No Poo-Dandruff Issues

[bsaros84]

I've been no 'pooing since August. I've had some ups and downs...but never a full on greasy stage. Lately I've had some dandruff issues, so I added brown sugar to my BS and rinsed my hair with 1/2 cup white vinegar mixed with a 1/2 cup of water before using the BS and brown sugar. Afterwards, I would spray with ACV as usual. 

This worked fine for a couple of weeks but lately, I've been having issues with an itchy scalp and painful bumps around my hair line. The last time I did it, I put my hair up in twists for the day. When I took them out, I had dandruff so bad I could SEE it!!! Of course this would happen right before I get together with family for the holidays. I freaked out and washed my hair with Head and Shoulders.

Since I did that, it's not as bad, but I don't know if I'm ready to give up on the no 'poo altogether. I like how inexpensive it is and I can't bear the thought of paying an arm and a leg for a natural shampoo. Any suggestions on what I can do to get rid of the dandruff?

My normal hair recipe: I use 1 tbsp of BS in 1 cup of water. When I added the brown sugar, I added 1 tbsp with the BS in the water. I use a spray bottle of ACV and water. 

Also, I just checked our water softener and discovered it's about empty. Could this be a contributing factor to my problem? 

[bsaros84]

Hmmm, no one answered, but I think I figured it out. I added some tea tree oil to my ACV rinse and it seems to have helped. I plan on trying my BS scrub again in a few days...

[Kohava]

How much tea tree oil did you add?  And what's the brown sugar for?  I use soap nuts, which works great for my girls, but I'm having issues.  My hair looks great, but feels greasy.  And I have intermittent dandruff.

[bsaros84]

The brown sugar is supposed to help get rid of the flakes. It worked fine the first couple of times I used it, but then suddenly I had a really bad bout of dandruff right after using the baking soda and the brown sugar. I think it had more to do with my scalp being super dry, because the tea tree oil has really helped a lot.

I added several drops of tea tree oil to my ACV rinse. I probably could have used a little less, though. My scalp hasn't been itchy at all since I've been using it. 

[makalani]

I just started no poo and came on looking for answers for the new dandruff I have! BUMMER!! I guess I was more prepared for dealing with grease so the flakes surprised me. Seems like it must be normal since I found this post. My question bsaros84 is do you spray the acv and tea tree oil mixture on your scalp where the flakes are? Curious because the no poo article that I use as my guide said to inly put avc on the ends of my hair. Am I making a mistake by only doing my ends? Should I be acv and ttoing my scalp too? Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Kohava]

Sucesss - no more dandruff!!  I started with a raw egg yolk, and applied that to the areas where I had the flakes.  Left it on for ten minutes.   Shampoo with soap nut solution (boiled soap nuts and water), rinse with water, one cup of water with 3 tbsp of lemon juice and 4 drops of tea tree oil (thank you bsaros84), rinse with water.  Perfect hair, no grease and no flakes. :)

I am done with ACV - it caused too much grease, and is just not my thing.  And the switch from the drying baking soda to the acv I think made my scalp react badly.  I hope what I've found continues to work for me.

[makalani]

Sweet!!!!! This sounds great Kohava! Thanks 4 sharing!!!