sore scalp with big flakes

[red-again]

I am hoping some of you ladies can help me out please!
Tonight my daughter walked past me and her scalp looked flaky and dry. I went and got my new found jojoba oil ( fab, love the stuff for my face and hair) and started torub some into her hair. Her scalp was raised-ish , more bumpy, all over. The flakes are whiteish, creamy. They appeared harder to move than usual dandruff and certainly needed to be pulled up the hair shaft not blown or disloeged by a fingernail etc.
Anyway, I applied a generous amount of jojoba oil and out her to bed. I am just concerned as to what it could be. We have been using sls, petrochemical etc free shampoo for years. She did have horrendous cradle cap as a baby and has always had dry scalp and hair. ( her type is 2b/2c, M and ii/iii)

What to try? CO, oils etc?

Any advice as to what it may be and what can be done to help would be fantastic. Poor thing, I feel really sorry for her, it can't be nice!

Thankyou x

[Viola88]

I am hoping some of you ladies can help me out please!
Tonight my daughter walked past me and her scalp looked flaky and dry. I went and got my new found jojoba oil ( fab, love the stuff for my face and hair) and started torub some into her hair. Her scalp was raised-ish , more bumpy, all over. The flakes are whiteish, creamy. They appeared harder to move than usual dandruff and certainly needed to be pulled up the hair shaft not blown or disloeged by a fingernail etc.
Anyway, I applied a generous amount of jojoba oil and out her to bed. I am just concerned as to what it could be. We have been using sls, petrochemical etc free shampoo for years. She did have horrendous cradle cap as a baby and has always had dry scalp and hair. ( her type is 2b/2c, M and ii/iii)

What to try? CO, oils etc?

Any advice as to what it may be and what can be done to help would be fantastic. Poor thing, I feel really sorry for her, it can't be nice!

Thankyou x Adults can get cradle cap. Before I got to that part of your post about her history with it, I was already thinking cradle cap.

I am new to this so I don't have any remedies or advice beyond going to the doc.

[MonicaJean]

Could it be eczema or something similar? :( Hope it clears up! I would be as gentle as possible with it and keep anything irritating off her scalp until it clears.

[Ki]

Psoriasis? Seborrhoeic dermatitis? Just suggestions on what it might be. I don't know... Hope it clears up soon.

[silverstars]

Tea tree oil helped with Seborrhoeic dermatitis (if that's what it is). Selsun blue shampoo (1% selenium sulfide) worked wonders for making it go away completely.

[lapushka]

If it is worse than dandruff, well the only thing that helped me was Nizoral shampoo.

[red-again]

wow, thanks for all the replies and helpful suggestions!
I oiled with jojoba heavily last light, really rubbng into her scalp. Today I am going to put her on a CO only routine as it is something I have just started doing and it is a wonderful revelation for me. I am also going to go and get a nit comb to comb out the 'bits' (yuk!) And after that I will give it a couple of weeks intensive caring, plenty of oiling, CO and lots of rinsing. As a last resort I will maybe try the Selsun or Nizoral but she has such sensitive skin that I want to avoid them if at all possible. But really helpful to have two big guns suggestions there as back-up, thanks

Bit less panicked than last night now!! Thankyou all, will let you know how I get on!

[Tizzles]

Sounded like psoriasis to me. I get these big flakey thingies in my scalp sometimes too. Mine gets really bad when the seasons change and especially horrid when I went from sulfate shampoos to sulfate free, then to CO. If it's psoriasis it's easy to tell, her scalp will be itchy and a little extra oily (least for me that's what happens sorry if it's not like that for all) also Monistat and Sea Breeze have helped me in the past for clearing up psoriasis though it sounds like her scalp may be even more sensitive than mine. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help, I am sure that her scalp is kinda painful at the moment. Best of luck finding out the culprit.

[Alvrodul]

You might consider having a dermatologist look at it to find out just what the problem is - then you would have a better idea of just how to treat it.

[Phexlyn]

You might consider having a dermatologist look at it to find out just what the problem is - then you would have a better idea of just how to treat it.
This. If it's dandruff, you could also try putting yoghurt on it, it'll be cool and soothing plus it helps fight dandruff (recommended by my dermatologist), but please don't rinse it out with hot water or you'll have clumps all over her hair. Plus the smell is not that nice. Try not to get it on the rest of the hair, just on the scalp area. My hair freaks out when I put yoghurt on the length (but hers might be different).

I'd also recommend going as low heat as possible, if you're not doing that already. That includes not taking how showers (at least no hot water on her head). Skin is less irritated by luke-warm temperatures.

I hope it gets better soon! :)

[Teazel]

You might consider having a dermatologist look at it to find out just what the problem is - then you would have a better idea of just how to treat it.

I'm seconding (thirding?) this, just to reinforce it. Good luck! :)

[red-again]

Thanks for the further replies, you are all very helpful!
I got a nit comb and combed through her hair in sections whilst last nights jojoba oil was still in-situ. This removed lots of flakes.

Thankfully Tizzzles, your description of psoriasis rules it out. I googled images after reading your post and the flakes did look different to my dd's. Also her scalp is soo dry too not at all oily/ greasy.
But, I think I have the culprit - she hasn't been rinsing too well! When I wet her hair with oil on it the amount of foam was unbelievable! I also use jojoba on my hair and obviously the sam water and have a tiny bit of foam but the amount her hair produced was staggering! I rinsed and rinsed and CO. Her hair is not dry and she has about 10% of the amount of flakes she had last night!

Fingers crossed things will continue to improve. If not I will take her to the Dr and get a Dermatology referral.

Thanks to all of you!

[coffinhert]

I had cradle cap as a baby and when I was in my early 20s I suddently got horrible sebbhoreic dermatitis (they are the same thing). The dermatologist told me to use expensive medicated shampoos. Instead I do this:

1. An hour to the night before washing: Rub oil all over scalp, to soak into the flakes. I use a coconut/castor blend.

2. Wash with conditioner only, twice. Use a ton of conditioner, lather it all up in scalp to really dissolve the oil. Rinse it out. Repeat.

3. Rinse scalp with dilute white vinegar, rinse it away with cool water.

It has completely made my dermatitis go away after a year of trying everything I could think of. Your daughter's condition sounds like exactly what my problem was before I settled on this routine. Hope this can help.

Edited to add: definitely rinse the conditioner completely out. Leaving it in causes really bad flakes Sounds like you figured that out.

[Audrey Horne]

Psoriasis isn't always oily, I think. But the flakes are somewhat silver in colour, so it's usually easy to tell. SD that I have mostly results in yellowish ones. And sometimes it's "wet"...
Tea tree oil can help, as someone else has said. Also peppermint is very soothing. Aloe vera gel or juice.
It could be that PH balance is out of whack for her. Sometimes everything I need is a little bit more acid (lemon or orange juice, for example). I think it's an important issue for those with skin conditions.

Glad that CO works for her! Just watch out because some people have horrid sheds and scalp problems while others really love it.

[Bene]

The flakes needing to be pulled up along the shafts of hair, that reminds me of something.

Does it look anything like this (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y244/bene25/life/68496347269_0_0-1.jpg)? Had that for a number of years, doctor visits yielded "I have no idea what that is." It wasn't contagious or anything, just gross. Then it went away on its own, and it's been gone for years, long before I found this site.

[TessieAnn]

By CO in this context I assume you mean Conditioner Only.

Remember that the other CO ... Coconut Oil ... is antifungal and antibacterial. You might want to alternate with the jojoba.

Be sure that your daughter is getting enough healthy saturated fats in her diet. Also, many find that going gluten-free may clear up rashes and other flaky skin conditions.

[MagicalMystery]

Sounds like cradle cap to me. Olive oil did the trick for my 4 year old son. :)