My Scalp hates CO!

[GoatLady]

Actually my scalp hates most commercially available hair care products. Shampoos, conditioners and leave-ins/hair dress. And if it weren't for LHC I would have no idea. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I have suffered from scalp psoriasis for 32 years. I thought I was sesitive to my hair oils. Never guessed it was the hair products that were triggering it. I tried baking soda/acv, in the past. Made my hair itchy and strawlike. Back to the S & C I went. Then I found you folks. I was intrigued by CO. I knew there was a bit of an adjustment period so chalked up the greasy and itchy scalp to that. I had been CO for about 3 weeks. And was going for 3 days between washing. On wash day I would shed like mad. The other 2 days shedding was minimal. My scalp was getting so gunky that I decided to shampoo (non-SLS). I found some Avalon Organics Lavender at my Krogers. 2 days ago I used that, and an ACV rinse. No conditioner. My hair was FABULOUS (not oily), my scalp was itch-free, and I shed just a wee bit. The second day my hair and scalp were still clean but my ends were dry (they had been commercially dyed in the past). I over oiled with EVOO. Today I decided to CO wash to remove some of the extra oil. OMG! My scalp immediately began to itch as soon as the conditioner was applied. I left it on for 30 minutes and CO washed. When I was combing my hair out I noticed that my scalp was inflamed and I shed a huge amount. My scalp was so itchy that I had to immediately rewash with the Avalon shampoo and use ACV as a rinse. Now my scalp is feeling better. No more conditioner for me. Ever. But I am still on the hunt for a nice, light leave-in oil. Going to look for argan.

BTW, I have also been using the rooibos tea as a spritzer once a day. My scalp loves it. And my hair has grown 1 1/4" so far this month.

I hope this information will help someone else here, as you all have helped me.

[pepperminttea]

Another scalp psoriasis sufferer here, since age 12-ish, although comparatively mild compared to yours by the sound of things. (Mine hates 'cones and coconut oil directly on the scalp, itches quite a bit, and makes most people around me think I have really, really bad dandruff, but thankfully it puts up with most products I throw at it and only gets badly inflamed during times of stress).

Thanks for the rooibos tea tip; I've only dipped lightly into that thread, I'll have to investigate it further. For the oil leave-in, you might want to try Japanese camellia oil, or NightBlooming's Triple Moon Anointing oil blend if the ingredients look okay to you. They both work well for me as light oils, but my hair is a bit finer, so you may well need three-four drops where I only need two. And on the conditioner, if your psoriasis is just confined to your scalp, could you just use it on your length (say, from the chin/shoulder area down)?

[growingpains]

Maybe your scalp doesn't hate CO but the variety of conditioner you are using. Thus far, after experimenting with 3 different conditioners for CO I can only use the organic variety. I bet if you used an organic conditioner like you did the Avalon organic shampoo you'd have similar results.

[bunzfan]

I have the same problem my scalp became so itchy that i started doing one sls free shampoo a week it's much happier, even if i did feel guilty at first.

[GoatLady]

Maybe your scalp doesn't hate CO but the variety of conditioner you are using. Thus far, after experimenting with 3 different conditioners for CO I can only use the organic variety. I bet if you used an organic conditioner like you did the Avalon organic shampoo you'd have similar results.

Hmmmm...the attraction to CO washing was that it can be so inexpensive. So I don't know that I want to CO wash with pricey organics. I don't mind the organic shampoo, since I only have to use it twice a week, and sparingly at that. Diluted ACV is affordable and I love the results.

I have tried CO washing with 6 or 7 different conditioners (all the $1 varieties). All have been passed along to my teenage daughter who is thrilled to not have to buy hair products for a good 6 months.

My hair is dry now (from being wet when washed) and my ends aren't all dried out. What did I do differently? OIled them with plenty of EVOO last night, braided my hair and slept on it, before washing this morning. My hair is fabulously clean, shiny and bouncy. It hasn't looked or felt this nice in YEARS! So I'll be sticking with the current products. Soooo happy!

[LunaMoon]

I have scalp psoriasis as well and I can control it very well massaging shea butter just in the scalp once a week.
I am co-washing for 2 weeks now but I do a low-poo with SLS shampoo once a week (is the one I already have, so don't want to buy more) and I am doing fine.
Every hair and scalp is different, so the importante is that you found something that you are happy with.
I don't have the option to try these 1$ conditioners and I am using one (Franck provost) that is 6 euros 700ml.
I never stay long time with the conditioner in my scalp, just mix about 20ml of conditioner with 80ml of water, wash well my scalp and put a coney conditioner after - not in the scalp. My hair loves cones.
Not sure if waiting 30 minutes with conditioner in my scalp wont be better but I am happy with the results.
So nice we have so many information here we can actually find what is the best for us.

[WittyWordsmith]

Yay for finding a good solution! If an SLS-free shampoo is the ticket, I don't think anyone should feel guilty for using them after trying CO. The point is that you're happy with your hair and your scalp has relief!!

[littlenvy]

Glad you found out what bothers your scalp.
I had to go Water Only for a while in order to solve my problem. It was worth it.
I think its the preservatives in conditioner, as well as some oils, that make my skin worse. Be careful with the lavender. Sometimes its the scented stuff that can set it off.
Now, if I need to, I use Avalon Organics Olive and Grape Seed Conditioner. No harsh preservatives and no fragrance.

[torrilin]

My partner has pretty massive psoriasis. Not just his scalp - without light treatments, he has psoriasis patches on around 30% of his body. The scalp is something of a problem tho, since he has hair and that prevents the light treatments from helping him. So he uses Neutrogena T-gel shampoo. When I can find it, he likes the matching conditioner. Both are fragrance free.

He is MASSIVELY sensitive to a wide range of fragrances. In the best case, he gets a runny nose and sinus problems. In the worst case, it can cause itching and burning that's worth complaining over. (a patch the size of my head may be itching and bleeding, but it's not worth mentioning in his book) It's hard to tell if he gets hives from fragrances or not with all the noise from the psoriasis.

I'm bringing this up because a lot of the cheap conditioners recommended for CO washing are heavily scented. A couple LHC members have pointed out that you can judge how much added fragrance there is by looking to see where it is in the ingredients list. If it's hiding in there behind the preservatives, it's is a small amount. But something like Garnier's Triple Nutrition has fragrance listed ahead of a lot of the oils and other conditioning ingredients. VO5 and Suave are often even more scented.

Unfortunately, a lot of hair products have heavy scent, not just conditioners. And all the labeling required in the US is "fragrance" or "perfume", so you have no idea what you're reacting to.

[RitaPG]

It could be more than psoriasis, maybe you are allergic to a certain ingredient in the conditioners. Happens quite often unfortunately. More people these days seem to be having bad reactions to chemicals, especially the ones that go by 'perfume/fragrance'.
Anyway, I'm really happy that you found a routine that works for you
Argan oil is nice as a leave-in, I've used it before. But if you are sensitive to it, the smell is a bit of a turn off. I love my Monoi oil, though