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t_ballet26
December 20th, 2011, 05:04 AM
Hi everyone. I am not sure what to do. I started CO washing about a year ago because I had oily hair and and an itchy scalp. My scalp is still itchy but not oily anymore. I think I have a fungus overgrowth and probably have had one this past year and not realized it. This past month I have been using a more gentle shampoo Nature’s Gate Tea Tree Shampoo. It gets my scalp clean but my hair is very dry and my scalp is still itchy and dry, even if I oil my hair before. Should I try Shampoo bars next? Or something else.

Mina17
December 20th, 2011, 05:20 AM
If you think it's a fungal infection you could try a shampoo for that such as Nizoral. You could protect the length from drying out by CWC: coat the length of the hair with conditioner and just shampoo the scalp area.

maria_tasha
December 20th, 2011, 05:43 AM
I have an itchy scalp (no dandruff or redness thou) with oily roots and dry ends and what helps me is a mix of oils. I mix jojoba oil with a few drops of essential oils like lavender, rosemary, tea tree, patchouli, gently massage that into my scalp, olive oil or coconut oil on my ends, leave it for a couple of hours and wash it out with shampoo. The essential oils are anti fungus, promote growth and the Jojoba moisturizes the skin.

ellisbell
December 20th, 2011, 08:14 AM
You may have an allergy or sensitivity to one of the products you are using if it is just an itchy scalp. Some people have sensitivities to certain EO, maybe try one EO at a time to see if you notice any difference? You can also try eliminating one product at a time, to see if that makes a difference. Like every product some peoples scalps have sensitivities to different natural shampoos and conditioners so try to see if maybe you are allergic to either your shampoo or conditioner.

If it is not an allergy I know many people have luck with using an ACV rinse to help with scalp issues.

t_ballet26
December 20th, 2011, 09:18 AM
You may have an allergy or sensitivity to one of the products you are using if it is just an itchy scalp. Some people have sensitivities to certain EO, maybe try one EO at a time to see if you notice any difference? You can also try eliminating one product at a time, to see if that makes a difference. Like every product some peoples scalps have sensitivities to different natural shampoos and conditioners so try to see if maybe you are allergic to either your shampoo or conditioner.

If it is not an allergy I know many people have luck with using an ACV rinse to help with scalp issues.

It has been itchy for as long as I can remember, and I have used many different products in that time.
I have also tried every mainstream dandruff shampoo that I could find, none of those helped at all.
I tried tea tree oil for about a month and that did not help. I have been using monistat for about 2 weeks and the pimples and insane itch have gotten better. I seriously considered shaving my head and wearing a wig, it was itching so bad.

ktani
December 20th, 2011, 10:02 AM
I honestly think that you should have your scalp looked at and tested possibly, by a dermatologist. It will at the very least rule out any problems that can be remedied. You also may get good recommendations for products to try. They may not be prescription products.

You may have allergies or sensitivities to certin ingredients and a good doctor should be able to tell you what is going on or not, as opposed to you continuing to speculate and trying different things.

BlazingHeart
December 20th, 2011, 05:24 PM
Hmm, that sounds more like a sensitive scalp than a yeast problem to me. I've got a pretty sensitive scalp, too. I itch and flake with the wrong treatment, and still do a little bit of that even with the right stuff.

I've found that I'm less itchy generally using CV shampoo bars and a non-cone conditioner (I use VO5 Kiwi-Lime), then an ACV rinse, and when things are really itchy, I do a chamomile tea rinse. You want to really saturate your scalp with the tea and let it set at least 5 minutes. If you don't mind the possibility of lightening your hair, you can leave it in. I do that when my scalp is particularly annoyed.

I also oil my scalp with a skin-friendly oil like safflower when it's really itchy, because I tend a bit towards dryness.

The biggest culprit for making my scalp worse is SLS. I'm not sure what my scalp thinks of cones because I haven't used something that has cones but doesn't have SLS. Figuring out what irritates your scalp is key in making things better IF it's an irritation/sensitivity issue, which means trial and error.

Obviously I'm not a doctor, so if you really think what's going on is a yeast issue, it sounds to me like you might want to see a specialist - a dermatologist or a trichologist. I believe neem oil can also be used for yeast, if you want to try another natural remedy.

~Blaze

arcane
December 20th, 2011, 07:18 PM
I had an itchy scalp for years, that I would routinely scratch so hard that I drew blood daily. For whatever reason I always refused to see a doctor about it (I'm stubborn and like to pretend that there is nothing wrong as I feel like I'm whining about nothing). I had okay success using things like selsun blue and other strong cleansers, but what has really reduced my itching to nothing is regularily just using a clarifying shampoo just on my roots. I do it now about once every two-three weeks, in the beginning it was once every 3 showers. Prior to this the only time my head would not itch would be for the week or so after I bleached my hair as it ate everything on my scalp and it took a week for the build up to come back.

If you have tried a few different options and see no improvement I'd suggust seeing a dermatologoist.

Amber_Maiden
December 20th, 2011, 07:26 PM
I know many people who are allergic to tea tree oil, might want to look into that.

Copasetic
December 20th, 2011, 08:46 PM
I like to put tea tree oil conditioner on my scalp for 15-30 minutes before I get in the shower. it has eliminated my scalp itch and doesn't dry out my hair.