PDA

View Full Version : Battle with my dry scalp..



Anywhere
September 29th, 2009, 03:10 PM
Back in the day I used to have a nice, normal scalp. Maybe two or three years ago my scalp began to be very dry and itchy. That quickly ended up turning into white dry flakes, and lots of 'em. If i scratch it gets up in my roots and looks disgusting. At first I didn't do much since it didn't bother me, but in the past two years or so its been getting severely itchy. I'm 16 so obviously I'm a little worried about my extreme shedding, and dry looking hair. I just have one question- is dry dandruff fungal? I've tried a few things, but haven't found a fix yet, if anyone knows of a thread where someone else had this problem I'd love you.

but on to what I've tried *while doing all this I've been massaging my scalp daily*:
When I first noticed it, i tried shampooing more often, every other day. This made my scalp even more dry and itchy, so I gave up on that after two weeks.
Then I moved on to washing (with shampoo) once a week, and conditioning every day. No change after about 4 months.
Then i only conditioned once a week, and went the other 7 days without getting my hair wet. Only thing that accomplished was keeping my scalp dry and my hair oily. I gave that up after 4 months too.
I tried oiling my hair for around a month and a half or so. I had to wash the oil out, i tried with and without shampoo, but the flakes always came back once my hair dried off. Leaving the oil on just resulted in the flakes getting oily and getting stuck in the first inch or so of my hair.. gave that up.
Then i tried vinegar rinses once a week. It worked slightly. by that I mean that I didn't have a million huge flakes anymore, more like a billion smaller ones. 3 months later I decided it wasn't helping much.
I tried using head&shoulders for 2 months. Worked about the same as the vinegar.
I tried baking soda washes to exfoliate my scalp twice every week. I saw no improvement after 3 months.
Now I just shampoo once a week and condition every day since less shampoo = less hair that falls out of my head.I try not to scratch at my scalp, but its just so itchy! I'm starting to get scabs and these weird circular red scratches.
I know if I tell my mom to take me to a doctor or something she'll just say its nothing, since my dad/brother have this too, but I guess head and shoulders works for them since they shampoo every day. (my hair falls out a LOT every time i shampoo.. so I'd rather not try that.):no:

Some day I hope I can find a way to stop this, two years is already more than enough of this for me and it just seems to be getting worse. :(

*I became anemic three years back, but I'm not sure if that could be a cause since I take iron pills now, so I don't think my condition would be getting worse.

Long story short, my scalp doesn't want me to have hair. :wail:

maegquare
September 29th, 2009, 03:38 PM
I have seen at least two threads here recently about this. I'm still new here, so I am sure there have been more. Here's one:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=33990

and another one:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=33739

You might want to check with a doctor to make sure it isn't a problem that might take extra care, like eczema or seborrheic dermatitis. You also might want to rule out whehter or not you have any allergies. I know it's hard not to scratch, but that does make it worse, so try not to. What works great for me (I have SD) or other people might not work as well for you. I see you have already tried a lot of things, and given them enough time to see if it would work. I know that is discouraging, but unless your dr. gives you specific instructions, you may have to keep trying different things.

When I first had the problem, I was told t-gel shampoo, and a lot of people found that helped. It made mine worse. Right now, mine is under control, so if I use a tea tree oil shampoo at least once a week, and do ACV rinses, my scalp feels pretty good now. But some people found that kind of shampoo doesn't work for them either. Everybody's different, I guess, and it depends on your hair, possible allergies you might have, even how hard or soft your water is, that really affects your results. Making sure you rinse well, and maybe rinse in cool or lukewarm water, might also help a little.

We have empathy for you and hope you find something that works well for you soon!

Sokudo Ningyou
September 29th, 2009, 04:05 PM
I had eczema on my scalp and body that necessitated a visit to a dermatologist about a year ago. After that, my scalp still kept drying out, but I realized it was actually the natural oils drying and flaking, not the skin.

Now, I'm using Alaffia shea and honey shampoo and shea and henna conditioner, maybe twice a week, and my sebum is dry the next day, but it seems to even out after that. Granted, now that it's getting colder, it's drying out worse again, but that's weather-related. :p

rchorr
September 29th, 2009, 06:58 PM
Well, I have VERY dry skin. My scalp used to itch all the time, too. When you have dry skin, dandruff shampoo actually makes it worse, in my experience.

I tried a bunch of things before coming up with my current routine. Keep in mind ... my skin and hair are VERY DRY!

I wash and condition my hair. I USE CONDITIONER ON MY SCALP! Everything I've ever read says don't do this, but I HAVE to. Once I blot my hair, I have a small spray bottle with a mixture of 1/2 aloe gel and 1/2 water. I expose parts of my scalp and spritz the whole thing. Then I gently massage to rub it in.

This has worked for me for a number of years now. I hope some of our suggestions help. Itchy scalps are no fun.

RCHORR'