Hair help please!!

[mum2seb]

I have just past shoulder length hair, which I wash every day. If I don't it gets greasy, but I have to be careful exactly what I wash it with - my scalp goes MAD!! Itchy, flaky - dandruff, I suspect. I use Head and Shoulders when it gets like this, but I don't like to use it for long - it makes the ends of my hair dry.
I seem to have got into this vicious circle - I need to wash my hair every day to stop it looking greasy, but washing it every day is probably what's causing my scalp to go a bit mental!
Does anyone have any ideas as to what I should do/ products I could use? I can't afford to use expensive products, so Phillip Kingsley et al are out, I'm afraid (as much as I'd LOVE to use that sort of product!!!).
Ideally I would like to stop washing my hair every day, but I don't want to look a greasy mess!

HELP!!

Try T-Gel. Its gentler than Head and Shoulders. If you wash your hair daily, regularly, then it will look greasy when not washed. You have to start washing every other day and for a while it'll look bad, but then should perk up. Try dry shampoo for the greasy roots. Also, perhaps you could see a Trichologist who can assess your hair needs. Also, you could have your hair 'set' at a hairdressers and see how long it lasts for. I also find, that the darker the hair, the less greasy it looks.

Nizoral shampoo? A lot of dandruff related to sebhoreic - oh okay I can't spell - dermatitis. Scalp seems flakey but is actually greasy/yeasty. Head and Shoulders is quite harsh whereas with Nizoral you only use once a week after the first few times and a regular shampoo on other days. Worth a try anyway.

I have been using Nizorelle, combined with Boots Expert scalp lotion and my scalp is much better than it was with T-gel.

I saw today that there is one called Nizoral (which I assume is the one that Bellissima mentions) that looks 'stronger' than Nizorelle and is used less. I'm going to try that next.

I don't have any dandruff - just the awful scalp. Oh and with T-gel I needed conditioner, which made my scalp worse, but with Nizorelle I haven't been using any conditioner and it's fine.

i dont like T gel personally it made my hair really dry like the Polytar stuff. The best shampoo i have ever used for itchy flaky scalp which i do get if i dont use it all the time is Elvive INTENSE Anti dandruff i put the intense in capitals because its not just the normal anti dandruff shampoo. I buy mine from Boots as our local Tesco have stopped selling it. It really works

I have the same problem and I find the best thing for it is oilatum scalp treatment shampoo. It is expensive tho (about £12 a bottle) so I usually use vosene or head and shoulders and use the oliatum once a week.

Looks like it's a case of trial and error, really! Thanks Ladies for your help. I'm willing to try anything - I've had enough! I have the added bonus/ drawback of a husband who works in the shampoo formulation business (sounds like an advantage, but let me continue!!), who poo-poos everything , and blinds me with science!!Ah well!!

mum2seb, what does your husband suggest?

You probably already do this, but make sureyou only apply conditioner to the ends, to stop the roots getting greasy.

I would use a sodium lauryl sulfate free shampoo

SLS is in most high street shampoos/soaps/shower gels etc. Just have to read the ingredients, but a start is to head for the organic aisle, but still read the ingredients.

SLS is extremely drying and it may take a while for you hair to stop over producing grease trying to compensate - but worth a try?

Furball - I tried the Boots Naked range and it made my scalp worse.

I have been using sls free stuff, and it seems to have made my greasy hair worse! Dh suggests using shampoos that don't have any silicone in them - apparently they coat the hair, and he thinks that might be causing it - so I'm giving Lush shampoo bars a whirl - we'll have to see! It's what he uses, and is NOTHING to do with the company he works for (therefore I suppose he's being a naughty boy not using his own stuff!!). I await with baited breath - but I suppose it's going to take a couple of weeks to show whether it's made a difference!