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Original poster

Can anyone help please: gritty, greasy scalp driving me mad!

43 replies

Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 07:03

It's not the sort of thing I want to bother a doctor about but my scalp has been driving me mad recently.

I don't know what has caused it but I'm in my mid-to- late fifties and the skin on my forehead is very dry so maybe this is a post-menopausal issue?

I wash my hair every second day using the purest shampoos I can find. I rinse well.

Anyway, first day of hair wash, scalp feels fine but that night my scalp is itchy like it's turned in to hard grains of salt, some areas of scalp worse than others.

The following day (so day after hair wash) it will gradually get itchier and itchier with salt grain flakes but by the end of the day they have turned in to a thick white creamy, greasy substance on my scalp which feels horrible. There are actual scabs on my head in other places. Urgh.

I've tried leaving my hair longer between washes but if anything it makes it worse.

I've added apple cider vinegar to rinsing water and although it feels nice at the time, it doesn't stop the symptoms.

I'd like to know please if anyone else has this?

And if so, what has helped to treat it please?

OP posts:
Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 07:04

Sorry meant to say this has been going on for a year. No noticeable difference in shampoo use or regularity of hair washing.

OP posts:
postcardfromme · 01/11/2021 07:12

Philip Kingsley Itchy flaky scalp shampoo is very good. Try not to wash scalp and hair in hot water - that really helped me but it's uncomfortable!!
I feel for you op! Go and see your gp - you are not bothering them - something like this can really affect your wellbeing

Hope you can get this sorted x

Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 07:21

Thank you postcardfromme that's really kind of you to reply and thank you for shampoo tip.

I tend to rinse my hair in cool water and finish off with a cold rinse under the shower when I am feeling brave! Smile

OP posts:
NotSure94 · 01/11/2021 07:24

Its possible you've got a fungal or other infection which might need some medicated shampoo or antibiotics even. I had a skin condition that I thought was eczema for ages but it turned out to be something that needed an antibiotic cream to clear it up. Don't suffer in silence - ask your GP for help x

Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 07:36

Eek. Ok NotSure94 thank you very much for the advice. I do wear a riding hat for a couple of hours a day so maybe that's it?

OP posts:
Travelledtheworld · 01/11/2021 07:38

Is it all over your scalp or just in one place ?

Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 07:39

Glad that your skin condition has been sorted btw.

I didn't realise that it might be something requiring antibiotics. I hope not as they always upset my stomach but , as you and pp say, maybe worth consulting the doc after all.

OP posts:
smilingthroughgrittedteeth · 01/11/2021 07:41

Sounds like psoriasis. I have it all over my head. See ypur gp you might need steroid cream.

Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 07:42

@Travelledtheworld

Is it all over your scalp or just in one place ?
It's all over but certain "patches" are worse than others. This sounds revolting but on day 2, my scalp seems to develop a thick creamy white layer, but there are patches of grittiness within that ifyswim.
OP posts:
Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 07:43

@Woollynumnah

Glad that your skin condition has been sorted btw.

I didn't realise that it might be something requiring antibiotics. I hope not as they always upset my stomach but , as you and pp say, maybe worth consulting the doc after all.

^ This reply was meant for Notsure94 btw!
OP posts:
Piapiano · 01/11/2021 07:47

It could be fungal. Especially if your scalp gets hot and sweaty under a riding hat for a lot of the day. Try Nizoral shampoo and see if that helps. You might also need to wash once a day if you're getting a very sweaty head.

Tempusfudgeit · 01/11/2021 07:53

Definitely sounds like psoriasis. Do you have pitted nails or other dry patches on your body? Not to scare you, but my scalp was so bad I had to shave it to properly get to the skin to treat it. I had massive hair loss anyway so I didn't mind! Hope you get yours sorted 🙂

Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 07:55

Thanks Piapiano and for the shampoo tip.

It would be no problem washing hair daily although I have to be up and out at "horse o'clock" so don't have a lot of time in the mornings. The only thing is that post menopause, my actual hair has been getting dryer and dryer and more brittle and my scalp seems less "ordinarily" greasy, that is, the grease you get when your hair is dirty and needs washing, so that's why I leave it a day if any of that makes sense!

OP posts:
Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 08:03

@Tempusfudgeit

Definitely sounds like psoriasis. Do you have pitted nails or other dry patches on your body? Not to scare you, but my scalp was so bad I had to shave it to properly get to the skin to treat it. I had massive hair loss anyway so I didn't mind! Hope you get yours sorted 🙂
Gosh that sounds tough going Tempusfudgeit (love your NN btw! Grin ).

I'm sorry you have been suffering so badly with it. I have a slightly dry skin patch on one elbow and one bit on a lower leg but they don't itch or flake.

Wierd things have been happening to my nails though. They are healthy and strong and a good colour but they seem to have horizontal bands of thickness or growth. So their surfaces are wavy. Hard to describe. And I've noticed that at every wave point, my knees ache a lot. I didn't think it was connected to scalp issue though.

OP posts:
Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 08:04

Sorry, I sound like a right hypochondriac now Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 08:06

@smilingthroughgrittedteeth

Sounds like psoriasis. I have it all over my head. See ypur gp you might need steroid cream.
Thank you. Will obviously have to see a doctor.
OP posts:
ElizabethinherGermanGarden · 01/11/2021 08:07

The 'grit' - is it brown? I found that I had this from hair dye and it went when I switched dyes. It was driving me mad! Obviously yours may be something different, but it may be worth considering.

Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 08:08

Btw, now I think about it, I have had quite a lot of hair loss. My temples have thinned out and there's noticeable hair on my pillow when I wake up.

OP posts:
Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 08:11

@ElizabethinherGermanGarden

The 'grit' - is it brown? I found that I had this from hair dye and it went when I switched dyes. It was driving me mad! Obviously yours may be something different, but it may be worth considering.
Thanks for the suggestion but no, the gritty cubes are white and literally like grains of salt. I do dye my hair with permanent hair colour so that is obviously something to consider, but I stopped colouring it during lockdown and my scalp was the same, it didn't clear up, so I don't think that's the issue.
OP posts:
Bytheseaseasea · 01/11/2021 08:12

Have you had your iron levels checked?

RampantIvy · 01/11/2021 08:13

I second trying Nizoral. It could be seborrheic dermatitis. DH gets this, and Nizoral clears it up nicely.

Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 08:15

@Bytheseaseasea

Have you had your iron levels checked?
Last time they were checked (about two years ago) they were too high but not high enough to qualify as hemochromatosis.
OP posts:
Original poster
Woollynumnah · 01/11/2021 08:16

@RampantIvy

I second trying Nizoral. It could be seborrheic dermatitis. DH gets this, and Nizoral clears it up nicely.
Thank you, I will give it a go!
OP posts:
Tempusfudgeit · 01/11/2021 08:30

Have a read about arthritic psoriasis to. Definitely try and see a doctor with your symptoms.

wavingwhilstdrowning · 01/11/2021 09:19

@Piapiano

It could be fungal. Especially if your scalp gets hot and sweaty under a riding hat for a lot of the day. Try Nizoral shampoo and see if that helps. You might also need to wash once a day if you're getting a very sweaty head.
I came to recommend this too