Shampoo Advice? Itchy scalped protein disaster

[ectothermicfaun]

Not sure if this is the right place, feel free to move to somewhere else if need be.

I have had the worst time finding the right shampoo/conditioner. I have ridiculously oily scalp. I do the cold water thing to help remove some of it early but it is really alot. I also have a LOT of hair volume. Like type iiii. Its too much. So I CWC, no poo is just not an option for the amount of oil this head produces. Lately ive been having a hard time finding a balance that my scalp and hair can agree on.

I think im allergic to sulfates, because my head itches and.. weeps?.. from it. By weep I mean alot of clearish oily substance comes out of my scalp from using it. I first thought i had dandruff, but I dont have any flakes.

The problem with my hair is its got terrible texture. I did the diagnostic from the site links here using v05 kiwi lime squeeze (has sulfates) and i think its a dead ringer for protein issues for the hair. I read my shampoo, has hydrolized something, read the conditioner doesnt have proteins that I can tell but it does have panthenol. Ive been avoiding the cones in favor of coconut oil but im thinking that may need to change.

So it seems like the sulfate free stuff my scalp likes, my hair hates, the nonprotein stuff my hair likes, my scalp hates. :rolleyes:

I live in Alaska, which is cold and desert dry 9 months of the year. So Ive got to figure out a way to maintain some moisture, when you add the protein issue, thats double trouble. another reason that its important to know I live in Alaska is that i only have 3 stores within driving distance of me, Fred meyers, Safeway, and Walmart. So potential solutions would have to be picked up at one of these three places. Online if its cheap enough but shipping charges to Alaska are ridiculous we never qualify for any of the cool free shipping stuff you guys 'in the states' enjoy.

Long story short, Any ideas for a Cone, sulfate, and protein free shampoo/conditioner that will be able to cleanse a lot of oil and maybe retain some moisture? Or just any solution that will keep moisture in my hair and oil off my scalp without making me want to rub my head against a tree? Sounds silly now that im writing it but I cant keep itching and snapping hair. So I throw myself before the masters. Any ideas?

[camillacamilla]

Quick question- are you washing all your hair, or only the scalp? Conditioning only the lengths or putting conditioner on your whole head? I have an oily scalp and ends that leans towards dryness. I put shampoo only on my scalp and let it rinse down the lengths. I only put conditioner on my lengths from ears downward.

[ectothermicfaun]

I hear you, I wouldnt dream of putting conditioner on my head, for the cwc I wet my hair, put conditioner on the ends, shampoo the top and then condition the ends again. and I only wash every 3 days+, washing any more frequently will make my scalp make even more oil. I use a little oil on the ends to try to combat the dryness but im not noticing any real results there. Maybe Im doing it wrong?

[Anje]

You might want to consider looking at conditioner-only (CO) washing, where you intentionally put conditioner directly on your scalp and use it to emulsify the sebum, instead of trying to wash it away with a detergent like shampoo. I won't lie to you, some scalps love it and some hate it. Mine loves CO washing. It also tends to help deflate the volume of my hair (similar texture to yours, but finer and thinner) and is more moisturizing than shampooing and conditioning, which will help you recover from protein overload, if that is a problem for you.

I like the Suave Aloe and Waterlily conditioner for this. No protein and you can get it at Walmart. Actually, I'd suggest any of the Suave Naturals line of conditioners that appeal to you, with the warning that the Tropical Coconut (unlike the others) does contain some protein which has caused overload problems for me in the past. Alberto VO5 conditioners are also popular around here for CO washing, but there are a lot more of them that contain protein, so you'll need to read labels carefully if you're interested in those.

Good luck!

[Kelikea]

You might have trouble with the coconut oil simply because it is a solid in cold temperatures. Maybe try oiling with something that stays liquid? I like to rub tea tree and jojoba oil on my scalp to help with the itchies.

[aktj01]

If you live in mainland Alaska, chances are you have hard water. Especially if you live in Fairbanks. Southeast/coastal AK has softer water and my hair/scalp is much happier! I had the angriest, nastiest scalp problems when I lived in Fairbanks. I had city water too!

Have you tried an ACV once a week? Unless you live on the coast, the air will be dry and the water will be hard. You can thank the rocks and topography for that, ha. Best of luck!

[ectothermicfaun]

Kelikea- I cant believe I never thought of that. I spent almost all my times indoors but I think it is probably time to consider other oils. call me crazy but im not crazy bout the smell.

AKTJ01- I live on the Kenai River, so southern AK. you can actually walk to the beach, so yeah its the southeast coast. Maybe we live close to each other actually? Its well water i think, I dont know. How do you tell what kind of water you have? I have not tried the ACV, but I have white vinegar can that be used or no?

I think im gonna try the SMT for some moisture in the mean time while i figure out the cleansing debacle though.

[Tota]

I have extremely oily and itchy scalp, too. What helped me is CO-ing with dilluted conditioner every two or three days and CWC once a week with a dilluted baby shampoo. After doing this for two months my scalp produces much less sebum, I don't have any more rashes on my head and I don't need to oil my hair because conditioner is enough to keep it moisturized. I think I'll start to shampoo every other week soon because my scalp is sooo happy right now. Just thought that maybe this would help. I hope you find the products that suit you - I use the cheapest drugstore brand conditioner without cones and sulfates and it's fine.

[Alvrodul]

Kelikea- I cant believe I never thought of that. I spent almost all my times indoors but I think it is probably time to consider other oils. call me crazy but im not crazy bout the smell.

AKTJ01- I live on the Kenai River, so southern AK. you can actually walk to the beach, so yeah its the southeast coast. Maybe we live close to each other actually? Its well water i think, I dont know. How do you tell what kind of water you have? I have not tried the ACV, but I have white vinegar can that be used or no?

I think im gonna try the SMT for some moisture in the mean time while i figure out the cleansing debacle though.
white vinegar works quite well - I use that. If you have hard water, you are likely to see a fairly quick improvement with an acid rinse, I think.
Another thing to consider - if the water where you live has a lot of minerals, you might also need a chelating treatment - but this is not something that would need to be done often. Try vinegar first!
And SMTs :)

[ectothermicfaun]

Thanks for the advice everyone. The past two days Ive been doing this thing were I coat my hair dry in conditioner and then rinse it out. Seems to be helping. Ran to the store to pick up the ingredients for the SMT but apparently i wrote it down like waaaay wrong because I ended up with a Cholestrol tub, honey, and mineral oil instead of conditioner, honey and aloe vera gel. Im still scratching my head on how I got it that wrong. So ill do it with the conditioner and honey and just omit the aloe vera gel untill I can get back to town ugh. oh well.

I did remember the apple cinder vinegar rinse though. Doing THAT one tonight! update tommorrow.

[ectothermicfaun]

So I did the ACV and my head still itches, but my new growth looks awesome. Very shiny and I can run my fingers in it right untill the point where my new growth meets my dyed hair. (about 3") The dry dyed part (12") seems maybe slightly better? :confused:

I finger comb and things go well except for the last two inches on the dye. Ive been doing the SD but i have a feeling those two inches are as good as chopped.

My mom swears by the cholesterol tub I picked up on accident yesterday, so I might try it just to see. I have the v05 kiwi lime squeeze clarifying if it goes terribly wrong lol.