Scalp washes?

[ArienEllariel]

How do you do scalp washes and at what length did you find you needed to do this/started doing this?

My hair is APL right now but I'm trying to stretch how often I wash my hair. So far this isn't working very well for me; no matter what I try, my hair gets greasy to about my ears every 24 hours after a wash and no amount of stretching seems to help this but.. I thought maybe the next best thing would be to wash my scalp and leave the length alone (i.e. not wash my entire head of hair every time I "wash my hair").

I have fine hair and I'm sure many of you ladies and gents know that fine hair is waaaay easier to damage by normal wear and tear, especially when washed frequently. That's the nature of my hair. I can be really gentle with it but if I'm still washing every day and combing wet, my hair will still split and break off more. I've dealt with this ever since I was a child. I have that baby fine hair type (though thankfully I'm getting some medium and a few course strands now that I'm an adult) but the majority of my hair is still really fragile. :rolleyes:

I would appreciate any imput you all would have to help my fine fragile hair to grow and not break off. Do you think scalp washes would help? I can do them now and have a good 3 to 4 inches that doesn't get wet (I put it in a ponytail and pull the elastic down so I can keep that bit out of the way while I wash my scalp). I've been doing oilings on my ends to about my ears fairly regularly in an attempt to moisturize my hair and keep it from breaking off. I feel like my hair is cursed with breakage (still growing out the damage from pre-LHC).

I dunno, what do you think? :confused:

[ArienEllariel]

I had an epiphany just now. I finished doing a scalp wash as mentioned above and my hair is still damp but I discovered something. If I wash my scalp and leave the length of my hair in a ponytail, then throw it all into a towel to dry some, then carefully take the ponytail holder off and reposition everything into a bun until my hair is dryer, later I can comb it rediculously easily. I'm not kidding, it's like a knife through butter! I NEVER can get my hair to do this.

I think scalp washes are now my best friend. :smooch:

[Gvnagitlvgei]

Black tea rinses? Lemon oil or ayurvedic lemon powder to scrub into the scalp? I wish my hair got that greasy (seriously) but I'd try something like that to try and curb the sebum production. They say that jojoba oil on the scalp eventually curbs the oil production.

[MsBubbles]

Hey ArienEllariel!! Have you been reading all my old posts?! LOL! I could have said the exact same thing. The same reasons for wanting to start scalp washes, the same 24 hour grease-phenomenon, similar hair type, the same problem with the ends not needing washing every day. Even the thing about not needing to detangle afterwards! Amazing. Yeah. It's worth it right there even if my whole pony tail gets damp - my hair is still nice and orderly instead of knotted beyond belief.

I honestly believe scalp washes saved my ends and have enabled me to grow my hair to my waist. My ends are just too fragile otherwise, plus they have old highlights on them.

I started doing them around 27" (lower BSL on me). I tie on some loose ponytail holders, wrap a couple of shower caps around the ponytail, tie on some more loose ponytail holders on top of that and get in the shower. I find it easier to get all the soap out if my hair is not braided. I might change that if I ever get to hip/tailbone though.

Gvnagitlvgei (ok I give up - how did you decide on your username?) If I thought that jojoba oil on the scalp thing worked I'd start it immediately. I would need to be housebound for a month though...

[ArienEllariel]

So far it's been about 4 days and my ends haven't needed washing. I'm wondering if I can get by with washing the ends once a week or so. I'm definately liking this so far. :)

[clichepithet]

I prefer Amoretti's method (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=85) the most. I began this at about BSL, though to be fair I didn't know about it until then. I do this (bent with the length wrapped in my hand and all that) in the shower with a small hand held sprayer. When I do the scalp wash I clip up the braid under a shower cap and it's the last thing I do before getting out.

[Feng-Shui]

I prefer method Amoretti also.

I hangs up my braid in the shower.

So, I have both hands freely to work.

It works very well for me.:)

Thank you very much Amoretti.:flowers:

[my2cats1]

Glad you found a system that works for you! When you're short on time, you could try a dry shampoo, too. That has helped me stretch washes.

[Flaxen]

Here's (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=15591) another scalp washing thread that might help. :smile: