happy scalp or happy hair?

[rileysmama32208]

Ugh! I feel like I have to choose... maybe someone with a similar problem can help me figure out what to do?

My hair LOVES SLS shampoo. I used it today because I was feeling build-up-y, and its so soft and nice. But, just a few hours after I use it, bam, my scalp breaks out.

BUT, if i use baking soda on my scalp for a week or two, my scalp goes back to being happy, and my hair, well, crappy.

Could this be an SLS sensitivity? When I do use shampoo, Im using Suave green apple, mixed at least 50/50 with water. Could it be the conditioner building up? I don't use "product" in my hair aside from coconut oil or jojoba oil, whichever i choose at the time. Should I ditch conditioner for now?

Yep, I know, lots of questions, lol. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Katze]

Hm, I'm answering because I remember having the same question when I tried CO and 'poo free. Dealing with SD and fine, wavy hair means I have often had to pick one or the other, but now am pretty happy with sulfates and more frequent washings.

A few questions immediately spring to mind.

1. Do you use sulfate shampoo undiluted on your scalp? Diluting shampoo might make a big difference.

2. What kind of scalp problems are you having, exactly? Do they just come up after a wash with sulfate shampoos, or does something else make your scalp unhappy too? What makes your scalp HAPPY?

3. What happens when you try something more acidic, like vinegar rinses, instead of a basic rinse? Scalp and skin health depends on a certain pH, which, as I understand it, could be a problem if you wash with baking soda too often. Perhaps switching to vinegar would solve the problem?

This isn't a complete answer, but it is what came to mind right away. Hope it helps!

Katze

[Arctic]

Ugh! I feel like I have to choose... maybe someone with a similar problem can help me figure out what to do?

My hair LOVES SLS shampoo. I used it today because I was feeling build-up-y, and its so soft and nice. But, just a few hours after I use it, bam, my scalp breaks out.

BUT, if i use baking soda on my scalp for a week or two, my scalp goes back to being happy, and my hair, well, crappy.

Could this be an SLS sensitivity? When I do use shampoo, Im using Suave green apple, mixed at least 50/50 with water. Could it be the conditioner building up? I don't use "product" in my hair aside from coconut oil or jojoba oil, whichever i choose at the time. Should I ditch conditioner for now?

Yep, I know, lots of questions, lol. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Well I've had similar, but kind of opposite problems, lol! My hair has loved practically all the LHC style things I've done to it, but my scalp is picky and demands regular sulfate shampoo washing :)

Never the less I have often thought too that if I'd have to choose hair or scalp health, what would I choose... Now, I am sure there is a way for everyone to have BOTH happy hair and scalp, it just needs some experimenting and reading about different methods and products (home made or bought). But if I really would have to choose I would choose scalp health, because it's a living, breathing part of my body as hairs are just dead.

I have quite oily skin and scalp and scalp is prone to dandruff and as I've noticed since coming here to LHC and trying different things, even prone to breaking out, some kind of follicle infection. I think I have SD but it's not diagnozed so I might be wrong. I'm telling these details so you can see if your scalp is similar to mine :)

Here's some things I've found helpful in no particular order:


What makes my scalp calm down are, like Katze suggested, diluted vinegar rinses, at the moment I have red wine vinegar.

Regular shampooing is a must - I wash every other day.

Aloe vera gel applied into the scalp after wash has been a miracle "cure" for me, I often mix some essential oils like lavender or rosemary in it.

When my scalp has a flare up I usually need to avoid all oils, and go back to them when scalp has healed. Many oils are not good for my skin (acne prone skin) so I have to be careful with them all the time. Extra virgin olive oil has been my all time favourite, it doesn't clog pores and my hair adores it! Shea butter seems good for my skin and hair too.
When I do use oils I apply them to the ends only (they tend to travel up my hair shaft so I don't want to apply them near the scalp). If I'm doing deep oiling I put my hair in a high ponytail first, oil the ponytail (but not too near the ponytail holder), and coil my hair in a loose bun, cover it with bandanna making sure the bandanna is between the hair and scalp (you could use a shower cap or plastic bag too), and leave it be. Wash well.

CO didn't agree with my scalp at all. I do use conditioner with shampoo always, and appply it to ears down. I tend to buy conditioners that specifically say they can be used on scalp (even though I don't :) ).


Could you tell more about your routine: how do you usually wash your hair? With baking soda? Do you always use conditioner? It was a bit unclear if you use a comercial conditioner or only oils from your post.

Conditioners and many shampoos and oils and many hair products do tend to build up over time, how fast depends on the ingredients and how they mix with that particular persons hair and lifestyle (like how often she washes her hair, how much product uses etc).
Almost everyone need to clarify every now and then. I have found from my experience that a clarifying shampoo, full strenght, is the best, it takes away buildup a normal full strenght sulfate shampoo doesn't, and much much better than baking soda did. Plus baking soda was horrible for my hair and scalp, I'm not going near it again (I've tried it 2 times). You should follow baking soda wash with vinegar rinse to return the pH back to normal.

Have you tried non-sulfate shampoos? Different brands? Some sulfates are stronger than others, some sulfates work for some people and others work for other people. I personally couln't live without conditioner so I wouldn't ditch it.

[rileysmama32208]

Sorry I couldnt get onto the computer again until now... having a 9 month old will do that to ya, lol. Anyways, Im gonna try to answer your questions :)

1. I always dilute my SLS shampoo with water.

2. Using baking soda followed by a vinegar rinse makes my scalp happy, but my hair kind of icky still... I think my problem is im using my conditioner (no cones) also, then baking soda, then vinegar rinse (rinsing in between of course).

3. The only non sls shampoos i've used are my son's. Burts Bees baby bee and cali baby super sensitive. I don't exactly ave the funds to buy anything else, but I have an abundance of suave shampoos, v05 conditioners and a gallon of sally beauty supply conditioner that I've been using.

My basic routine depends on which Im using at the time:
(if using SLS) Condish ends, use diluted shampoo on scalp, let it sit. Then rinse, condition again.

(if using baking soda) condish ends, baking soda in squirt bottle mixed with water, let sitwhile I finish my shower, then rinse, vinegar rinse.

After shower, I usually add a bit of jojoba or coconut (whichever i grab first, lol) to the ends.

As for what happens to my scalp, well, its basically like eruptions on my scalp. I had always thought that the skin on my scalp was just horrible like the skin on my face, but after using baking soda and vinegar on my hair, it was SO much better.

I appreciate your help! I might try that aloe vera gel, and Im considering taking amonth doing just bs/vinegar and seeing where my hair goes after that. Im a stay-at-home mom that only leaves the house once a week to go to my MILs house, so it really DOESNT matter if I have crappy hair, but it'd be nice to find something that works for it, lol.

[MsBubbles]

How often do you wash your hair? For me it's about compromise. My hair loves organic, oil-laden shampoo but my scalp hates it. My scalp loves Sulfate shampoos but my ends look fried very soon from it. I might be able to extend between washes to three days if I use sulfate shampoos but then I'd have to have fried-looking ends.

So my happy solution is to wash gently every other day with the soft, oily organic shampoo.

What I'm getting at is...rather than it being a question of either scalp or hair not being happy, maybe it's just a question of whether scalp or hair can hold out longer between washes.

[getoffmyskittle]

Baking soda and SLS shampoo aren't the only things out there. Have you tried CO or sulfate-free shampoo? Queen Helene Mint Julep shampoo is a good one (and it's really inexpensive, MUCH less expensive than Burt's Bees, and one bottle lasts forever).

[GlassEyes]

Baking soda and SLS shampoo aren't the only things out there. Have you tried CO or sulfate-free shampoo? Queen Helene Mint Julep shampoo is a good one (and it's really inexpensive, MUCH less expensive than Burt's Bees, and one bottle lasts forever).

It really is inexpensive, and the bottle you can buy has to b diluted before use, so it really lasts for quite a long time.

You can get it at Sally's. I've nver usd it though; my hair's happy enough with CO and periodic shampooing.

[chrissy-b]

I had a similar problem when I started stretching out my washes. My scalp breaks out fairly easily and it took me a while to find something that works. I recently switched to a soap based organic shampoo by Aubrey Organics. My scalp AND my hair couldn't be happier.

getoffmyskittle is right, there are many other options out there. I know it can be expensive trying new things, but in the long run it will be worth it.

In the meantime, have you tried conditioning after the baking soda (in the post above you said you only followed it with a rinse and ACV)? You may want to try conditioning again after you rinse all the BS out of your hair then rinse with ACV.

[joyjoy]

A few months back, I started getting breakouts on my scalp -- like cystic acne. I finally traced it back to a conditioner I was occasionally using -- Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose. I figure either some ingredient, or maybe just the combination of ingredients was too comedogenic(acne-causing) for my skin.

I'd had mild cystic acne breakouts on my face before, usually at my hairline or on my chin, and I have found that various cosmetics, including conditioners, can aggravate them, so this didn't come as a complete surprise, but the location on my scalp was unusual.

When I stopped using the Honeysuckle Rose conditioner, my scalp went back to normal.

So maybe something similar is going on with you? You can find lists of comedogenic and non-comedogenic cosmetic ingredients on the web, if you think this makes sense and want more info on the products you're using.

[NurseMama]

How diluted is your baking soda? Are you putting it on the length or just on your scalp?

I have been using baking soda with a lot of success for both my scalp breakouts and my hair. In between washes, I have been preening and really focusing on moving sebum down the hair shaft. I do not oil pre-wash. I mix about 1/2 cup of baking soda in about a half gallon of warm water which will last me for at least 10 washes. I add about 15 drops of tea tree essential oil to the baking soda mixture. Using a hair dye squirt bottle, I apply it only to my scalp on dry hair before I am even in the shower. Putting it on dry hair insures that I cover all of my scalp. After about 10 minutes I get in the shower and with warm water I rinse thoroughly while scrubbing gently. I follow that up with an ACV rinse made up of about 1/4 cup of ACV to a quart of water with a couple of drops of Ylang Ylang EO added for fragrance. I don't use any other condish. I do have to add a little oil to the very ends as my sebum can't seem to get there yet!

I cannot tell you how much this method has helped my scalp and my hair.

[salamander]

Do you react badly to toothpaste? Most toothpastes have SLS in them, sometimes a lot, so if you react to both toothpaste and shampoo, it's probably an SLS sensitivity.

[Kirin]

It could just be the brand of shampoo or an offensive ingredient in it........ its not nessesarily the sls. The problem is tracking down what the actual offender is. Try another shampoo that doesn't contain sls.... or another sls shampoo (dilluted) from another company with different ingredients.

[Anje]

Have you tried rinsing your scalp with vinegar when you aren't using baking soda? It might make it happier in all sorts of conditions.

If your scalp doesn't like conditioner, you could simply not apply conditioner to the scalp. I need conditioner on the top of my head, but most people don't, and find that if they condition only the hair below the ears, both hair and scalp are happy.

I'm also going to add a vote for trying a soap-type shampoo, such as CV bars (http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com/shambar.htm). I don't have scalp issues, but many people who do have raved about the neem and tea tree shampoo bar available there.

[Dientje]

I don't know if my problem is similar to yours, but whenever I use full strength SLS 'poo, my scalp starts itching. I can't use CO only, or BS/ACV, because that doesn't really clean scalp and/or hair. But I have found a solution and thought I'd share.
What I do now is: I dilute my 'poo (which is currently SLS-free but it really doesn't matter which 'poo I use) with water, about 50/50, and then add an equal amount of cone-free conditioner to the bottle (so you'd end up with 25% 'poo, 25% water and 50% conditioner). This somehow makes sure that my hair is clean enough, without irritating my scalp so much. Just let it sit a few moments, rinse and apply conditioner to the ends.