Teenage son's hair full of white bits, but not nits or dandruff

[BoobsOnTheMoon]

15 yr old, ASD, almost certainly doesn't wash his hair very well 😬

They're definitely not nits (trust me on this, I've dealt with a lot of nits!) and I don't think dandruff as they're more like tiny round white lumps that don't fall out, and squash easily if I manage to get hold of one. His actual scalp doesn't seem to be flaky though he won't let me look very well, and it isn't itchy either.

I noticed this first a few weeks ago and switched his shampoo to a Head & Shoulders one (a deeply controversial move, apparently, despite being a similar colour and scent to the one he used before) but it's just got worse since.

Is there a different shampoo I can get him to sort this out?

Does he use hair wax / putty? Because it's greasy it doesn't wash out well without lots of shampoo or hot water.

Could it be product build up maybe he is not rinsing out enough after shampooing and leaving some behind.

Nooooo he doesn't use any styling products at all. He is very resistant to any sort of lotions and potions. Will only use one brand of shampoo willingly, I can't get him to use face wash etc which is a whole other story as his skin could really do with it 😣

Is he not washing the shampoo out properly?

What's the skin like on his scalp, is it grease coming from pores?

Possibly. I always call through the door with a reminder to rinse properly but that doesn't mean it actually happens...

The white bits seems to be stuck to individual hairs like nits would be, but I am 100% confident that they aren't nits.

I think this is the most likely explanation, and I was hoping the H&S shampoo would help but if anything it's made it worse!

I know he older but my 5 year old has cradle cap flakes stuck to her hair often. They’re a nightmare to remove

DS14 had this over the summer, the pharmacist suggested using Nizoral shampoo, which has cleared whatever it was up completely.

Sebhorric dermatitis.

Nizarol.

Would he go to a pharmacy and ask for advice, with or without you?

My ds started with this when he was about 14, GP diagnosed eczema on his scalp. He's been using Moo Goo shampoo and conditioner ever since, its made with Goats milk, cleared the problem up almost immediately.

Absolutely no way. He maintains that it doesn't matter because he never looks at his own hair anyway so who cares if there's white bits in it!

Oh good shout thanks!

I've ordered Nizoral, and a mint/rosemary clarifying shampoo (which apparently smells like mint Aero so will probably be well received!).

@BoobsOnTheMoon I had this, or it sounds like this, it was like cradle cap, not itchy but looked dreadful. I used T-Gel and now Head and Shoulders and normal shampoo time about.
I also put Vaseline on my scalp in the evening if I wasn't going out and it softened the skin on scalp for removal. Worth a try.

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It might be worth a trip to the GP. I have similar and Nizoral didn't help. The doc diagnosed a fungal infection and I'm taking a fungicide in pill form which seems to be slowly clearing it.

Came to say nizoral! Worked in one wash for me

One time I used head and shoulders for the first time and it made bits of my scalp come off - It was really bad, and I didn’t use it again after that. I didn’t use it again after that.

I think head and shoulders is a clarifying shampoo so maybe on reflection it was stripping back everything and really cleaning my head.