Happy Valentines day!

For Valentines day I thought I would post a cute and silly little manga.

This one made me laugh and have to show it to Mr Igor: Although I definitely don't appreciate mens backs this much, one of my favorite parts of Mr Igor's body is that place where his shoulder muscles push his shirt away from the skin. It's like... man cleavage or something.
Mr Igor could relate to some of the admiration for the hair, but not to this extent.
So I guess we both felt a connection to the story.

Enjoy!

(I have put them in miniatures so it's easier to skip, for those not interested. Click to read for those who wants to read)

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

  

  

  

 

  

 

 

  

  

 

 

Comments

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

Luisa H

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!

Mauni

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!

Flaky scalp

Awkward selfie to try to show off the state of my scalp. Looks normal from a distance (luckily!).

My scalps tendency to get "flakes" around autumn and winter has really gone crazy this winter.
I don't think this winter has been particularly bad up here in the north (At least not compared to some of the insane weather other people have experienced this season!), but the flakes have been more irritating. They are dry, itchy and really cling to the scalp and hair. Also, they are bright white so they really don't blend in at all! Some times they have even clumped together and formed little gunk-formations!

CO washes doesn't help entirely with washing these out, since they aren't greasy enough to be bound by the surfactant ingredients so they can be rinsed out.
But they are greasy enough that a scalp scrub will loosen them from the scalp... But then they just cling to the first 1-2 cm of roots instead. Most attempts to loosen them up only seems to provoke my scalp into becoming greasier as well.

I tried massaging them out. That just seemed to trigger my scalp into getting my itchy and greasy.
I tried brushing them out. That also just seemed to trigger my scalp into getting my itchy and greasy.
I tried scritching them out. That also just seemed to trigger my scalp into getting my itchy and greasy.

Ugh.

Awkward zoom to try to show off the state of my scalp.

Most advice on these irritating white scalp flakes seems to center on the same few items, so it was quite irritating to seek advice for it. It basically left me with the frustrated "But I do that already!"-feeling.

I got a humidifier last autumn in the hope that it would lessen the difference between cold and wet outside and hot and dry inside. I also doubled my omega-3 supplements. I'm not really sure any of it helped a whole lot, but at least it should be good for my skin generally?

One thing I didn't see mentioned anywhere, but I had the thought of, was to get back on my hyaluronic acid-supplements. I'm not really sure that would actually help the flakes themselves, but it should help the moisture level of my skin. Maybe it will lessen the irritation of having the flakes?

And also...

Today's hair

I haven't done an infinity bun in a while!

It didn't get as "clean" shaped as I wanted to, so this is something I should practice more.

Lazy day four

Four little buns, which I guess needs the "softer" worn-in braids to function?

And it's pretty awesome that I'm practically trendy with this style. The 90es mini-buns are a real thing right now.

Lazy day three

Day three: The mega Royal
(I love that name)

I like how this bun is such a mess of braids twisted around that you can't tell what is happening in it. Is it multiple, shorter braids? Or one mega long braid wrapped around like a thousand times?

Lazy day two

Today's lazy style: Two Royal buns.

I need some slightly smaller Roan Quattro pins for this one. Hmm.

Lazy day one

For some strange reason I could not get my hair to cooperate for four small buns?
Maybe the braids are too "fresh" for such a small structure?

I ended up making a Chinese bun with the bottom two braids and wrapping the top two down and around. Meh, it worked.

Going for another four lazy days

Busy week ahead, so four little braids is the way to go!

Foreo Luna 2 vs. BeGlow Pura vs. investing in a new Clarisonic model

Foreo Luna 2

The good stuff

Bacteria-unfriendly silicone

Backside of device can be used for massaging and working serums into skin

Surprisingly good grip despite being a smooth egg shape

The bad stuff

It felt like it was really bad at getting into "corners" like around the nose, probably because of the smooth shape and the short bristles

Strong vibrations that felt more like a massage than the gentle, buzzing cleanse I was used to from the Clarisonic

BeGlow Pura 

The good stuff

Bacteria-unfriendly silicone

The "brush" head can be detached and replaced

Really good grip on this thing because of the strange shape

Strong vibrations that might be good for massaging and encouraging blood flow. Might be really good for working a mud mask into skin?

The bad stuff

It looks like it has a little "stand", but it tips over instead. It has to be placed "brush" side up, which gathers water in the edges to the "brush" head

Seriously strong vibrations that made my teeth rattle (!)

Investing in a new Clarisonic model?

The good stuff

Gentle buzzing cleanse 

Good at getting into "corners"

Well, I honestly just prefer the Clarisonic still....

The bad stuff

Plastic (?) brush heads that needs replacing

Unappealing business practices of discontinuing models often
Not sure how to find the brush head that fits my (Discontinued) model

Verdict
Foreo Luna 2: I will probably bring this for travelling, since this seems like a decent cleansing device and it doesn't have bristles that bends or get dirty
BeGlow Pura: I have the idea that I will use this to massage mud masks into my skin. Maybe massaging oil into my skin too?
New Clarisonic model: I will hold this off for a while and instead look into finding replacement brush heads for the one I have