cleanliness of my hair is a big obsession. I used to wash everyday but I have since been able to manage it by 1) keeping it up so that it doesn't come into contact with random stuff and 2) covering it with a headscarf or bandana in between washes so that it doesn't get dirt/dust, people can't touch it, etc.

[Ylva]

Do you have access to a brand called Family Fresh? I use their aloe 2-in-1 shampoo and body wash. It’s very mildly scented and it has SLES. Also super affordable.

[MusicalSpoons]

Sorry to hear you're dealing with that, I didn't have exactly the same issue but I did have OCD and a couple of related disorders and I can imagine how distressing this is.

If you have FemFresh available in Canada it could work for you. It's not advertised as a shampoo but it's the right pH for scalp, cleansing enough even for my greasy scalp, and to me it doesn't seem strongly scented.

The SLES shampoos I use are by TreSemme but they are fairly normally scented so might be a bit strong for you. But if you pass them in a shop, maybe have a sniff and see what you think; the one I would recommend it the scent is alright would be Cleanse and Replenish. (Here there is also a 2-in-1 called something similar and contains dimethiconol so not that, definitely just the shampoo.)

[lapushka]

Do you have Garnier in your part of the world? We have a line of it called "Ultra Doux", it's called whole blends, loving blends, all kinds of "blends" all over the world, but they do a *marvelously fine* clay shampoo! Yes they do. And they added a charcoal one to the mix. If you cannot find those, then try the clay shampoo from L'Oréal (Elsève or Elvive, whatever it's called in grand old Canada :)). Those should help! Finding stuff for oily prone hair is the way to go if you want a good clean. I know my hair (I have seborrheic dermatitis, in bouts but when it starts... it's bad). I love those.

[Darkhorse1]

Thank you everyone! ������

I don’t know where this came from. I’ve never had an issue with my hair . I always washed it and would go to the barn and teach- even ride and it never bothered me. Now that makes me cringe.

I’ll look to see if we have some of the brands mentioned. We have tresemme here and garner. Not sure about some of the others but I will do some research. Thanks ��

[Greengable]

I love plants would you try ghassoul? I love this and its so easy to prepare. Yo could also and some essential oils that you like.

[lapushka]

For me, not that my scalp minded the rhassoul/ghassoul, but my lengths, oh man, that was a sheer and utter mess, it all velcro'od to each other. I got the same thing with baking soda. Scalp? Meh, so so, but most of us have hair that needs delicate handling, and this wasn't it. For me, anyway. I mean I also know a lot of people that fare well by these things (except the BS! way too alkaline). And the price on this, these days? My goodness. It's like it's liquid gold!

[Greengable]

For me, not that my scalp minded the rhassoul/ghassoul, but my lengths, oh man, that was a sheer and utter mess, it all velcro'od to each other. I got the same thing with baking soda. Scalp? Meh, so so, but most of us have hair that needs delicate handling, and this wasn't it. For me, anyway. I mean I also know a lot of people that fare well by these things (except the BS! way too alkaline). And the price on this, these days? My goodness. It's like it's liquid gold!

I only use it on my scalp, it's too much for the ends, maybe with some oil...

[Darkhorse1]

The problem for me is I don’t want anything on my hair other than a shampoo and conditioner on the ends. Anything else makes me cringe. I used to oil my hair and clarify, never had to repeatidly wash my hands between lathers—-it’s just so upsetting. I did find a good therapist who specializes in OCD but this is very new to me. It has been brewing for some time but I hid it. Then, in August of this year, I just could not calm down. My anxiety and panic attacks were through the roof. I’ve lost about 30 pounds because I had no appetite. I still don’t eat a lot, but I am getting food into my system.

Thanks for your help and suggestions This has become so very specific it’s just very upsetting. I was always so laid back about my hair and loved doing fun styles, now I can’t even touch it without washing my hands, and even then….

[Obsidian]

Do you have suave? If so, look into their daily clarifying, no oils or cones. It does have Sodium C12-13 Pareth Sulfate instead of sls but its nearly the same thing. The scent is light and clean.
Prell is another option but the scent is stronger, kinda reminds me of Palmolive dish soap. Its also a bit too drying for a every wash shampoo

[Darkhorse1]

No, Canada doesn’t sell Suave, but my Mom was able to find it on the USA amazon. Sadly the scent is very strong. But thank you very much. :)

[lithostoic]

I have OCD my whole life and what works for me is radically doing the opposite of what my OCD tells me. For this situation I would stop washing my hair and force myself to touch it with unclean hands multiple times a day. Doing this kinda rewires my brain. Then I can slowly switch things to a normal healthy pattern from there.

[cathair]

I've been using Joico K-pak clarifying shampoo in lieu of Neutrogena. It's a little pricy, but I like it.

There's also Herbal Essence Detox. I don't think it's strictly a clarifying shampoo, but it's okay.