Itchy Flaky Scalp Remedy?

[SwissMaedel]

Hey Everyone,
Okay, so I've searched the board and I've found answers here and there, but nothing concrete.

I've been having itchy, flaky scalp for about 4 years now. It is why I decided to try the "no poo" method.

First I bought a water filter for my shower head, since we have hard water in Nebraska.

In March, I stopped using all shampoos.
Every few days I'd do a baking soda diluted in water wash with an apple cider vinegar rinse. It kept my hair "clean" and there were less flakes, but I'd still be itchy and way greasy by day 3.

Learned online that baking soda isn't the best for your hair. Dries it all out.
So I switched to Dr. Bronner's all in one w/ an ACV rinse. Same diff...hair looks fine, but by day 3, it's time to wash.

Now I'm trying Chagrin Valley Shampoo bar (coconut milk).

I still have itchy scalp, especially on the crown of my head.

I almost wish it was lice, b/c then I'd know how to cure it and I could move on with life, but I'm 99.9% sure it is not lice.

I think it's the whateveryoucallit glands overproducing to shed more dead skin sells. I have oily hair usually.

I'm seriously thinking of going NO NOTHING on my hair for 3 weeks just to see if my scalp will finally balance itself out.

I'm running out of ideas and recipes to try and getting so frustrated.

So I'd like hear from someone who has had itchy, flaky scalp for a long time and was actually able to cure it.

Please help!! I am so out of ideas and appreciate anyone who responds on here to help me out.

Thank you sooo much.

~~~~Elisa

[XcaliburGirl]

Here's what has helped me. YMMV.

- Got rid of silicones. Those always build up on my scalp and cause flakes
- Use Nizoral shampoo as needed (about once per month)
- When my scalp was DRY and itchy, doing a wash with aloe vera gel helped.
- I started using sulfate-free shampoo
- Washing daily works for me. My head gets itchy when I tried to stretch washes.

Soap-based washing (shampoo bars or Dr. Bronners) helped a little, but it was still pretty bad.

One more thing, don't go to crazy with switching your routine around. Go to the last thing that worked OK and do that for a few weeks. Otherwise, you'll never know what helps and what makes it worse. I know it's really annoying, but just settling into something may help your scalp to feel better.

[florenonite]

I find that massaging coconut oil into my scalp the night before a wash helps a lot.

My flakes were actually worse with CV bars than they are with sulfate shampoos, but YMMV on that one; a lot of people find switching to a gentler shampoo helps with flakes.

[Memza]

I would really recomend a cassia application, it has improved my scalp so much. I found a difference after just one go and it is not too expensive if you just want to try it once.

My routine is to apply it every 6 weeks with normal CO washing and vinegar rinse every 4 days inbetween. No cones and No SLS.

Hope this helps!

[SwissMaedel]

I will try the Cassia application. Never heard of it. Also, what is a "CO" washing? And what type of vinegar do you use? So you only have to wash every 6 weeks and rinse every four days? That is what I would like.

[Alienor]

I heard about coconut oil benefits for that problem...

[lapushka]

My flakes were actually worse with CV bars than they are with sulfate shampoos, but YMMV on that one; a lot of people find switching to a gentler shampoo helps with flakes.

For me it's the exact opposite. Gentler shampoos are horrible for me. I need a harsher cleanser - solves a lot.

[Madora]

Perhaps you might try clarifying your hair first (Neutrogena Anti-Residue Clarifying Shampoo has been recommended here).

Then you might try and find a gentle shampoo that works well with oily hair.

Because your hair is oily it might need to be shampooed more often...but I'm a firm believer in a healthy, clean scalp so use shampoo (diluted).

Given your itchy, flaky scalp trouble, I'd try and keep any oils you apply down to an absolute minimum..better still, omit them entirely until you have the scalp condition conquered.

[henné]

Washing hair with reetha and shikakai powders (auyrvedic herbs) helped me to get rid of any dryness, flakiness and dryness, but I had only a mild case to start with. When I had the really bad case some two years ago, I had to use Nizoral. Nothing else helped.

Good luck.

[henné]

Also, just wanted to point out that it takes on average 6-8 weeks for scalp to balance itself out from what I've read in numerous 'washing with water only' blogs.

[Tabitha]

Baby shampoos can be helpful because they are formulated to deal with cradle cap but otherwise tend to contain few unnecessary ingredients. "Natural" isn't always best - EOs can be very irritating.

[Katlette]

Sorry to revive a very old thread, but I was wondering if anyone had any new insight into this problem.

I have always had trouble with my scalp. Not really dandruff, but it's dry, itchy. When I was younger it used to bleed frequently. It has been better in the last couple of years, but it still bothers me regularly. I've tried to stretch my washes, that doesn't help with the itchiness, just makes it gunkier (euw). I also do a lot of sport: I sweat a lot and my hair looks awful if I don't wash it. I used a series of nettle tea rinses and that didn't seem very effective either. Post-henna my scalp looks great, but is still very sensitive and itchy.


Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone resolved it in some way? I'd like to know what the most likely or common culprit could be, so I could test changing/eliminating that bit of my routine.

[Kelikea]

I find that a drop or two of tea tree oil and Africa's Best oil(I got mine at Walmart) massaged well into the scalp, then brushed through with a BBB helps. I then bun and leave it overnight. You can either wash it in the morning, or go for another day, depending on how it looks and feels. I also workout a lot, but haven't been overly sweaty for some reason. Maybe its the weather, its been really dry and windy lately.

Do you use product on your hair?

[swearnsue]

I used to get a mildly itchy scalp until I started using Doo Gro from Sally's. It's this weird smelling oil that I massage into my scalp about an hour before washing. It moisturizes and somehow cleans calms my scalp. I use it almost every wash and can tell the difference when I skip a treatment.

But my itching wasn't bad like some people get, so this may not work for you. But it's fairly cheap, about $7 a bottle that has lasted me many months.

Good luck.

[Aderyn]

A few things have helped with my scalp:

Sulfates. My scalp never had any problems when I was using sulfate shampoos. Diluted, undiluted, whatever, generally my scalp was fine. It wasn't until I switched to non-sulfate shampoos that I really started to notice the issue. I mean, I found sulfate-free shampoos that didn't cause an issue (Acure, Shikai, etc) and that was fine, but sulfates aren't always the enemy.

I have never had an issue with silicones (assuming I don't put silicones near my scalp) causing scalp problems. CO-washing (diluted, undiluted) was not helpful, made my dryness and flakiness worse, though there are some who have good luck with that regimen.

Shampoo bars. Haven't had an issue with dryness since switching to gentle shampoo bars. I've had especially good luck with moisturizing shampoo bars. Even when I stretch washes with shampoo bars, I very rarely get any flakiness.

Katlette, you mention that you've tried stretching washes and that just makes it gunkier, and I wonder if that is some sort of adjustment period you're going through. Nearly everyone who has tried stretching washes has an adjustment period of sorts, though it can be hard to soldier through it, to be sure.

From what I've read about other people's experience, doing coconut oil scalp treatments can be quite helpful. You can try doing water washes for the sweat or diluted washes of whatever product you use.

[noteve]

I have Seborrhoeic dermatitis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seborrhoeic_dermatitis), sounds a lot like you have it too. It's eczema in the scalp.

I use a steroid solution in my hair about twice a month. That helps with the itching and reduces the problem a lot, but I find that massaging coconut oil into my scalp and leaving it there overnight helps a lot with the dryness problem.

[vindo]

Sounds like a fungus. Have you tried Monistat?

It could also be a dietary issue. Eczema can also happen when certain foods aren't tolerated well.

[Katlette]

I regularly use shampoo and coconut oil. At the moment I use either Lush's Godiva shampoo bar or Sante's Jojoba shampoo. The latter is SLS free. I don't really know how to feel about sulfates. That was the first thing I suspected to be causing my dry scalp, but I think my head feels better after the wash with the shampoo bar, perhaps because it's cleaner?

I've never used the coconut oil on my scalp, just my length, but perhaps I could try massaging it into my scalp as well. Kelikea, I can see how tree tea could help - I might try that. Thank you! And swearnsue: Thanks for the tip! Is that the Doo Gro growth oil, or do they have another one for scalp problems?

I do suspect, Aderyn, that you are right about the adjustment period. Perhaps I'll try stretching washes sometime when I'm on holiday and don't have to be presentable. :D

Noteve: It does sound very much like my scalp. I notice, though, that it's treated with isotretinoin as a last resort. I took that for acne years ago and it did nothing for my scalp - in fact, that was when my scalp was at its worst. Of course, this is not conclusive evidence that it's not what I have, but does make me think it's just an extreme dryness problem. I might try the aloe vera that some people suggest helps for it, can't cause any harm!

Emichiee, I haven't tried monistat, but I will look into that if I don't find any help just by switching up my routine. Similarly, I might look into my diet as a last resort. I wouldn't know where to start with that! :(

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions! I'll give the coconut oil scalp massage a try tonight, given I have plenty of that already at home.

[vindo]

Monistat and other anti fungal creams can be applied to the scalp diluted. It is a really easy, harmless fix for any sort of fungal problem. Larger flakes and an unpleasant smell when your hair is oily would be another indicator for a fungus. If your problem was a dry scalp only, there hardly would be any flakes, and they would be very small. Dandruff for example is nothing other than a yeast/ fungal problem. And it is very common. Dandruff shampoos contain some anti fungal ingredients, but since these things are very resistant it works best to "suffocate" them with a thick cream over a period of at least three months. I had a fungal infection in my face which looked like Acne and dry flaky skin, even to doctors. I wrote about it on my blog, it contains some general info regarding yeast problems.
http://www.longhairedatheart.blogspot.de/2013/11/yeast-had-caused-my-bad-skin.html
http://www.longhairedatheart.blogspot.de/2013/12/treating-facial-yeast-infection-related.html

Diet: There is a strong link for grains and eczema, as well as Gluten: http://paleohacks.com/questions/154714/curing-eczema-with-diet.html, this Forum has lots of helpful diet related topics. Even if you aren't planning to go on any diet recommended, you can still learn about culprits and natural remedies :)

[noteve]

Here's something I tried today: I ground some oats, mixed them with some water and olive oil, just enough to make it a slightly watery solution. I massaged it into my scalp and left it in for the day (it didn't look good but I wasn't going out anyway). After I washed the stuff out my scalp isn't nearly as flaky. As for the itch, it hasn't been there since, but it'll probably come again. Then I'll just use this method again, as it's mild enough to use often.

[noteve]

Almost forgot: I then put a steroid solution in my scalp, which was prescribed to me for eczema by a dermatologist. You should definitely go see a dermatologist for this, as it could be either fungus or eczema and you'll need to know which problem it is to be able to combat it correctly.