really, really itchy scalp - help!

[kitkat9]

can anyone recommend a shampoo and conditioner or other treatment i can use for my scalp? It's soooooooooo itchy, and becoming quite painful (prob because i'm scratching at it all the feckin time)

I wash my hair every other day and usually use a conditioner. Am womdering whether to ditch the shampoo?

i think it's a form of dermatitis, it sometime kind of scabs over. I get patches of ecxema elsewhere too

it's worse when i'm tired/stressed

honestly, i'm losing out on sleep because of it, the itch is keeping me up at night!

Your gp should be able to give you something on prescription??

My ds (7) had this and using aqueous cream to wash his hair worked. As this left his hair limp, I use Oilatum shampoo and thisworks brilliantly- leaves hair glossy and stops the itching.

Good luck.

My dd used to get psoriasis (sp?) on her scalp, it sounds similar. We were given a variety of different shampoos/creams etc over a period of time from the doctor none worked and some would sting a lot. In the end I bought some snake oil from Lush and it worked a treat. No stinging, natural and not particularly expensive. My dd had open wounds on her scalp and honestly it solved it almost immediately.

I sometimes get an itchy scalp and it stops it straight away.

Btw I don't work for Lush.

sugartits - think i've had the snake oil before - it's in a bar, isn't it? so do you rub it on and leave overnight, then wash off in the morning?

i know the gp will give me something - have had various coal tar shampoos etc from them before but i hate the way they leave my hair feeling...it's in quite good condition and i don't have any visible dandruff etc. i hate washing it without using a conditioner but am willing to try anything now

i used a cheap superdrug shmpoo and condiitoner that seems to be working. its the tea tree and peppermint one. only 96p a bottle (apologies for typos bouncing a 7 month old on my knee)

I have psoriasis on my scalp. lately my usual dovonex and betnovate were not halping and was very very itchy. So I tried nizoral shampoo (can get it off the shelf in boots). It has really helped so I think I must have had a fungal component to it.
Might be worth a try?

this really worksand it is nott too £££

I have eczema and used to get this. Discovered I am allergic to SLS, which is an ingredient commonly used in most shampoos. Mostly buy shampoo and body wash from Green People now but you can get coal tar shampoos on prescription.

Another lush product that works

Smells bloody awful but does work. I too can't use most drugstore shampoos because of SLS. Makes my scalp freak right out - the cheaper the shampoo usually the more SLS, too, SLS is what makes it foamy.

Another vote for Oilatum. I get this quite a lot - I think it's some kind of stress related psoriasis - although I've never seen a doctor about it. I used to use T Gel, which smelt of Coal Tar but it left my hair really dry and fruzzy feeling, so I now use Oilatum which smells like lychees and seems to work well. I use it every other wash (so every four days) and it keeps things under control.

HTH

ok, thanks for all your suggestions

went to lush and got the snake oil stuff, then boots for the oilatum shampoo. am feeling hopeful....

think it's the sls that's causing the irritation - the only other place i get the ecxema is on the palms on my hands. will try the green people website for some sls-free stuff

thanks again

How do those Lush things work then?

I have been using a combination of Nizoral and that Boots Expert soothing lotion on mine. It's been much better but is sore this week; I think stress makes it worse although I have no real proof for this, just a gut feeling.

faith in nature is inexpensive but has no sls/parabens, they have lots of different shampoos. I usually get mine from the health food shop.

I've used the snake oil before, you're supposed to rub it and it kind of melts in your hand. I found it worked better if I microwaved a chunk of it and then rubbed it into my scalp.

Some of lush shampoo's still contain SLS - like Soak and Float - so maybe not so natural!