Same here. My hair flakes like crazy and hates washes in winter. I could go 2 weeks without washing my hair. I have 1c/f/m/ii though
Hi Luisa!
I decided to grab the comments to the
flaky scalp post and haul them up here because they're important and useful. There were some very good suggestions, so the following could hopefully be interesting for us!
We want to see your length in a photo! Would you upload this soon?
Anonymous
A good length shot takes a long time for me: I would have to wash my hair and let it air dry lose and unrestrained for hours. At the moment, I simply don't have the option of spending that much time for the process.
Also, this is not the focus of my blog. So if you are looking for pretty pictures of long lose hair or whatever your kink is (If this is the purpose of your comment and not an innocent curiosity), I suggest you look up one of the many fetish blogs instead. There are plenty of women out there who actually like this kind of attention. I don't.
Welcome to my hell. This is a mild form of dandruff---dandruff has various stages, and varying types. This is dry dandruff from an irritation to the skin due to the lack of moisture. I can get the really horrific stuff that leaves a disgusting plaque like substance that is very painful, the scalp is inflammed, and when you peel off the flakes, the scalp bleeds. That is the worst I've had.
There are many options, but given your skin sensitivity, I would do tests on the back of your neck with any product before trying them.
First off, the dandruff/flakes cling to the hair because, in essence, it's flaking off skin cells. They are murder to get off, and it takes a bit of time for them to disappear.
Head and Shoulders would work for your level of flakes----but again, test it. It shouldn't have an issue for your skin because it contains zinc oxide--which heals skin. The key for ANY shampoo (or conditioner) to work, is you MUST leave it on the scalp to work---and I think only the shampoo is medicated, not the conditioner.
If you want to steer away from shampoos, find some asprin---salacylic acid is known to combat flakes on the scalp. It's recommend to crush up an asprin and then add to your shampoo (in your case, conditioner). given how thick your hair is, I'd use a few or more. The fact your scalp is greasy is the key here---your scalp is dry, it produces grease to lubricate, and not washing it away, then its a perfect breeding ground for the fungus that causes dandruff---which actually lies just UNDER the scalp--hence the need to let any type of medicated shampoo to sit on the scalp for a few minutes.
Nizoral works for medium flares, but a) it smells NASTY, b) your hair will hate it and c) you can't use on color treated hair (for those who have treated hair like I do now). I did find a way to use this and not dry my ends out---I shampooed with this product and slathered my length prior to it with conditioner. It worked! :D Leaving it on the scalp to let the medication work was so bad because the smell is terrible. I highly recommend Head and Shoulders as the scent is at least bearable, and apparently safe on color treated hair, but I found it too drying.
This is why I wash daily with a mild clarifying shampoo---H&S allowed me to go 2-3 days without a wash, but it came at a price---dry ends and I found it didn't leave my scalp as happy as I'd like. I went back to using neutrogena daily clarifying shampoo and what a difference. Not 1 flake and this winter has been BRUTAL!
Can you use tea tree oil??? That is a natural antifungal---that may be a good try as well!
Good luck---I've been dealing with this for years, and it will settle down.
Darkhorse
Hi Darkhorse!
Wow, long and useful reply! I'm impressed :)
You obviously put a lot of thought into this, so I'm sure it will be useful to everyone reading this!
As for me... I have decided to try Head & shoulders since you describe it as the most gentle method.
Dun dun dunnn! A CWC (Maybe skip the last C?) method should work for this too, right?
Can you "get addicted" to H&S? I should be able to phase it out in the spring, right?
(I just put it on our grocery list and I had the thought that I honestly can't remember the last time I put "shampoo" on my grocery list!)
Hi there!
I don't know if you've ever heard of or tried it, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to suggest: when I have allergic reactions (be it allergic rhinitis or some kind of dermatitis/rash) and my scalp is affected too, what did work for me was gently massaging a mix of jojoba oil and aloe vera gel on my scalp the day before my wash day. It's basically 1 tablespoon of jojoba oil, 60 ml aloe vera gel + 15 drops of rosemary essential oil and 10 drops of atlas cedar essential oil - if your skin can't handle the essential oils or you're not sure they would work for you, I'd recommend skipping them and simply using the mix of jojoba oil and aloe vera gel. After my skin was not so sensitive I would also do an apple cider vinegar rinse after washing my hair - a very diluted one, like 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to 500ml of water in room temperature.
These two home treatments worked very well for me, but I do understand it's not everyone's cup of tea. Anyways, I do hope your scalp will get better!
Hi Mauni!
I'll leave your scalp treatment up for all to see :)
Unfortunately I can't use it myself because I'm allergic to aloe vera (And just to make it more complicated, I seem to be allergic to aloe pressed with skin and not without, so some times I can tolerate it, but since it's never described in the ingredient list how the aloe is pressed, it's a gamble...) but I know it's a tried-and-true ingredient for sensitive skin and scalp.
Apple cider vinegar is really nice too. I used to do it, but sort of got away from it again, so maybe it's time to reintroduce it in my routine!
