Dry scalp driving me mad

[Whattodonexts]

Anyone have any tips for dry scalp? It's gets so dry and I have little scabby bits, even the skin in my hairline near my forehead is so dry. Any diet/supplement tips? External products that might help? I have no medical issues at all and recently had a full set of bloods done which were all normal (so no iron issues etc) it's all year round too so not just a winter thing. Help!

First of all what shampoo and conditioner are you using? My teen ds was suffering with this and I switched him to Moo Goo (look it up), the dry scaly scalp is gone!

I swear by head and shoulders dermaxpro scalp soothe balm, really helped me.

How old are you? Mine is horrendously dry nowadays, it is related to the perimenaupause in my case. Hrt has helped a bit

Whatever is around shampoo wise but I use hair food for conditioner.

I'm 37

That hasn't helped me I did try it, I liked the menthol one but it didn't do anything to my scalp sadly.

Yes this happened to me since moving to England. It's because the water is just so hard where I live! I stopped using shampoo for two weeks because it got to the point where shampoo was burning my hair (even baby shampoo, and I was getting the scabs and awful flaking).

I read up on it and found out it's something to do with hard water. I found that rinsing my hair/scalp with a cup of white vinegar or lemon juice at the end of my shower neutralised the stuff in the water (presumably calcium carbonate but god knows why I was having such a bad reaction) that my hair was reacting with. It took two weeks of doing this (so a month since I last used shampoo) and then I started using baby shampoo and seem to be okay again.

I'm now back up to MoroccanOil which is fairly gentle as shampoos go but I'm not brave enough to go back to anti-dandruff, that seemed to make my scalp so much worse.

I think the long-term fix is to put a water filter on your pipes at the point when the water enters the house but we rent so we can't do that until we buy again.

I had this and tried everything. What finally worked was E45 shampoo. I hope it helps if you try it as I know how embarrassing and uncomfortable it is. x

@MissyB1 my MooGoo arrived today! It’s odd. I found it difficult to get to my scalp, it made my hair feel ‘stiff’ but there was loads of lather in the length. A real ‘squeak’ when rinsing though so it’s definitely squeaky clean. I hope the itch goes!

@Whattodonexts I’ve been batting, with some temporary successes, for around 4 years. Definitely menopause related in my case.
Nizorel gave relief when it was really, really bad. The treatment one not the daily shampoo. It’s behind the pharmacy counter at boots. I do still use every month or so to try to keep it in check.
As I am itchy has been working well, although now I’m at the end of the 3rd bottle it seems to have stopped being so effective.
Head and shoulders- nope. Not any of them.
T-gel used to work, but no longer
so many others, too many to remember and list tbh. It’s maddening.

T gel helped mine

I’m glad you’re trying Moo Goo, ds had tried all the usuals including T Gel (which made his scalp worse!)

Try products with selenium in. Can be hard to find. But are the most effective ime.

Also, it stinks, but you can buy sulphur soap. You could try that.

Are you definitely rinsing out all shampoo and conditioner fully? And do you brush your hair and scalp before washing your hair?

The other option is to stop using anything much at all and give your scalp and hair a proper break. Try products with no sls in them, cut back on washing hair (I know how hard this is!) and buy a gentle hairbrush like a tangle teaser.

I have tried everything over the years and what works for me is to have about five different shampoos and three different conditioners and use them on rotation. If I use the same shampoo more than a couple of times in a row my head gets unbearable.

Many years ago, vosene worked the best but they changed the formula about 25 years ago and it has never worked for me since.

A few years back two bottles of that Original Source tea tree and mint shower gel turned up unordered (and unpaid for!) in my Tesco delivery. The delivery man was clearly knackered and implored me to keep it, he must have been too tired to face the admin of returning it. Anyway it was too ahem "fresh" to use as shower gel so I tried it as shampoo and it was a revelation on my itchy head. I still keep a bottle for when it gets bad.

This has been amazing for my scalp and also hair growth
Blue Nectar Rosemary Oil for Hair Growth with Bhringraj Oil for Hair, 100% Natural Ayurvedic Hair Scalp Oil with Amla Hair Oil (9 Herbs,100 ml) amzn.eu/d/aObLmyF

The Body Shop ginger shampoo!!!

I must have tried ever dry scalp/dandruff shampoo going, I’ve been using this for 3 weeks now and it’s worked wonders my scabs have all cleared up and no more itching honestly it’s a miracle!

Do you double cleanse in the shower and focus on the scalp when washing your hair? I have one of those little plastic massage-looking tools to use to really get in there and clean my scalp on the first wash and then go in with my fingers on the second wash. It could be product build up and your scalp isn't properly cleansed?

Head and shoulders shampoo, leave on hair to lather for 5 mins and use a scalp scrubby to massage scalp! Rinse thoroughly. Good luck!

I discovered that the garnier hair food conditioner was making my scalp itchy.

I’ve gone SLS free and use Revolution Hair Salicylic Shampoo.

I also find a cider vinegar rinse is great for if I mess up and use a product that doesn’t work for me so get rid of the itch.

make sure you are using a hair dryer to dry your scalp too- don’t sit around with wet hair or air dry.

I used to use the phyto range when I had an itchy scalp. It was amazing. I have curly hair and use Only Curls and that hasn't made my scalp itch, been using it around 2 yrs now. Not sure if you have curly hair but might be an option. I also used the Philip Kinsley hair treatment for dry scalp, really good too.

Nizoral shampoo from the chemist is a god send for this. You only need a tiny amount on the dry patches. After 2 uses, the patches clear up. I always keep one in the cabinet and when i feel a dry patch - always randomly in the same place - i put the shampoo one once or twice and it goes.

I have started using hello lean which is shampoo for hard water areas. It really works!

Hemp oil shampoo has solved my dry itchy scalp

It's called Hello klean !

A hair oil (or just coconut oil) might help. Massage it in well and leave overnight wrapped in a towel or hair wrap, then wash as usual. This works for me.