Itchy Scalp and shedding

[YoginiCelestial]

I'm currently experiencing an itchy scalp. I have no flaking, and it's not lice. I think it's just dry scalp. I bought an oil treatment from Sally Beauty that I just put on yesterday for a couple of minutes in the shower and it seemed to help some. I also am still shedding. More than usual. I'm beginning to be concerned, almost to the point to make a doctor appt.
Does anyone have some advise for me for treatment ideas?
I did read somewhere that for shedding.... a tea mixture can alleviate the problem?
But I don't know anything about tea mixtures...:confused:

[Flaxen]

Bumping this for you. :smile:

[Silver Strands]

I don't know if this is your problem but when I use a shampoo containing the "ammonium" sufate ingredients I get an itchy scalp.
Then, the more I scratch, the more I shed. I think it sets off an allergic response with me.
It doesn't happen with the "sodium" sulfates just the ammonium ones.

I don't have dandruff or any other scalp condition. That's why I noticed it.

[florenonite]

What shampoo are you using? Silver Strands brings up a good point that the wrong detergent might be causing your itchy scalp, and in turn your shedding.

Is it possible you're noticing more shedding because your hair's longer so it look like your shedding more, or else that you're just noticing it because you're noticing your hair more?

Have you tried an ACV rinse? They're good for mild fungal issues, which your itchiness (and shedding) might be.

I've done a couple tea rinses. I don't do them often out of laziness, and because I didn't really notice anything different with them, but the way I do them is chuck a teabag in a jug (approximately 1 pt volume) and fill it with boiling water the night before a wash. I leave the teabag in for about an hour, then throw it out and leave the tea to cool. The following morning I wash my hair as usual and pour the tea rinse over it. I leave it in while I finish my shower then rinse it out.

[heidi w.]

Couple of issues, possibly.

You sound like you have a 'dry' scalp. That's possible. Oiling scalp skin might be beneficial. ETA: Skin test on a small patch any oil you're considering using. You don't want to discover you have a reaction when it's smeared all over!

Not sure about where you stand on the oiliness factor, though, of sebacious glands. The bleeding part has me concerned that maybe we're looking at a form of Seborrhea Dermatitus? Hopefully also not an issue of Exzema nor Psoriasis. These include scaling, and skin is really inflamed and can look red with these. The Seborrhea can be bumps that eventually are itchy and can weep, ETA: even bleeding if one continues to scratch. If allowed to persist, the bacteria that's ever present on scalp skin that effectively, in a simplistic explanation, eats sebum, can go out of control and get into hair follicles and cause a normally healthy hair to release.

ETA: if you must scratch, especially in an itchy scalp skin climate, try to do so with a clean comb! Those fingers and fingernails have a lot of germs and can inflame any bacterial infection issues that might be at issue.

Some shampoo products might cause a reaction. It's known to happen. You might like a shampoo without SLS.

IF you do condition and this is aggravating your condition, then don't condition scalp skin. HOWEVER, in some dry scalp skin situations, conditioning scalp skin might be helpful.

Hopefully your water supply isn't overly hard and causing irritation from that angle. Usually not that common, but in combination with other issues such as Seborrhea or Psoriasis, or Exzema, this water quality can have a compounding effect to some degree.

That oil that people are talking about is Tea Tree Oil. It's antibiotic, strongly so. So if you use it, ensure it's well diluted in Jojoba Oil. Do NOT use full-strength on skin. Do homework on this oil, and skin test patch it FIRST to ENSURE you will not have an allergic reaction. Use it sparingly on scalp skin if you decide to try this, even after a skin test patch. DON'T SKIN THE SKIN TEST PATCH. (ETA: I'm leaving this cuz it's so darn funny and idiotic sounding, like some bad saying. Obviously I had a thought in mind but totally said it wrong, and now I have no clue what I was meaning to say! LOL. I'm crackin' up at myself and some phrasing I come up with! Bwaahahahaaa!) If you have any allergies or sensitivites, you don't want this smeared on scalp skin and then find out you have a reaction. If too much is applied some have reported some hair loss, enough that they noticed it.

You could try over-the-counter NIZORAL. This is medicated, a different active agent than say, NEUTROGENA and a few others I can think of. See how that goes.

I know when I let my seborrhea go too long between hair washes I absoletly notice a definite and somewhat remarkable increase in hair loss. The hint is when hair begins to smell. Wash it. This may be the timing when that bacteria kind of takes over and gets rampant and we have these weird little mini-infections that aren't puss-filled by any means in the hair follicle, but we're losing hair. Wash it. I would argue that most should not be going much longer than 3 days between hair washes. Those that are older and/or dryer scalp skin can probably go longer, but this all depends on genetics, exercise program, products, and any scalp skin issues.

heidi w.

[saskia_madding]

I don't know if this will help, but here's my story:

I didn't know I had any scalp issues until I decided to go off sulfates. Then I noticed my scalp got progressively itchier much more quickly each time after I washed it. Then I started shedding - frightening, huge, clumpy amounts. I lost almost an inch of my circumference in three weeks. I had to go back to a different cleaning routine before my shedding came back under control, though I never did go back to SLS.

So have you changed your routine at all lately?

[heidi w.]

If you discover you have an itchy scalp skin, and wash the hair and the scalp skin feels better but you detangle and then a day later the itchiness returns, there's a possibility you could be re-introducing something with your detangling tools.

You may need to consider cleaning the tools well.

I clean my detangling combs after each and every hair wash, whether a full or scalp hair wash. Of course, I have Seborrheic Dermatitus, so I have to be very careful.

If you aren't sure how to reliably clean combs, do ask. There's a number of ways to disinfect combs, too.

heidi w.

[duckish]

I've had an itchy scalp for as long as I can remember. Tea tree oil and tea tree oil products help for when I wash my hair, but the best thing that helped me was henna. My scalp LOVES henna. I had some patches of profound itchy on my head which are now completely gone. I only get little itchies between washes now.

If this is something that came on really suddenly, you may want to check your diet and shower ingredients and talk to a dermatologist. Could be an infection or allergy or fungus or somesuch.

[Wicked Princess]

Well...I probably can't help. :o But here are my experiences with the same issue:

I had/have this problem. After much experimentation, I found out my scalp really likes being washed twice a week. My skin, and especially my scalp, are highly sensitive to sulfates and benzyl salicylate (found the second one in my favorite conditioner...my hair loves it, but my skin hated it! I cried!). After changing my products and routine, the problem has gotten drastically better. :) Have you changed products/washing routines lately?

Sometimes, my scalp will itch a little bit the day of a wash, which is generally its reminder to me that it needs attending to, heh. Usually, a little bit of coconut oil massaged gently into the itchy parts helps. And, I've found that rinsing my scalp (along with the rest of my hair) in cold water after I've used conditioner helps calm the "itchy...must...scratch...now" for a few days. It works for me, anyway. Good luck with this!

[Crysta]

I'm in agreement with basicly everyone here, sounds like your products fault, I know at one point when I changed mine for reason of being broke my scalp suffered alot, it's worth checking what you have inside the bottle and trying something that has differant 'ates'

[heidi w.]

An option to consider:

1. clarify
1a. Consider the option of using a medicated shampoo for treating scalp skin, such as Nizoral.
2. follow with a great conditioning session, focusing this time on the length only.
3. ACV or lemon rinse.

The ACV or lemon rinse will re-set pH and help with any infection issues.

You may need to wash somewhat frequently for a meanwhile, a two week period, perhaps, if you believe you have any infection.

The problem is that itchiness can arise from dry skin too and this program may overly dry out scalp skin if you're already in the dry zonage. BUT the ACV or lemon rinse might be very beneficial.

Or you could condition scalp skin if you're sure you don't have any infection and also have dry scalp skin, and still ACV or lemon rinse. Be sure to dilute properly.

If your scalp skin is dry and this is the cause of itchiness, then if you're say an every other day or third day hair washer, then go a fourth day. Consider a non-SLS shampoo (hard to find), or dilute shampoo, or just use less shampoo volume too.

In winter consider using a humidifier in the bedroom at night. I know folks who use this year round. I learned this habit from Lady Grace who had over 14 feet of hair length and incredible volume. She cut some off but is about at classic length now, maybe longer? She's an older woman with incredible volume. ETA: And she is one of the most gracious and giving people I know.

Also wash your hair care tools, especially combs and so on to ensure you aren't re-introducing anything. I also would remove excess hair after every session. Don't allow old hair to build up on tools.

Change/Wash your pillowcase, and consider washing the pillow itself. We sweat at night, even a slight amount. With a humidifier this will help give the skin just a trace bit of moisture in the air to help skin retain its resilience and not become overly dry.

A lot of heat in the house contributes to dry air in winter, as well.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

To the OP:

CLARIFICATION
I'm not entirely sure what to recommend because I'm unclear about the cause of your itchiness.

heidi w.

[hmmm]

I get an itchy scalp very often, usually due to dryness. It gets flaky too. I'm also shedding a lot, because I do in the winter. If you haven't changed your diet and are still eating well, and unless you use SLS shampoos, I don't think anything is wrong with your scalp that you should be worried about.

I noticed that it reduced considerably once I went off SLS. However, this took a while, so if you go off it you might want to give it some time.

Scalp oiling is another thing that really helped. I do it heavily just before a wash, and usually leave it on overnight. My scalp comes out very clean and not itchy at all.

Aloe vera gel on the scalp helps a lot too. You can do this in between washes as it gets absorbed and doesn't look too greasy, unlike oil.

I do an ACV rinse too, but I'm not sure if it would help on its own. I've always done it, and the itching didn't stop until I went off SLS. I still get it sometimes, but then I oil the scalp and it goes away.

[Runzel]

As others have mentioned it may be an allergic reaction...I know aloe vera for me results in itchiness. In fact, I just now tested some aloe vera on my skin again and it resulted in itchiness...and then red, raised welts where the edge of the tube I used to apply it must have caused a scratch. I'll have to do more testing to make sure it wasn't the preservatives, but I definitely recommend skin testing all your products. If they make your skin itch they're bound to make your scalp itch as well, and raised red welts are a sure sign of an allergic reaction.

[Anje]

I get a dry, tight-feeling and slightly itchy scalp when I use sulfates for several washes in succession. If you have no scalp issues beyond a bit of dryness, oiling could do you a lot of good. CO washing, where you put conditioner right on your scalp, might also help out. Conditioner is quite similar to lotion, after all, and I find it's rather soothing and moisturizing to the scalp skin.

[Katze]

some great advice here so far.

I will add some ideas from my own experience.

When my scalp gets like you describe, it is usually a factor of stress and bad diet. I take fish oils, which really seem to help, and have to work on not eating too much sugar. Stress, however, also makes it worse and I find I handle my scalp more if I am stressed.

Here are the treatments that help me.

1) Anything with honey. SMTs, or just honey and conditioner mixed and left on my hair for an hour (I have not found that leaving it any longer makes any difference). I also wash with crystallized honey sometimes.

2) Vinegar rinse. As others have said this helps reset pH.

3) Sulfates. If I go too long WITHOUT sulfate washing, my scalp can get waxy and crusty, which is, however, different from the sensitive dry problem you seem to be describing. Washing LESS often helps the latter, washing with sulfates once a week or two helps the former.

hth!