Make it stop (ITCHING!)

[BlazingHeart]

AGH. I gave myself a super-thorough wash with a shampoo bar last night. I'd used it back when my hair was short, so I didn't think twice about using it again. (I've been using Garnier Fructis's 2-in-1 lately.) I don't know if that's what did it, if it's the SLS, or what, but oh man I feel awful.

Well, apparently I've gotten more sensitive, because it was bad. The itching and flaking I'd been dealing with has gotten TONS worse. I can't stand it. I oiled my scalp with some massage oil I've used on other parts of me in the past in the hopes that it would help, and it's made a slight difference, but I'm still about ready to scratch myself bloody.

Help? It itches it itches it itches!

~Blaze

[Joribear]

Try an ACV rinse? That tends to help calm down my itchy scalp!

[Nae]

Go back to what you were using before. What kind of bar was it? Could you be sensitive to only some of the ingredients? I suppose you could try another bar, but I am not sure I would want to brave the itchies again.

[Audrey Horne]

Camomile tea rinse helps me, lovage rinse... ACV is quite good too. And come back to what you've previously used.

[happybear]

Hi,

I had the same problem recently from shampoo allergy, I started doing baking soda washes and ACV rinses, and spritzed aloe vera gel mixed with a smidge of water on my scalp at night it really helped

[MusingFrog]

Try rewashing with your old stuff. Hopefully that will get out of your head whatever is causing the itchiness.

[BlazingHeart]

The thing that really gets me is that I used this bar in the not-so-distant past. I'm pretty sure I was using it last summer, the last time I had my hair short! I don't know that washing with my more recent stuff would help, as I was already somewhat itchy and flakey before I did this.

I have a new shampoo bar coming in the mail; I expect it in a couple of days. I've looked at its ingredients and I doubt there should be issues as I've used most of them in soaps or perfumes.

I'll try a chamomile tea rinse (totally makes sense! I've used that on my oh-so-sensitive skin before) followed by an ACV rinse tonight. I'll update you guys tomorrow! Thank you for the super-prompt responses. I've drawn blood once today in a small area, but mostly I've managed to keep myself relatively gentle.

~Blaze

[chelles2kids]

I would suggest a mermaid soak...and apply a very small amount of shampoo to wash everything off of your scalp...with whatever you were using before, if you use conditioner then by all means use whatever you used in your regular routine and then let it air dry

I've been there and done that... as I think most of us here have...used something that didn't quite 'set well' for our hair or our scalps.:o
I, for one, cannot use shampoo/soap bars on my hair either...I have the same reaction as yourself & they also do nothing at all for my hair but make it ratty, dry, and more like hay than hair.:(

[silverstars]

When I started oiling my hair I noticed that my scalp didn't get so itchy. I don't know if that helps.

[silvermoon_76]

^^ Garnier Fructis 2 in 1... Is that the shampoo+conditioner or shampoo+oil (they market it under different names in my place)?
Because I used the shampoo+oil thing, and though it felt good on my hair, my scalp just DIED. It started flaking and itching and even a strong anti-dandruff formula didn't help.
2 days ago I washed my hair with a herbal/ organic/ chemical free shampoo I found locally, and then conditioned with my coney conditioner. The itching stopped!

Also, if you have hard water, that might also be a problem. This thread has help for hard water:http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=71622

[mulletesque]

I would suggest a mermaid soak...
That's just what I was going to suggest. I find that it's difficult to get a really thorough rinse under the shower, but a submersion gets through to the roots and scalp.

[rogue_psyche]

When I used shampoo bars, Chagrin Valley's Chamomile and Citrus gave me the best results. Ultimately my water is too hard for them but ACV is supposed to help.

How often do you wash? Washing too often or too scarcely for your scalp can exacerbate scalp problems.

[PolarCathy]

Plain yogurt!

[katsrevenge]

I've got an on again off again itchy spot from scalp issues.

First, make sure you've rinsed it all out... because I've done that one.. and then a nice cooling scalp rinse with chamomile and tea tree oil will help loads. (as long as you are not allergic to either of these, that is!) It will make your head feel better most of the time.

[Firefox7275]

It's normal to become allergic to something your body has encountered many times before, so I would suggest a patch test on any new product or any you have not used recently. Wash the offending substance off with a product you are confident about, rinse rinse rinse, take an anti-histamine tablet, apply something cold to relieve the itchies. Scratching begets itching so you need to break that cycle. If you would like to work on this from the inside you might try an anti-inflammatory, immune supporting diet.

[BlazingHeart]

I just realized I forgot to come back and tell everyone what happened!

So I washed with the Garnier 2-in-1 I had been using before I decided to go back to my shampoo bar, then did an ACV rinse, water rinse, and then a chamomile tea rinse. Both the ACV rinse and the chamomile tea rinse felt really, really soothing when I poured them on my scalp.

I wasn't itchy at all last night, and I'm only mildly itchy today, so this really helped.

~Blaze

[HairFaerie]

100% Neem oil on my scalp helps a lot when I get the dry, itchy-scratchies.