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Sorry in advance if this has been covered in depth, but I wasn't able to find anything helpful with the search function.
I honestly don't even know where to start. My biggest problem is that I have eczema on my scalp. It's almost always itchy and flaky. Anti-dandruff shampoos don't work because they usually contain anti-fungals like tea tree oil or pyrithione zinc which don't treat eczema. The only things that seem to help is washing my hair a lot (which causes breakage and extreme frizziness), or soaking my scalp with rosewater using a syringe and wrapping it up for at least a few hours (which actually feels nice, but loses effectiveness after a few days). I really need at least one other option (preferably two), so I can alternate in order to maintain a base level of effectiveness.
My second major problem is that I just don't have any idea what I'm doing when it comes to hair care in general, I'm not even sure what my hair "type" is (except it is curly) or of it even really matters when it comes to keeping it healthy looking and manageable. I spent most of my life walking around with what looked like a bird's nest on my head, until one day I just said fuck it I'm going to do the opposite of what everyone tells me and started getting my products from the black girls section of the shampoo isle and suddenly my hair doubles its growth speed and is half as frizzy. Honestly I can't even tell you what the difference is between products. I switched brands every time I bought a new bottle trying to find something that actually helped but they were all the same until I tried Cantu, and it was the first time I didn't end up pulling out literal HANDFULS of hair while washing so I've stuck with it for the last year.
At this point idk if everyone who gave me advice in the past was trolling me or if I'm just weird. Trolling seems likely because I can't even count the number of times I was told that oils would fry my hair, but that was a lie, oil seems to be my hair's best friend. Honestly, I'm just confused. Any and all advice is welcome. Feel free to rant too. I'll take quizzes, I don't care. I just need answers.
Edit: I've tried everything. Vinegar, beer, the expensive crap, homemade crap, eggs, silk extract, PLACENTA. Honestly there's no logic to it.
Healthy hair starts from the inside out. First get your blood checked/thyroid then make sure you’re eating plenty of firsts and veggies and drinking lots of water. I have curly hair and I do henna glosses twice a month to strengthen my hair. Just last week my scalp was in FIRE and clumps of hair started coming out. This never happens! I oiled my entire scalp with coconut oil (soothes scalp, kills fungus) and the shedding stopped. Castor oil also works well for hair shedding, and green tea rinses. .
I don't have any advice pertaining to the eczema, but I did embark on my own haircare journey a couple of months ago and a couple of really easy things from a LOT of research have helped my hair so much! It's shiny and healthy and awesome now. (Also, my hair is fine and straight so I am not sure if curly hair would be different but I'm pretty sure a couple of these will be good no matter what):
Most importantly: Do not brush your hair when it's wet, and do not go to bed with it wet. Wet hair is very brittle and breaks easily.
Do not wear a pony tail while sleeping. Instead, buy a silk sleeping cap and sleep with that on. Tight pony tails are very bad in general, scrunchies are better, or even better, hair clips or Invisibobbles.
Heat is also bad for hair, so air dry whenever possible. Buy a microfiber hair wrap to keep it up in (you can also use a t-shirt), and then take it out when it's dry enough to not soak your shirt so it air dries.
(May vary for curly hair) Use sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner so that your natural oils don't get stripped away from your hair with the sulfate products. Wash your hair every other day, or wait longer if possible. (I can't because mine gets too greasy... but I shower every day so I just use a shower cap on non-hair-wash days) Argan oil products work well for me but idk if they're as good for curly hair? Not sure, maybe try them out and see they work for you?
Look to see if your area has hard or soft water. If it's hard water, look into getting a showerhead filter to fix that, or if that's not possible, look into doing a "detox shampoo" once a week and a "conditioning mask" afterwards.
If you have split ends, you need to get them cut off, because they will travel up the hair strands. It's good to get a trim every ~3 months max or so anyway as it will keep your hair growing healthily.
If your hair gets knotted/tangled a lot, buy a wooden hairbrush. It is very gentle on hair and gets tangles out very well.
Lastly: Treat your hair like fine silk! Don't let it whip around in the wind. Don't brush it roughly and quickly, be slow and gentle with it.
It sounds like it's expensive and a lot of work but it's really not. I think not brushing while wet and the sleeping cap were the two things that helped me the most. I don't find hair falling out all over my bedsheets anymore so it's all worth it.
i know and completely get how frustrating it is to be dealing with hair even though our hair types aren't the same. like, it's dead strands growing out of our head so why is it so hard to care for????
anyway, first you should definitely figure out what hair type you are. i found https://www.luxyhair.com/blogs/hair-blog/curly-hair-types with a visual chart. do note that there isn't one type of curly hair 😅 and that to be honest, most markets out there care about type 1 to maybe 2b and everyone else basically has to fend for themselves.
second, curly hair needs more maintenance. i'm sorry if you were hoping to have a quick routine right off the bat but that is something you have to do tons of trial and error for until you can get something simplified down pat. the frizz isn't a bad thing; many videos i've watched advocate for leave-in conditioner and caring for your curls.
last, if cantu works then stick with it. if you do wanna know what the difference is between the products you used vs. cantu, look at the ingredients.
hope this helps!
p.s. get a good quality silk cap for when you sleep because it will be your new BFF.
Hey there, my mom gets scalp eczema and swears by this stuff. It’s been her go-to for 30+ years. Hers is caused by an auto-immune disease. I think eczema is pretty common in those with auto-immune issues.
Neutrogena T/Gel Extra Strength Therapeutic Shampoo with 1% Coal Tar, Anti-Dandruff Treatment for Long-Lasting Relief of Itchy, Flaky Scalp due to Psoriasis & Seborrheic Dermatitis, 6 Fl Ounce https://a.co/d/3fbjbQ9
Also consider getting tested for food & environmental allergies. You might want to see a naturopath in addition to your PCP to help find the root cause of the issue and treat that. They can do full DNA testing of stool & saliva + identify nutrient deficiencies. Get as much information as you can about your health and find the root cause.
I’m not a health professional, but have several members of my family who deal with eczema & psoriasis. My kiddo gets it and hers is a mast cell issue, which she takes antihistamine and quercetin to combat, and that’s worked.
Best of luck~
Go see a dermatologist for a prescription shampoo, there are at least two options that I know of to help control flaky scalp.
Hii! I recently started the curly girl method, which works for anyone with wavy to curly hair (see volana's link). You can find multiple sources online, but if you use Facebook, I suggest using this group Curly Girl Method | Facebook or something similar.
I don't have eczema, but I do have dandruff. I'm not sure if it would apply to you, but I LOVE my scalp massager. Get one with longer, thick spikes on the ends, those will work best for thick and/or curlier hair. It will get rid of flakes and promote hair growth by stimulating blood flow to the roots. Hope this helps!
1) For skin problems go to a dermatologist. Their entire job is to help you. 2) I have curly hair and all I have to do is get it wet for it to dry in thick ringlet curls. My “routine” is washing it every day (kristin ess shampoo/condition) and once a week doing a scalp cleanser instead of shampoo (also kristin ess). I do a hydrating treatment if it looks dry. If it’s going to be humid I add a curl cream to just control it a little bit. I used to add oil but it made my hair really brittle so I stopped, I use a foam mixture that’s been discontinued now. My hair looks great and feels light and clean. I shed a lot, but I also have a thick head of hair so it’s pretty normal for me to lose a handful of hair every night. I sleep with a silk bonnet and my pillows are silk, too. It helps with keeping my hair looking beautiful imo.
Hey there! I will simply tell you what worked for me- you can give it a try to see if it might work for you too.
For a little bit of background- I had grown up with extremely frizzy hair with constant dandruff. Whenever I visited a hairdresser, they would always tell me to use a conditioner, leaving me puzzled because that was what I thought hair should naturally be like! lol. So I never asked my mom to get me a conditioner thinking they all just wanted me to buy their products. (I never had eczema, though)
Fast forward to college, when I stopped using all shampoos (even the mild, paraben sulfate free ones) on the advice of an aunt's friend. Instead, I began to use fenugreek paste. I know you said you tried homemade crap and it didn't work, but this particular concoction worked for me and other homemade stuff did not. (soaked fenugreek seeds overnight and blended them in the morning).
I did this for around an year- NO shampoo AT ALL (I was able to be consistent because I enjoy this shit lol) before I started to notice the frizz disappear. So yeah, that's my tip. I have been using fenugreek paste as a shampoo ever since then - it's been five years now and I have no frizz. I never use any shampoo or conditioner- I don't need to. My hair is soft, moisturized and squeaky clean. (I use oils though) My friends and family were amazed and I get compliments often hehe. Dandruff still comes mildly when I go without a wash for more than a week.
I also agree strongly with the comments above. Hard/soft water matters- I had ridiculous hairfall when I briefly moved to a place that had hard water. I had to use filtered water to save it. Plus, diet and being gentle with hair is important in my experience.
Oils work wonderfully for me- I use extra virgin coconut oil, which is the only one that suited me personally. All others would itch and cause dandruff.
I would like to recommend a book- 'Clean- the New Science of Skin' by James Hamblin. Although you need not follow his exact advice- the science was pretty insightful and I took away a fair amount of knowledge from it.
The bottom line is, listen to your body, it will tell you what works. Everyone is different. Also, drastic results may take a bit of time- be patient (if the remedy isn't obviously setting your scalp on fire)
Good luck!
I'm not sure if you can buy this outside of Australia, but there is this great shampoo and conditioner here that is designed for people with eczema/dry scalps. It's called QV Nourishing shampoo & conditioner. It's free of fragrance / dyes / harsh surfactants / other irritants that aggravate eczema and is very good at moisturising the scalp. It's also fantastic for the hair- I use it mainly for its detangling, smoothing, anti-frizz & shine benefits, although I do have eczema too (not on my scalp). I would definitely recommend you try to get a hold of it if you can! If you can't, could you see a dermatologist and see if they can recommend or prescribe products for scalp eczema? Most standard hair care products will only make eczema worse because of the irritants they contain.
Have you considered that it could be scalp psoriasis? I have some flakiness on my scalp (it's mostly at the back and down to my neck), I didn't have any major skin irritation until this showed up in my 20s, and I've been trying to figure out how to deal with it since.
I thought it was eczema at first, but when I saw pictures of scalp psoriasis, I was like "that looks exactly like what I've got!"
Not that comparing to pictures makes an exact diagnosis or anything. But it's all I've got to work with for now. 😆
Wish I had some kind of cure to share, but I just have some stuff that helps it be more manageable. At this point, I can still feel a patch of skin back there that's a different texture from the rest, but it's not so flaky anymore. But the flakiness can come back, it's done that a few times over the years, just when I thought I got a handle on it.
Like you, I've tried so many things. I put an egg in my hair, too (if that's what you meant by "eggs")! It was messy and it didn't help me either. 🤣
Checkout Dr Vanita Rattan on YouTube. She might have some tips for your situation. I will look for relevant videos and try to post them here later on when I find them.
https://youtu.be/xj3EZjVuz80
https://youtu.be/ljimpMDnZmc
https://youtu.be/1Ze5a160cII
See a dermatologist. You may need medication to help. Also if you have hard water, perhaps look into getting a water softener or a shower head with a filter.
Eczema is an allergy to something you are eating. I recommend an anti-Inflammatory diet to start. Also I highly recommend you use Aveeda hair products. Vegan with no animal cruelty and very soothing to the scalp and great for the hair especially for people with sensitivities.