The DANDRUFF Thread

[kamikat]

For those who haven't had much luck with dandruff shampoos, it might be psoriasis or excema, which will not respond to dandruff shampoos. If it's excema, it could be a symptom of an allergy. I had it for years until I cut dairy from my diet. It comes back whenever I eat dairy for 2 days in a row or more. Head and Shoulders has a shampoo that uses a different chemical(selenium sulfide) from the rest of their line, called "intensive treatment". I use this every other day, alternating with Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle shampoo, which has tea tree oil and some other herbs that are supposed to be good for a dry scalp.

 

[Frenchy56]

Dandruff, but don't need/want to wash my hair?

Hello all,

I have been washing my hair every five or 6 days, and normally notice it starts to get a bit itchy around the 3rd day, which hasn't really bothered me. Though, if I have scratched my head I have noticed (sorry if this is gross) what looks like dandruff, but since I have never had it before I just assumed it was setting lotion/shampoo residue. Up until today I hadn't realised it was visible at my roots. Mortified is not the word for it.

The problem I have is that I really don't want to wash my hair any more often than I do, but I can't see what else to do. If I was to wash it on the third day my roots would be barely greasy and the rest of my hair would be fine.

It used to be very greasy and has taken it ages to stop being that way, I don't want to make it that way again by overwashing! Also, I am worried about the effect that such frequent washing will have on my perm.

Any advice? I feel so embarassed

PS. I don't think using an anti-dandruff shampoo is the solution, even when I use a moisturising shampoo and conditioner on my permed hair it is still a bit frizzy on the first day...

 

[lareine]

It might just be loose flakes of skin trapped in your hair. How often do you give your hair and scalp a really good brushing?
Having said that, I don't think having an itchy head is usual, so maybe it is actual dandruff and may need some sort of special treatment. I can go a week without washing my hair and it just feels a bit lank, never itchy. Then again, everybody is different...

 

[Frenchy56]

It might just be loose flakes of skin trapped in your hair. How often do you give your hair and scalp a really good brushing?

Are you referring to some special technique, or do you just mean I need to give my hair regular, thorough brushes from the roots?

I suppose I brush it about twice a day, with touch ups as needed. I don't normally brush from the roots, though.

 

[Miss Golightly]

You may just have a slightly dry scalp and if so I would highly highly recommend Kerastase Bain Gommage anti-dandruff shampoo - it will clear your scalp up in around 8 days - it's around €18 (probably cheaper online or anywhere outside Ireland) but is not like other anti-dandruff shampoo that strip hair colour from your hair. It's brilliant stuff:

http://www.lookfantastic.com/hair/k...cheveux-secs-(anti-dandruff-shampoo-dry).html

 

[John in Covina]

Neutragena makes a good dandruff shampoo, also washing first with a pine tar based soap can help. Soaking your scalp with a vinegar and water mixture prior to washing can help for some. Dandruff is often a seasonal malady for many.

 

[SewingPeriod]

Hi Frenchy!

I have the same problem-- I wear my hair really long, so it gets frizy if I wash it too much. Plus I have dandruff (genetics...). So what's really helped me is to think of my scalp and hair as two different parts, and treat them accordingly. I only use shampoo on my scalp (and of course the first few inches of my hair), and I use a tea tree oil shampoo (a natural dandruff shampoo). Then I rinse it, and put the matching tea tree oil conditioner on only my scalp, and a general conditioner on the rest of my hair. I leave it on while I clean the rest of me, then usually hair dry my hair before putting it in curlers etc. I have stick straight hair, and I'm working on ways to make it look more curly (like late 40's). I need to cut it, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Hope that helps!

 

[Frenchy56]

Thank you for all the tips, everyone!

I don't really want to try any kind of anti dandruff treatment as I think this is explicitly linked to leaving my hair too long between washing rather than any condition, it's only since I stopped washing my hair every few days that I've noticed this. Plus I really don't know how my perm would react to it...

The dry scalp thing sounds plausible. I think what I will do is try the last tip of putting conditioner on the roots - I have recently bought a silicone-free conditioner so I hope that will reduce the chance of this making my hair very greasy.

If that doesn't work, I guess I might just start washing my hair every 3 days again I guess that's not too bad, I suppose there's no point not washing if it's giving you problems... I normally re-set on the 3rd day anyway so I'm not sacrificing my set.

Also, I might try using olive oil as a hair and scalp deep conditioner, on a one-off basis. Miss Golightly, I do appreciate your recommendation but that's a little bit beyond my budget right now, if I get desperate I will consider it, I'm sure it's as good as you say

 

[Frenchy56]

Neutragena makes a good dandruff shampoo, also washing first with a pine tar based soap can help. Soaking your scalp with a vinegar and water mixture prior to washing can help for some. Dandruff is often a seasonal malady for many.

This vinegar thing intrigues me, as I know vinegar is meant to make hair very shiny... what kind of vinegar do you recommend? What ratio water to vinegar would you use, and would you just put it on dry, dirty hair then shampoo out?

 

[Donna/Dante]

My hair is down to the small of my back, so I don't like to wash it more than once a week. I brush it out every day with a Mason Pearson brush from roots to ends to try to distribute the oil further down my hairs, but dang, by day 4 or 5 it looks like there's an oil slick atop my head. V. annoying, and the 'dry' shampoos that are supposed to absorb the excess oil don't seem to do much good. If anyone has any ideas, I'd appreciate 'em. I try not to wash more than once a week because washing it is kind of a production, and my colour seems to last better with less washing (reds are known to fade the fastest, and I wear dark to bright auburn shade year round).

 

[SewingPeriod]

While I have stick-straight hair, my old roommate has curly hair, and I found this great book in her bookshelves. It really helped me understand the difference between what my scalp needs and what my long hair needs. I recommend checking it out: http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Lorraine-Massey/dp/0761123008
If I remember correctly, there were many suggestions for what to do with problems like dandruff, etc. And the author also believes in never using shampoo (can't do that myself...), so she's totally on board with only washing your hair once a week, etc.

 

[Nikita B]

A little Aussie company called MooGoo makes a shampoo and conditioner that helps with scalps, from dandruff to eczema, etc. They smell like milk bottle candy.
http://www.moogoo.com.au/scalp-friendly-shampoo.html

 

[deadpandiva]

A little Aussie company called MooGoo makes a shampoo and conditioner that helps with scalps, from dandruff to eczema, etc. They smell like milk bottle candy.
http://www.moogoo.com.au/scalp-friendly-shampoo.html

I may give this a try. I tried WEN and loved how my hair and scalp felt but I still had really bad Dermatitis and had to switch back to the harsh medicated shampoos.

 

[sheeplady]

This vinegar thing intrigues me, as I know vinegar is meant to make hair very shiny... what kind of vinegar do you recommend? What ratio water to vinegar would you use, and would you just put it on dry, dirty hair then shampoo out?

Although I didn't post this idea, you can use a half water and half white vinegar mix- dump on your scalp after you wet your hair- make sure to get it right all over your scalp. Let set while you shave or wash your body- maybe 3-5 minutes, then rinse. You can do this before shampooing, but you can also do it without shampooing- just do the vinegar and then rinse- the smell will go away after your hair dries. It is surprisingly soothing if your scalp is itchy, and it won't upset your wash cycle too much.

If you overuse the white vinegar, it may lighten your hair. You'd have to be using it a lot to do this though.

They say that dandruff is always yellow or orange colored, dry skin is white. Our skin naturally sheds, and I've found that I seem to have a shedding phase in the spring. If it is dry scalp, don't wash more, as this will set up a nasty cycle for you, based upon my experience.

 

[Land-O-LakesGal]

A little Aussie company called MooGoo makes a shampoo and conditioner that helps with scalps, from dandruff to eczema, etc. They smell like milk bottle candy.
http://www.moogoo.com.au/scalp-friendly-shampoo.html

Not sure what milk bottle candy is but I will have to check this out also.

Thanks Nikita B and Sheeplady

 

[Frenchy56]

I washed my hair last night and I realised that I still have an itchy head and these white flakes (sorry, gross I know). Not as bad as when I've left my hair a few days though. Does this mean I just have a dry scalp? Surely if I had dandruff it wouldn't be showing up the morning after I wash my hair?

 

[hollyhamine]

Some of the tips to avoid Dandruff :
1.Use shampoos and conditioner which is of best product and not containing petroleum and minerals.
2.Use olive oil,coconut oil,jojoba oil means all natural oil for hair.
3.Use of shikakai and aritha for hair wash.
4.Apply lemon pulp directly to hair and keep it for half an hour and then wash hair otherwise use lemon with mehndi.