Itchy Scalp? Time To Exfoliate!

As summer winds down, it’s a great time to check on your scalp for its healthiness. Sunburn, flakes, oiliness and even an itchy scalp may be causing you and your scalp some harm and making your hairstyles harder to achieve. As we dip into fall it’s a great time to work on our scalp health before the harsher winter months create even more havoc and the best way to do that is through a scalp exfoliation.

3 Clays to Detox & Replenish Your Hair & Scalp

Exfoliation becomes an important part of our weekly regimen. We exfoliate our faces and bodies with all types of sugar and salt scrubs, so why not exfoliate the scalp too? Scalp exfoliation is new on the scene giving us the proper base for healthy hair growth, but what else does it do?

 

Exfoliating the scalp helps remove dead skin cells and unclog pores which is important when dealing with a flaky scalp, build-up, stunted hair growth and improper sebum production. While all of these characteristics should be checked out by your dermatologist, exfoliating the scalp can help in the meantime. Scalp exfoliation has been known to help with scalp conditions such as psoriasis or eczema, promote healthy hair growth and even reduce shedding.

By removing the dead skin cells, the scalp is allowed to breathe and heal over with a healthy layer of skin which prevents flaking and the irritation associated with clogged pores.

There are some great scrubs on the market such as Kiehl’s Deep Micro-Exfoliating Scalp Treatment which is dermatologist tested to loosen build up and flaking while encouraging healthy turnover. Some other great products are Aveda Invati Exfoliating Shampoo, and Phyto Phythéol Oily Hair Scalp Exfoliating Shampoo. They each possess unique qualities, but they all pretty much do the same thing.

 

 

 

If you don’t want to risk paying for a product that you’re skeptical about, you can opt to make it yourself. Scrubs are pretty easy to make – all you need is something abrasive that won’t be too harsh on the scalp, oil, and maybe a clarifying shampoo. Here are a few good recipes to try out:

Easy Brown Sugar Scrub
¼ c. Olive Oil
¼ c. Brown Sugar

Curly Girl Scrub
2-4 Tbsp Brown Sugar or Uncooked Quinoa
1-2 Tbsp Conditioner

Cornmeal and Peppermint Scrub
¼ c. Clarifying Shampoo
¼ c. Cornmeal
A few drops of Peppermint Oil
A few drops of Tea tree Oil

How to Use

Typically, exfoliation is done before conditioning but it depends on the ingredients you’ve used in your scrub. Just apply the scrub to your scalp and massage for as long as necessary. If you have a lot of product build-up or flakiness, you may find that you’ll need to massage for a longer period of time.
DIY Body Scrub

Remember to not rub too hard because you don’t want to irritate the scalp, you just want to lift the layer of build-up and dead skin cells. You’ll know that you’re rubbing too hard if your scalp begins to hurt or becomes sore and irritated.  After exfoliating, rinse your hair with warm water and continue to your conditioning process.

If you find that some of the scrub is left in your hair, you can opt to shampoo but it isn’t necessary. Once your routine is complete, you can apply your favorite oil to your scalp in order to lock in moisture and provide added nutrients to the skin.

Do you use a scalp exfoliation and is it DIY? 
Sabrina