co and dandruff poo nightmare?

[x0h_bother]

Hello, I have been having an issue. I have dandruff and had used a dandruff shampoo for years. Then I realized that my ends have really suffered from it, so I began switching to shampoo with SLS. This always made my hair more greasy but I dealt with it for a few weeks. Then I began to wash and condition my scalp like I was washing it (almost a CWC) and my hair is too greasy. Even with the SLS poo I have really bad "buildup" and dandruff. I tried some white vinegar last night, which my hair loved but I still have build up. I am about to switch back to dandruff poo unless you all have suggestions. My HAIR loves the new routine, scalp not so much :( Help!

[Jen123]

I've had good luck with doing a baking soda scrub on my scalp every couple of weeks to get rid of dandruff. The rest of the time is CO daily with a once a week CWC.

[manderly]

I'm a little confused by your post and I'm wondering if you've confused a term? Dandruff shampoos generally contain SLS. SLS is the detergent (foaming & cleansing) agent found in most commercial shampoos.

If your scalp liked your old shampoo and your ends didn't, I would suggest you coat your lenght/ends in conditioner, shampoo your scalp only, then rinse :) It keeps your ends more protected from the detergents.

[julliams]

My dandruff ususally appears in stressful eras in my life and it is usually around the front hairline. I had an itchy flakey scalp for ages and my dandruff was always very dry. I found massaging olive oil into my scalp helped alot.

I find that shampoos with SLS in them actually cause my scalp to itch. Perhaps you could try the olive oil and see if your scalp is just dry. I now use a shampoo that is SLS free and follow up with a coney conditioner which I use all over my hair except near my scalp. This, I feel, helps to protect my ends.

Honestly, having gotten rid of my irritated scalp is the best thing I have ever done. It has made everything so much more pleasant. An irritated scalp is like a sore back or neck to me - it makes me irritable as well.

Hope you can get to the bottom of this. I'm afraid it is only through trial and error that you will find what works best for you.

[x0h_bother]

Thanks. Manderly, I'm not confused, I just differentiated because the dandruff shampoo has the zinc substance that is very harsh and drying. I didn't break down and use it, but I did scrub my scalp with the regular SLS shampoo and you are right, Julliams, it feels itchy! I am going to break down and buy the non-SLS shampoo and then use the dandruff poo once a week.
My main concern is, a ton of hair fell out this morning, more than I had ever seen. I would rather use dandruff shampoo and keep my hair! *sigh*

[x0h_bother]

I've had good luck with doing a baking soda scrub on my scalp every couple of weeks to get rid of dandruff. The rest of the time is CO daily with a once a week CWC.

Is baking soda harsh?

[cmnt831]

If your scalp liked your old shampoo and your ends didn't, I would suggest you coat your lenght/ends in conditioner, shampoo your scalp only, then rinse :) It keeps your ends more protected from the detergents.

I second this. It has worked very well for me when I had to use dandruff shampoo and didn't want to dry out the ends.

[x0h_bother]

If your scalp liked your old shampoo and your ends didn't, I would suggest you coat your lenght/ends in conditioner, shampoo your scalp only, then rinse :) It keeps your ends more protected from the detergents.
I agree, I will try this with any poo I use as a protective measure. Once I swung my hair over my shoulder to keep it from being "rinsed" with poo and it worked! So I know protecting my ends is key :) Thanks for the advice!

[moominhapa]

Is baking soda harsh?

Baking soda isn't all that harsh if you dilute it a lot with water. When I wash my hair with baking soda, I dilute a little less than a tablespoon in an old shampoo bottle full of water. If you do wash with baking soda, you should follow after rinsing it out with another slightly acidic rinse, like diluted ACV or tea, because baking soda is very alkaline.

If your dandruff is the kind that's really dry, I think something like oiling the scalp before washing or stretching washes might be a better bet though, because washing too much with anything can dry out your scalp. But if the zinc shampoo was helping, maybe dryness isn't your main issue, in which case I'm going to agree with the suggestion that you only wash your scalp with conditioner on the length to protect it. Maybe you can also dilute the zinc shampoo if you go back to it. That could help.

[x0h_bother]

Diluting the poo is a great suggestion Moominhapa. Does anyone have a less drying experience with ketoconazole versus pyrithione zinc? This I read was interesting http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com/2010/02/zinc-pyrithione-reduces-shedding-and.html

[moominhapa]

Diluting the poo is a great suggestion Moominhapa. Does anyone have a less drying experience with ketoconazole versus pyrithione zinc? This I read was interesting http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com/2010/02/zinc-pyrithione-reduces-shedding-and.html

I've tried shampoos with both of those ingredients, and I don't remember noticing a difference in how drying they were. I do, however, remember that I was really disappointed with the ketoconazole shampoo (Nizoral) because it didn't do ANYTHING for my dandruff, and it's supposed to be the strongest one! But I never had much luck with dandruff shampoos in general, and everyone is different. I wonder if you could CO with a dandruff conditioner? I've never tried that, but hm...

[x0h_bother]

Hmm interesting thank you, I will consider co with the dandruff shampoo. I put the conditioner on my ends today before shampooing and I think it helped. I figured out that it's the vinegar rinse that is making my hair fall out so badly, not the SLS shampoo. It did it again today, and although my hair loves the shine, I have my longest pieces of hair falling out! So I'm stopping using the vinegar rinse, and going back to the pyrithione zinc shampoo for clarifying, and then using the normal SLS shampoo otherwise. However, I mentioned to my mother about Nizoral because of our Monistat antifungal thread, and I said I would buy it and see if it will help her dandruff plus thinning/balding hair. Hopefully Ketoconazole will help the balding/thinning even if it doesn't help the dandruff. I'll probably post on the results after getting it. Thank you everyone!

[x0h_bother]

Hmm interesting thank you, I will consider co with the dandruff shampoo.
oops! conditioner