Seeking Advice from Anyone Who Has Knowledge About Hair and Scalp Problems

I took my 13 year old son to see the dermatoligist for the same problems. Which he gave a perscription for a cream and a shampoo. After speaking with the pharmacy technician(who said her son had the same problem, told me to try this) Use a dandrif shampoo, But once a week rinse the hair with standard Listerine. The anticeptic in the listerine loosens and the cradle cap. and the shampoo keeps the hair clean. Needless to say I haven't filled his perscription. This worked wonders. By the way, my son has hair almost to the middle of his back. All I did is rinse it once a week. I leave it on for about 2 minutes massaging his scalp then he rinses and shampoos. He now does it himself.

Good Luck,

Hi,
I am a consultant with The Body Shop at Home. Here is my website: www.thebodyshopathome.com/web/cflesher. I have used the Nettle Oil Balance shampoo and conditioner with good results.
Thanks,
Cynthia

Hi C.,

I remember as a child I had the same condition.
My Parents used a sulfate base shampoo with a head brush.
Stimulating the scalp and loosening the cradle cap.
Alot of this was brought on my the changing of hormones.
Try a watered down vinegar rinse.
Good luck. Wash brushes and combs.

I've had the same problem - since I was about 9 too.
Tried every shampoo in the book when I was little. Oily hair with dandruff - I had rashes behind my ears and on either side of my nose too. I don;t know much about the oily hair - I just used to have to wash every other day - lemon juice rinse made it nice and shiny. The oily-ness may be related to the scalp problem.
For the dandruff what works for me now is Nizoral, an over-the-counter shampoo containing ketoconozale an antifungal or yeast treatment. It smells and looks like head and shoulders. There is a prescription shampoo with ketoconazale which you can get through a dermatologist which is 2% rather than 1%. I like it better cause it works more quickly and is pink, seems less harsh on my hair and not so head and shoulder-y. Basically was explained to me as a problem with quantity of naturally occurring organisms in skin. I have allergies too so allergy to the organisms or dust mites may have played a role. It always was better in the summer when we spent all our time at the pool.
I use the Nizoral when it is bothering me and normal shampoo when isn't.
Wish it was around when I was little cause it was insane.

I don't know the brand, Jasons, but an excellent treatment is T-Gel by Neutragena. However, it is extremely drying to the hair and scalp and can't make the body produce excessive sebum. There is also a fabulous line for scalp issues by Dr. Hausckra, that is based on homeopathic medicine. Dr. Hauschra also has an essential oil for scalp massage that could help reduce the itchiness. Nioxin also makes a scalp treatment (shampoo and then a scalp conditioning treatment) that does wonders for dry scalp and psoriasis.

Does your daughter have crusty areas that are difficult to remove from her scalp? Does her hair break in these areas? Is the hair texture different at the sites, such as thinner or frizzier? It might even make the hair appear to look gray. She may have psoriasis. Be extremely careful when removing the crusty scabs, as this will leave her scalp ultra-sensitive, and could even bleed a little. Prior to washing her hair, try using a little olive oil or almond oil in the area to soften it up, then remove by massaging or lightly moving a comb flat against the scalp in an easy motion (no digging or scrapping). Test for an allergy with almond oil, because this could make the situation worse. It seems crazy to add oil to oily hair, but if you try to remove scalp crusties without softening, you'll damage the skin and encourage infection.

She may grow out of this once she hits puberty, or it might be chronic. Ask her pediatrician or dermatologist for advice if it doesn't improve with the over-the-counter remedies.

Are they getting any sun on their heads? The sun is actually quite healing when we get over our societal programming. I used to use spf 30 or greater and I always had a sunburn. Then I learned energy healing and I decided to stop using chemicals on my body. Now when I go out in the sun I can be out most of the day and never get burned. I attribute this to releasing my fear of the sun, and partly to not having harmful chemicals on my skin.

Have you tried any alternative energetic healing methods? Go down to the Open Secret bookstore central San Rafael (on 3rd if I remember right) and ask them about practitioners in your area. You will be drawn to what feels right. These are wonderful people and will give you the absolute best advice possible.

You can also look up http://www.quantumtouch.com and http://www.emofree.com
to learn some techniques for yourself, or call me to facilitate long distance if you feel comfortable with that.
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Love, L. in Sacramento

I am a hairdresser and also have an 8 yo son. It is best to use a shampoo with Tea Tree oil in it, it serves a multitude of things. #1 Lice which is running rampid in central Marin right now, yuck...next it will keep the itchies away, drandruff shampoo just promotes itching especially if it isnt dandruff but cradle cap type buildup. Washing her hair every two to three days should work great with the Tea Tree Shampoo. Good luck it might take a few weeks to correct. L.

Hi C.! My name is A. and I am a hairstylist. The unwritten rule about oily hair is to not wash everyday. What happens is the scalp overcompensates for all the oil thats being stripped out by producing more oil. Its really hard to not wash everyday, believe me I know! If your daughter has thick hair and it doesnt dry all the way before putting it in a pony tail, it could get a kind of mold on the scalp. I know it sounds gross but it happens alot with young girls. Also if she washes at night and sleeps on it wet it may not be drying enough. I hope this helps... it could also something a dermatoligst should look at. Maybe she needs a perscription shampoo. Good luck!! A.

Arbonne Intelligence Tea Tree Oil Shampoo and Self-Adjusting Conditioner is Awesome!! I have foil samples if you would like to try them, just email me at ____@____.com if you would like me to send a few to you. I swear by it, especially for patchy dry scalp!

Maybe ask your beautian. I also had this problem and now I no longer have flaky itchy scalp or oily hair. I started using salon products (sexy healthy hair, it is organic, made with soy) about a year ago, and while a little more expensive, is worked wonders for my hair, I no longer keep it short,(which seemed the only way to control the oily problem) I am growing it out and love it!
Hope this helps!
L.

Greetings.
You need to find a Trichologist. I used to have this same scalp condition and finally went to a Trichologist who created a salve and some shampoo to heal the scalp. They are far more effective then going to a Dermologist.
Sincerely,
M. W

Unfortunately I have a scalp issue that I've been dealing with since I was about 13 years old. I get scaly patches of like a oily skin buildup. When I turned 18 I finally had a dermatologist check it out and was told it was seboreac dermatitis (bad spelling). I tried many different shampoos, but the one I still use is head and shoulders. They have a formula specifically for this condition and it comes in a dark blue bottle. Now I don't have oily hair, but my mother does, and she's got the same condition and uses the same shampoo and it seems to work for her. I know it's kinda odd, but what I do is scrub my scalp with the head and shoulders, and then use a different shampoo to wash the rest of my hair. I don't know if this will help you or even if this is the condition you're dealing with, but it doesn't hurt to try the shampoo. Good luck.

I would try a less harsh shampoo(maybe even one without Sodium Laurel Sulfates, Trader Joes has one) -- the scalp will probably adjust. Also, you might want to look into some Omega 3 supplements for her. Does she eat a healthy diet?

Olive oil works wonders on cradle cap. Rub some olive oil into her scalp. Let it sit about a 1/2 hour. Letting it sit on her scalp overnight would be best, so I would recommend doing this on the weekend. Then comb through with a fine tooth comb. Then shampoo. It will probably take two shampoos to get the oil out. You may have to repeat the process one or two more times, but it works wonders! My granddaughter had cradle cap so badly on her scalp that it cover most of her forehead. We tried all of the store products for cradle cap and tried baby oil. None of them worked. I tried olive oil and we had to treat 2, maybe 3, times to completely get rid of it all, but it has never come back.

Good luck,

J.

Hi C.!
My son has the same problem. He used Neutrogena's T/Gel in the past once a week for a month. Yes it stinks but it didn't help too much as it did for my daughter. (and both my daughter's and son's hair was about the same length) We went back to using Johnson's Baby Shampoo, not the imitation because we tried that too, and it works! My son used to get greasy hair with a lot of dandruff but now he doesn't have dandruff nor greasy hair.
I hope this helps!

I have psoriasis on my scalp that intensifies with stress. I would take her to the dermatologist and find out for sure.

I manage a medical spa in Redding, CA and also produce my own line of essential oil personal and pet care products. I make a lovely, all natural shampoo and conditioner and do custom therapeutic blends. I would recommend my Rash Relief blend for your daughter ... we've had excellent results in treating conditions ranging from insect bites and hives to eczema and psoriasis. I'd be happy to send you a 2 oz sample bottle for $6 (to cover shipping). If you like it an 8-oz bottle runs $6 (plus shipping) and a 16 oz bottle runs $10 (plus shipping). The conditioner is a bit more, at $9 and $16 respectively. The product is very concentrated, so it doesn't take much! Please let me know if you are interested and I'll ship some same day. V. Taylor

There's a company that sells shampoo on-line that only has a total of 6 ingredients in it all of which you recognize and can pronounce. It's called "My Beautiful Soap" just put a .com at the end and try ordering some and see if that'll help. There are no chemicals in it and it's very effective. She could simply be allergic to those chemicals.
TT

I had the same problem when I hit puberty. It takes a few years to go away. You can try something like Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo or some of their other products that are similar. You can also take her to the dermatologist for some more expensive prescription items.

My son and my husband had the same problem. We bought some MSM Shampoo from the herb store, and it has worked wonderfully! The dry itchy scalp went away, along with the cradle cap scalp.
The reason why MSM Shampoo has helped is because it has sulfur in it. Sulfur has often been called the mineral for skin and hair because it is such a major constituent of them. Now MSM Shampoo has been specially formulated to offer the benefits of this amazing mineral for healthy scalp and hair.

If you do not have an herb store nearby, here is a website that sells it:
http://www.a1nutrition.com/buy-ultra_aesthetics-msm_shampoo/

M. *~

Try a product called SebaMed. You can find it on the internet. It changes the Ph of the skin back to 5.5 (neutral Ph) Also you can use baby powder in her hair on the off days to reduce the greasyness.

This may sound odd to you, but put some baby powder in your hands and rub it on the scalp of her hair. If you can see the powder, use a blow dryer to get the extra off. I do this when I do not have time to wash my hair every day and it works.

C.,
Does she shower and have thick hair? Both my daughters have had this problem due to the thickness. Once they
started rinsing longer in the shower, it went away. We also
used shampoos and conditioners by herbal essences. It seems to rinse out the best. I wonder if the dandruff shampoo is drying out her hair and scalp, thus making the
hair oilier. Have you asked a hair dresser in a salon an
opinion? Or what about her pediatrician? My husband uses
neutrogena t-gel for psoriasis shampoo. He refuses to rinse long enough no matter what I say. Anyway, I wish you luck, and keep us posted with what works.
W.

Essential oils of tea tree and rosemary are great for all of the scalp issues you mentioned. Body Time carries a plain, unscented shampoo, and adding a few drops of the oils works well. They can even do it for you if you like.

Good luck!

Hi C.

You can probably get excellent advise from a hairdresser. Also, does she wash her own hair? If so she may not be rinsing well which will cause dandruff like scaling.

Everyone in our family washes their hair everyday and has for years and years. Our granddaughter's is washed every other day unless it gets particularly dirty and sweaty--our 3 yr old grandson's is washed every night when he is bathed. I even deplore that my granddaughter's hair is not washed every day because to keep her cute hairdo requires washing and drying... you can tell I'm a grandmother!

C. K

This sounds like a problem that proper nutrition would help. PLease call me if you want to talk about it, A. ###-###-####.