I need help!

[IStand4u]

Okay, so my head has been itchy for the last few weeks and nothing will make it stop... my best friend just found out that she had nits but I don't thank gosh! Anyway, my mom says that my scalp is a little on the oily side and that is what is making it itchy... but I don't know because since it's been itchy I was my hair more often and it only helps for a day then I have to wash it again...

Has anyone else had this problem and how do I cure it?
This wasn't happening before and I don't have nits but it's really bugging me that my head is so itchy!

Please help! :(

[luluj]

Over washing can lead to a dry itchy scalp. Do you colour your hair? The reason I ask is because when I coloured my hair my scalp would itch constantly, the chemicals can be very harsh. PS.....I see we are fellow Canadians!

[Isa-belle]

Did you change anything in your routine lately? Maybe one of the products you're using doesn't agree with your scalp.

I had a lot of itchies last winter due to the cold and the skin on my scalp getting dry. Honey treatments (as in a SMT for instance) really helped soothing the skin.

[IStand4u]

Okay... I don't color my hair with chemicals, I use henna and I'm not allergic to it... I haven't changed anything in my routine and the shampoo I use is 98% plant based with very little chemicals and they aren't harsh at all either...

luluj yes we are fellow Canadians, do you get cold winters too? Some parts of Canada have very mild winters when it comes to cold but others (where I am) have very very harsh temperatures....

Isa-belle how do I so an SMT? I'm still fairly new here... thanks!

[Linda K]

Could it just be due to the season changes? or diet? (think back a year or two ago compared to past 6-8 months) I have a spot on my hip that itched several winters. I happen to add something to my diet one January ... the following 2 winters while continuing this, no itch. I haven't been using the item very regular the past year(?) - I'm getting itchy again ... Just a thot ... HTH :confused:

[maaria]

Have you tryed Aloe Vera to your scalp?

[natt i nord]

An SMT is a short form for 'Snowy's moisture treatment'. You mix up honey, conditioner and Aloe vera gel (I'm sorrry I don't know the right parting - maybe the search will help you), wet your hair, put this mixture in and let it stay there for a few hours.
You should give a bit more honey in as usual and see your scalp catches enough of it then. Good luck!

[basketcase413]

Also, not be negative....but keep a very close eye out for nits. The lice have to lay eggs for nits to show, so it can take a little time after you get one of those little buggers for nits to show up. If your best friend has been "infected" there is a chance you would have gotten one or two that will be "biting" before the nits are noticed. Hair color can make the nits very hard to see. Not saying this is the problem, but be very aware the next couple of weeks just to be sure!

[Gumball]

I agree if it's not nits and there isn't a change in products you use (since you are comfortably sure they are agreeable with your scalp) it could possibly be seasonal changes. I know when it gets colder my scalp really gets more frustrated. Also if there is some sebum that isn't distributed or washed out it can potentially build up on the scalp and cause some people to get a case of the itchies.

[IStand4u]

Thanks for the help! I'll try some things out... I checked my moms head for nits as well and there are none... no eggs at all either on either of us...

I've never had my scalp irritated because of weather change before so this is new... I'll try the SMT and hopefully it helps!

Thank you all! I'll keep a close eye on everything!

[luluj]

Okay... I don't color my hair with chemicals, I use henna and I'm not allergic to it... I haven't changed anything in my routine and the shampoo I use is 98% plant based with very little chemicals and they aren't harsh at all either...

luluj yes we are fellow Canadians, do you get cold winters too? Some parts of Canada have very mild winters when it comes to cold but others (where I am) have very very harsh temperatures....

Isa-belle how do I so an SMT? I'm still fairly new here... thanks!

Our winters vary from very mild with little snow to freezing cold with tons of snow! We never know what we will get until it gets here, kind of like a Christmas present! I live in Southern Ontario in the Niagara Region (just 20 minutes from the Falls.):bluesmile

[IStand4u]

Our winters vary from very mild with little snow to freezing cold with tons of snow! We never know what we will get until it gets here, kind of like a Christmas present! I live in Southern Ontario in the Niagara Region (just 20 minutes from the Falls.):bluesmile
Lucky, I live in Saskatchewan so you know that it varies from humid to dry winters but it's always F-ing cold... So cold... *shivers* I do shiver just thinking about it!

I wanna go see Niagara Falls sometime!

[embee]

If my best friend had nits I'd be itching too. Heck, I'm sorta itching now just reading about *your* friend! ;)

[ambychelle]

So, I know that really gentle cleansing works for a lot of people here, but I'm finding that my scalp gets itchier if I use something gentle.

Today, I broke out the pantene clarifying shampoo after using only pureology and giovanni TTTT for awhile while a very very itchy scalp (like to the point that it was taking over my life!). I was terrified to use it because it's got such harsh detergents in it, but the sebum on my scalp just wasn't getting washed away with the gentle stuff. I can't imagine that I'll use it all the time, but my scalp really does feel better. Maybe a good clarifying shampoo on your scalp might do the trick? For me, just using a gentle SLS poo didn't do much but the clarifying poo really did. If it makes a difference, I did it "low poo" style by putting a teaspoon or so of the shampoo in a squirt bottle with about 5 oz. of water so the shampoo was watered down and easily got to my scalp easier. It might be worth a try if you've only been using the natural stuff for awhile. For me, it just wasn't cutting the sebum which seemed to be building up and causing itchies for me.

[IStand4u]

So, I know that really gentle cleansing works for a lot of people here, but I'm finding that my scalp gets itchier if I use something gentle.

Today, I broke out the pantene clarifying shampoo after using only pureology and giovanni TTTT for awhile while a very very itchy scalp (like to the point that it was taking over my life!). I was terrified to use it because it's got such harsh detergents in it, but the sebum on my scalp just wasn't getting washed away with the gentle stuff. I can't imagine that I'll use it all the time, but my scalp really does feel better. Maybe a good clarifying shampoo on your scalp might do the trick? For me, just using a gentle SLS poo didn't do much but the clarifying poo really did. If it makes a difference, I did it "low poo" style by putting a teaspoon or so of the shampoo in a squirt bottle with about 5 oz. of water so the shampoo was watered down and easily got to my scalp easier. It might be worth a try if you've only been using the natural stuff for awhile. For me, it just wasn't cutting the sebum which seemed to be building up and causing itchies for me.

Thanks, I'll try that as well!


If my best friend had nits I'd be itching too. Heck, I'm sorta itching now just reading about *your* friend! ;)

Oh and it was my friend who had them, my mom has been checking my hair everyday for the last little while and I don't have any at all! I used aloe vera on my scalp today and rubbed it in and it's not near as bad!

Thanks everyone! And I have found a way of getting rid of the buggers in my friends hair! I made a shampoo (which is kinda harsh), we used that after soaking her hair in conditioner, brushed it, rinsed it, washed it with the shampoo then did an ACV rince but left it on for 10 minutes... Now for the really harsh stuff, I blowfryed her hair while brushing it and got more than half the eggs to come off with a metal paddle brush, and then we used a straightener on the top part of her hair... guess what!? No more itching really, and no more bugs! Only eggs and they are coming off really easily now too!

As for my scalp, the aloe vera helped but I still find myself scratching my head every once in a while... :(

[maaria]

You find the SMT recipe when you write it in "search" and "Articles". Good luck:)

[IStand4u]

You find the SMT recipe when you write it in "search" and "Articles". Good luck:)
Thank you!

[Isa-belle]

I am sorry I didn't get to reply earlier, IStand4u. You can find the SMT recipe here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128). I find what really helps my itching in this recipe is the honey, so make sure you add plenty :)

[julliams]

My children have had nits on a few occasions (it's very common here in Australia) and I know that a couple of times I did look through their hair and missed the signs. What you are looking for is a little nub of something that looks like glue sitting about 1cm away from the scalp. Its usually the exact same colour as your hair so it can camouflage really well. When you try to remove it you will find that it is very firmly stuck there. If you do find that, you know that there is a host (parent lice) lurking around.

I would suggest getting your mum to check your hair every few days for about 2 weeks. Mostly the eggs first show up behind the ears and around the neckline. Unfortunately there is no other way to get rid of them other than to comb out the whole head using cheap conditioner and a lice comb.

I did get them once myself from my son and it was a shocking thing to have to do to oneself particularly since i have such thick hair.

Have you done a lice treatment???? That makes my scalp itchy!

Let us know how you go and I hope you do not have lice but if you do, it's not too big a deal if you have your mum to help you out.

Juliette

P.S = forgot to add - even if only one egg is left the whole cycle will start again in a couple of weeks so it really pays to keep retreating with the conditioner method (not the treatment stuff as it is not necessary to do that often - too many chemicals) of going through with the comb over and over until you are positive that there is not even ONE egg left.

[IStand4u]

Thanks I'll keep checking, I'm getting her to check everyday and I'm checking her head everyday as well, also rubbing tea-tree oil into our scalps because it seems to help, and aloe vera gel is helping me... I just gotta stay positive and hope for the best I guess, I'll let you guys know for sure what's going on on my head!