No Poo (BS folllowed by diluted ACV rinse) is giving me a terribly itchy scalp!

[quietserena]

Help ladies! =

I started no poo about a month back and am loving it except for one thing. I've got terribly terribly itchy scalp.

My original routine was about a T of BS in a cup of water, pour over head, rub a bit, rinse off, pour a bit of vinegar / water mixture (same proportions as above) over the ends. That gave me horribly itchy head after a few weeks of doing it that way.

Did a bit of research, found out that scalps don't like to be left alkaline and can get itchy because of that, so I started to pour the vinegar water over my whole head after using the baking soda, and rinsing well, and it took care of the itch.

But the last few days, that hasn't worked. it is getting to be intolerable! What can I do?

[quietserena]

Update:
I think I've been overshooting the vinegar, more like 1oz than 1T so my scalp has probably been more acidic than needed. I really gotta start measuring!

So it's gotten better. I figure I'd tell just in case someone else had the same problem.

[cmhermes]

Thanks for sharing bc I recently gave up no poo because of the scalp problems. I will try to use less vinegar. I can't deal with an itchy sore scalp!

[kavamamakava]

You might also try treating your scalp with a nice olive oil treatment. Maybe it needs a little moisturizing right now.

[quietserena]

I can't abide by itchy sore scalp myself! But things seem to be aok as of right now.

I thought about moisturizing but yknow, no poo is leaving all this sebum in my hair and I think that adding another oil would just be... too much. I think I'm still in the adjustment period though so it might change as time goes on.

I thought about using shampoo but even if I had to, I have no idea what it would do to my hair and scalp right now and it seemed like a wrong thing to add to the itch.

[quietserena]

..
sorry, accidental double post!

[quietserena]

Going easy on vinegar is a no go, my scalp is still itchy. Treating with EOs doesn't appeal to me because I'm sensitive to scents, even natural ones.

So today I'm gonna go by the HFS and see if I cant get some soapwort and try that.

This is very discouraging! I'm willing to put up with a lot but an itchy sore scalp just makes me unhappy...

[ASusan]

I'm following your thread because I gave up no-pooing for the same reason - itchy, flaky (not necessarily sore, though) scalp. I did BS & ACV for a couple of years. I'll still do a ACV rinse about half the time, but I'm back to shampoo and conditioner because I needed a good SCRUB. The lather lifts my hair so I can get the scrub in. I'm going to a pixie cut in a little while (I think), so hopefully I can get back to total no-poo.

The shampoo & conditioner I use are both free of "-cone"s, so I think they don't leave stuff behind.

[quietserena]

I did CO for the longest time and it works well for me but I hate the process of selecting a conditioner to fit my specs (no cones, no quats/polyquats, parabens, etc etc..) is so very stressful. Because, of course, once I find a conditioner where I dont have to compromise a lot, my head doesn't like it... Not to mention that I'm sensitive to scents and it is hard to find unscented conditioner out there.

No poo with BS and ACV seemed ideal but it seems to be another one of those 'in practice vs. in theory' things. I so don't want it to be!

Right now I'm craving something with menthol type 'burn the itch off' ingredient. I briefly considered getting a bottle of H&S with menthol! Very briefly. That brand is the epitome of what is wrong with the shampoo market.

So, I'll try soapwort if I find it. If not, I'll just make a strong mint/rosemary tea and use that and try WO for a while. Hey at least I have a plan!

[kavamamakava]

i don't think olive oil will make your hair/scalp more oily. it doesn't make my face more oily, at least.

[ASusan]

I'm currently using Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle shampoo and conditioner. The scent is minty-TTO and I think it helps with the itchies. It doesn't have cones or laurel-whatevers.

You can tell me if it has other bad stuff.

It's about $4 a bottle.

[quietserena]

Originally Posted by kavamamakava

i don't think olive oil will make your hair/scalp more oily. it doesn't make my face more oily, at least.

I think you are right there! I kinda forgot about the whole OCM business but in light of that, an olive oil soak would definitely work. I'm nervous about using it because I'm not sure how it would wash out and just how slippery my shower would get. I'm 37 weeks pregnant, washing the tub is really hard right now. I'm gonna think about a way to do it in the sink but bending over for that long doesnt sound good.

However, olive oil sounds like it would help everything. Maybe if I just get it on the tips of my fingers and rub into the scalp instead of soaking my whole head...

I read a few old threads and it sounds like I might have oily dandruff. Dirty hair smell, stuff stuck to my scalp, itch along hairline worse than anywhere else. So, the prescription there was to soak the head in full or half strength ACV and rinse well and keep up for two weeks. Well, at this point, I don't have much to lose (aside the itch!) so, as soon as I got the little one to go to sleep, I'm gonna let the big one watch something while I jump in the shower (where she will probably join me...)

I looked in the HFS and they didn't have any soapwort or soapnuts or any other cleansing herbs. Too bad but at least I know my options now!

Yknow, this whole itch thing could be just from being this pregnant...

[quietserena]

Originally Posted by ASusan

I'm currently using Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle shampoo and conditioner. The scent is minty-TTO and I think it helps with the itchies. It doesn't have cones or laurel-whatevers.

You can tell me if it has other bad stuff.

It's about $4 a bottle.

I don't have a TJ nearby (so sad, really) but i have used the JASON TTO one before when itching hit me during travel. And it worked fairly well iirc. Something like that will have to be my last resort I think, in this no poo experiment.

In a different thread there was mention of applying EOs to dry scalp, massaging and then doing no poo. I'm wondering if I got some of that aloe vera gel that already has TTO in it, if that would work. So many options!

[quietserena]

Success with half strength ACV! I just wet my hair (I guess I could have skipped this too) and poured half acv half water over, rubbed my scalp but not too much. Left on while I took care of rest of showering and rinsed as well as I could and scalp hasn't been itchy since. So, at least for me, if nothing else, this can be a 'rescue from itch' sort of a thing. Will report on whether this is viable long term.

It makes me wonder what started the red scalp in the first place (sweat? we are in the middle of a heat wave of sorts...) and maybe BS was irritating that and ACV is soothing it..

No idea but this gives me hope!

[Akua Wood]

I tend not to mix the 2 in a treatment.
I clarify with a tiny amount of BS.

[talay]

To me it sounds like a case of using BS too often. Admittedly my hair is longish and thick and wavy and thus on the dry side, but even still I only use BS about once every 10 days. I started doing it once a week and found that to be plenty, and over time (it's been 4+ months) I've found that I can do it even less often, due to the whole effect of my scalp's sebum rebooting or whatever. I don't even measure the BS- I just pour out a small amount in my hand (maybe one teaspoon?) and then add enough water to make some paste, and then add to my head. I concentrate on the back third of my head- about the area a yarmulke would cover. And I agitate/massage in with my fingers for about one min.

The very front of your head can def. get flaky and itchy- it doesn't need as much washing.

As for the ACV, I do that about 3 times weekly. I use a water bottle sized amount, filling it 1/3 ACV, 2/3 water. We did, however, go camping this past week (no swimming), and I think I haven't done anything to my hair at all in well over a week. I wouldn't wear it down right now, but a nice ponytail totally hides it. [shrug]

I've also heard of adding a few drops of tea tree oil to the BS mix.

I *love* no-pooing, it's SO easy, my hair is so much less frizzy, and it's so cheap.

[quietserena]

I must have been using BS too often, because wooo things have totally resolved!

No more irritated sore scalp and no more itching. For about a week I washed every other day with half strength vinegar and that took care of the irritation and now I'm just gonna go easy on my scalp.

Well, I say that but I'm about to have this baby so who knows how things will go! I am so happy that I got no poo to work for me though.