"Greasing" Your Scalp (A brief look into flaky scalp & treatment)

(I love bacon. Just FYI)

Let me just put this out there. 


I hope NO ONE reading this is still slathering green, blue, or coconut flavors of Blue Magic hair grease on their scalp. Many of us were taught that in order for our hair to grow or if we had flakes we had to "grease" our scalp. This is FALSE.

(This is 2012 ppl. Madam C.J. Walker has gone to glory...
Absolutely not!!!)

Let us think about grease in general. It clogs up our arteries if we consume it too frequently. It clogs our drains if we pour in down the sink. It also clogs our hair follicles over time when we are consistently putting it on our scalp. The main ingredient in many of these products we call grease is either petroleum or mineral oil. These products build up over time and can slow or even stunt hair growth.

Underneath our scalp we have sebaceous glands which secrete oil automatically. We don't need to add any oil (or grease) to our scalp. In fact, many people who have self proclaimed "dandruff" really don't. They have an excess of oil on there scalp that comes off in the form of flakes. Only making it worse because thinking they have dry scalp, they consistently turn to the oil; only to become frustrated because the problem never goes away. The answer for them is actually to LEAVE IT ALONE!

Psoriasis is a common disorder associated with an extremely dry flaky scalp. It is caused by a weakened immune system. Your body has t-cells which help to protect you from getting sick. When your immune system is weak the t-cells activate and make everything go into overdrive to compensate.

Skin cells are shed every 28 days, but when you have psoriasis of the scalp your body sheds skin 7 times faster. It's like baking 7 cakes in the time it would take to make 1, there are bound to be some mishaps. Because of this rapid growth, the skin cells are not formed correctly and thus we have our psoriasis of the scalp.

(Above) Psoriasis of the scalp

Seborrhoeic dermatitis (Below)

 
[This is why it is sooo important to take your vitamins (including biotin, the vitamin that promotes healthy hair growth), drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, exercise and steer clear of stress!! It effects your health, which also effects your hair!]

Seborrhoeic dermatitis is caused by yeast and it affects the greasy parts of our body including areas such as the scalp, eyebrows, the corners of the eyelids, inner cheeks and sides of the nose. People with seborrhoeic dermatitis of the scalp have big greasy yellowish or whitish scales. The scalp will also be itchy, inflamed and may start off in one area but can spread to the whole scalp if left untreated. Just like bacteria, we have yeast on our skin; but certain factors such as excessive sweating can cause the yeast to morph into a nasty problem. Dandruff is a form of eczema but in a milder form.

To alleviate the symptoms of these problems there is a killer cocktail, salicylic acid and pyrithione zinc. Salicylic acid helps to loosen thick layers of dry skin and/or oil that has built up on the scalp. Pyrithione zinc has antifungal and antibacterial properties (so it's good for the yeast). It also is an anti-inflammatory agent so it helps to get rid of  scalp redness and swelling.

IN ANY EVENT, none of these problems can be solved by a notorious scalp oiling regimen! If you feel you have any of these symptoms, call me to schedule an appointment for a treatment so we can start you down the road to having a clean healthy scalp.

Feel free to ask me any questions or to leave a comment. Your feedback is INVALUABLE! You can also email me @ niaphillips@yournewstylist.com.

:) Nia