Sweating, Washing and Dandruff

Alright so here's the deal:
It's really hot here, and I kno I should keep my dreads clean. There's lotsa sweat goin down my head. I'm tryin to wash only once a week since I've got dandruff, so I want to keep the oil production down. I'm using organic rosemary shampoo, but still get dandruff after rinsing, even if I deep cleanse with ACV. I'm also using a rosemary spray which I did myself. I'm growing some Aloe Vera but will not be ready after some 3-4 months.

Anyways, My head gets very itchy and flaky sometimes even the next day after my wash. I dunno if its the sweat or my dandruff, but it's like a waxy thingy (which might be sebum, oils, etc). It gets really gross after 4-5 days, and itches like hell the days before my next wash (6 days). I rinse with water every 2-3 days. The flakes go off my head but into my hair, but don't go anywhere. And also I feel like I move all the oils from my scalp into my hair, so it gets kinda greasy too.

What should I do? Should I wash more often? Will that make me have more dandruff? Please help. Thanks.

 

try washing more than once a week and see if u still get dandruff.

 

man, you're in a bind. i guess you have to gauge what is more important to you. how old are your locks? if they're new, and you want them to progress, they need to be clean. i'd wash more often or maybe you could ask someone that only uses water about their experience. i've heard only water is the way to go when you've got scalp problems. or maybe just baking soda.

 

Thanks! well, I don't have dreads yet, since I recently started neglecting, except some I backcombed on the back of my head. They were about 15, but undid 6 of them since I decided to go natural. I do get WAAAY less dandruff when I wash, but it doesn't go away completely. I guess I will try washing more often. My dandruff isn't dry so I guess I could try using baking soda. I don't think water only could work, since my hair still smells like oils when I rinse (very well).Thanks again!.

 

I just said this in another thread. I had problems with dandruff when using Bronners or baking soda. Didn't matter the type of soap...still had dandruff. I just use water to rinse my hair repeatedly and message my scalp. It cleans the hair just as well. Removes all smells but leaves your natural balance of oils. Works great. Give it a shot. It may take a month to improve though.

 

Alright so, 5 months later, I still can´t control my problem and NEED HELP! lol My hair is already knotting a lot, and dandruff is staying in them dreads. I usually shake flakes off.

I've tried tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar, rosemary shampoo, rosemary tea rinses, baking soda (which i'm using right now with tea tree oil - 1 tbsp to 1 cup + 2 drops tea tree oil).

The thing is, usually before my wash there´s no dandruff. After washin, my scalp becomes really flaky, and gets a very tiny bit itchy. The itch gets worse the next two days. Right now im washing every 3rd day (no wash two days in between). Also tried every 5th day but my scalp itched terribly.

Does this happen to anyone? and how did you fix it if it did? A routine that worked for some days, was baking soda + tea tree oil, and rinsing with water the day after my wash, however, I don´t want to keep up at this since I wont be able to wet my hair that often when my drealocks mature (because of mold). Also I was using too much tea tree oil (about 4 drops to 1 cup), which left my hair a little greasy. My dandruff returned, but i'm unsure if its because I ain't rinsing the day after my wash, or because I reduced the amount of tea tree oil.

I still haven't tried water only because I feel like I can get it right with washing with the baking soda, however it´s still an option. I don't know what my scalp condition is, so it might help to know if someone has had similar symptoms. I really don't want to visit the dermatologist since i'm almost sure they'll give me some non natural anti-dandruff shampoo which I don't want to use.

 

Did you have a dandruff problem before starting dreads? If not, just do what ya used to do, wash with normal or dandruff shampoo, and a lot more often. When I started my dreads (neglect) i used my normal shampoo, and slowly tapered myself to washing from everyday to every 4 days. If ya check out the pics in my one thread, my dreads turned out great so far.

So my advice: wash how ya used to wash before you wanted dreads

 

like i said before. it sounds like although you have high oil levels, washing too often can easily through them out of wack and your scalp gets dry. try just water. make an essential oil spray if you're worried about the smell.

 

try scrubing ur scalp with baking soda and sea salt for a good 5 mins then rinsing with acv and water and then once dry put some witch hazel and essiontal oil(optional since u have oily scalp) on the scalp.. its get a layer of flakeys off while nutrilizing ur scalp and calming it to make it not itch so bad

 

Getting your hair wet isn't going to make it moldy. Letting your hair STAY wet for a long period of time will. I get my hair wet almost every time I shower (whether I wash it or not, I usually rinse it out... it just feels weird to be in the shower with a dry head) unless I'm about to go to sleep. Try rinsing more between washes

Why not give it a try? you've already gone 5 moths without improvement, what's wrong with devoting a month to water only?

 

My head gets pretty itchy after the deep cleanse like you mentioned, after about two days, so then I just rinse/scrub with really hot water. I try to avoid doing the deep cleanse until it seems really necessary, about once a month(our dreads are about the same age). Also, whenever I "wash" regularly, I just use hot water, about twice a week. I got sick of using baking soda and weened my hair to just water instead. It took a few weeks to get used to, but it's worth it because it's a lot easier. Hope this helps.

 

So you have this type of dandruff too? Like you get it after washing with baking soda? That´s why you got sick of it?

I´m still trying to work it with the baking soda, but it won't be for long I guess, since I'm not seeing any results. Maybe two or three more washes. If that doesn't work, then i'm going for water only, which I really want to start if nothing else works. I don't doubt it's easier!

 

I never had dandruff at all till I had dreads.

I find this annoying and lame.

 

There is such a beast known as 'wet dandruff'
I had a bout of it for a while and yeah, the flakes show up after and not before the washing.

 

Could it have to do with a lack of scalp stimulation? When I shower I try to massage the shit out of my scalp, but I know that it is getting far less physical stimulation than when I was unlocked. I Dunno

 

Can you please describe it in more detail (why is it "wet"?) ? Did you get rid of it with washing with water only?

 

ok so I'm finally trying water only, and i'm a week in. My hair got really oily on the 6th day, and i'm getting a few small flakes. My scalp seems a little flaky too, almost but not quite like when I washed with baking soda. So far, so good i guess. I'll see how it goes in a couple more weeks. I rinsed the first, third, fourth and sixth days. I'll try to do so every other day.

 

It seems you may be drying your scalp out... if it only flakes after you wash/rinse. Just an observation, but you may want to keep trying to go longer in between if that is when it's best.

 

Yes probably I was, however I tried washing every 5 days before, but it itched way too much. Tried this for at least some 3 weeks without any improvement. Also, everything I tried seemed to do the same to my scalp, yes perhaps dried it out. I could never really determine if it was only dry scalp... Oils didn't help too much either..

My hair has lots of dandruff right now. I'm at 8 days in only, so I'm not expecting any results yet. Probably this is due to the amount of oils and sebum. My head is really oily right now. Maybe the dandruff is actually residue.

 

I'm at the third week already. There has been some improvement. I still get dandruff, and still get itchy scalp, but not as much as I did when washin with shampoo or baking soda. My scalp doesn't look too flaky anymore, however, I hope it clears out, I'm tired of fighting it... I don´t like white flakes all over my hair, it's just annoying to have them, way too annoying.