Need advice on my DD's crazy dandruff

[Monkey pants]

My 13 year old DD has what is almost like cradle cap. Seriously thick scaly dandruf thats itchy. She uses Paul Mitchel Tea Trea shampoo which makes her head feel better and tingliy but the problem does not go away. She will also do a vinegar rinse about once a week which helps but her head is still super flaky and gross.

I did by some Neutrogena Tgel but she broke out in CRAZY HIVES all down her back. It was frightning!

Her hair is also very very thick which makes me think she is possibly not rinsing well and I tell her to scrub  and rinse rinse rinse. her showers are epic.

So what is a good solution? Olive Oil on her scalp? HELP!!

Thank You.

[tracyamber]

hi..

i have used coconut oil too for dandruff.maybe you could try that. too bad about the t-gel. it helped me when i was younger.

[larablue]

We had a similar problem with my son. Everything natural we tried did not help.

We got rid of it by using a cheap anti dandruff shampoo for about two weeks. We now only use it occasionally.

[honeybee80]

I have similar problems with my own scalp and have tried pretty much everything under the sun.  I've been using nasty chemical-laden shampoo for the past few months and it seemed to be working for a little while, but isn't anymore (so goodbye to that--I didn't really want to use it anyway!)  My new plan of attack:  oil treatments.  I'm gonna warm up some coconut oil and put a few drops of both tea tree and rosemary oil in it and then wrap my head in plastic wrap.  Have you looked into food allergies with your DD?  I know that a lot of skin issues are caused by diet (I've tried eliminating most of the normal culprits from my diet and it hasn't yet worked for me, but if you haven't tried this route yet, it could end up being an easy fix!  Dairy and gluten tend to cause most issues, from what I've heard...)  Hoping someone comes on here with some great advice for both of us ;)

[Monkey pants]

Thanks. Well the rest of her skin is clear and lovely. Just flaky gross scalp. So if she has a food allergy wouldn't the rest of her skin have issues as well? Let me know how the coconut oil goes. I just want to pick at her head but she won't let me near it.

[Escaping]

Dandruff is caused by fungus, oil of oregano is a really strong anti fungal. I'm not sure how you would do it because the stuff is way too expensive to wash hair in, but maybe try to find a product with that in it?

[honeybee80]

Originally Posted by Monkey pants 

Thanks. Well the rest of her skin is clear and lovely. Just flaky gross scalp. So if she has a food allergy wouldn't the rest of her skin have issues as well? Let me know how the coconut oil goes. I just want to pick at her head but she won't let me near it.

On the food allergy--not necessarily.  I get eczema on my hands (nowhere else) when I eat dairy.  

I did the coconut oil thing last night and this morning my scalp was SO much better!  I'm going to shoot to do it 2 times a week and see if that can get it under control.  I warmed it up, too, so it felt really nice on my scalp.  I wrapped plastic wrap around it for about an hour and then wrapped bandanas around my hair to sleep so that my pillow wouldn't get too oily.  I washed my hair this morning with regular shampoo and it is definitely still a little greasy.  2 washes probably would have gotten it all out, or maybe a vinegar rinse?  I've also read that it's good to brush the scalp and through the hair with a natural bristle brush to loosen the dead skin before you apply the oil.  I just picked up a brush today and will do that for next time.  Let me know if you try it and have success!