First Postpartum Hair loss, NOW Dry, itchy, Scab Scalp
So, girl! Now we have dry scalp, scalp scab and scalp itchiness?! While pregnant our skin is glowing and hair flourishing due to our hormones increasing and then the beauty of our babies being born happens. Next comes postpartum rearing its head and it brings with it Hair loss.There is hair coming out in the shower in clusters, hair ending up on the couch where we sit, or a clump in the brush when doing our hair.
Then, apparently comes the collapse of our scalp getting out of whack with the dry, itchiness, and scab sequence of it all. One day I found myself just dealing with growing my hair back and the next thing I know, I am scratching my scalp like it owes me money, and then comes the dryness feeling and THEN I found 1 scab, then 2 then 3, oh MY!
I know it can feel like it’s one thing after another with postpartum and the valleys we have to travel through in order to get to the other side. I know it can be stressful, frustrating and just exhausting to think about having to overcome something else on top of getting through creating, growing and birthing a baby. Also having to overcome the overwhelming feeling of adjusting to breast/bottle feeding, pumping, diaper changing, hormones still out of whack and trying to remember to just breath, But we got this!
Tell me Why tho?!
Postpartum dry scalp happens just the same reason as hair loss, which is due to the hormone levels being out of whack because they are trying to level back out to pre-pregnancy levels. Especially in us breastfeeding moms, if we do not hydrated while nourishing our babies, our skin becomes dry which affects the scalp.
Due to the androgen hormone, the glands in the skin have a growth spurt and cause extra oil on the scalp. The excess oil clogs the pores, which then causes fungus and bacteria to grow on the scalp, then ignites inflammation, dandruff, scalp acne and itchiness. Now if we have dandruff, that can be due to something other than dry scalp and can stem from eczema or dematitis and can be fixed through anti-dandruff shampoo and/or visiting your doctor.
What to avoid for Scalp itchiness?
Now back to Dry scalp, Scalp itchiness, and Scalp scab and what to avoid to not further inflame the current issues. Due to one of the causes being the excess oil clogging pores, try to limit frequency of oiling your scalp and oiling your scalp with so many oils. And girl I know! we go through this whole natural hair tips and tricks rabbit hole and one of the tips is to create our oil mixture with castor, argon, tea tree, jojoba and whatever other oil we may choose But that continuous oiling of the scalp can exacerbate the issue.
Over cleansing the scalp can also cause it to inflame and worsen. So if you are shampooing every week, try twice a month or even once a month, until the issue clears up. Also not staying hydrated can also contribute to skin issues which in turn affects the scalp
How do we fix it, you say?! Dry Scalp Treatment
In order for our hair to grow healthy and flourish we must have a healthy scalp. But Don’t panic, I have some tips for you that worked/works for me. Now, there are many ways we can treat our inflamed scalps and what might work for one may not work for others, but I’m here to share what I did. What I used was Aloe vera leaf, Black African soap/tea tree shampoo, and olive oil with tea tree oil mix which everything targets the root of the dry, itchy scalp. I will break down my steps below and I also have a detailed explanation and demonstration on each step in my scalp is dry Youtube video
The Aloe vera leaf and girl let me tell you! Aloe vera can be used for so many things to heal the body. Aloe vera benefits is its anti inflammatory and can relieve itch, has healing properties that can heal the dandruff, scabs and scaliness of the scalp, while also moisturizing the scalp and hair and providing nutrients that can strengthen the hair and promote hair growth.
Remember I said to limit oil? so instead of my usual oil prepoo I love to do, I did an Aloe vera gel prepoo with the focus on my scalp. I sectioned my hair into four sections and then section each section into 3 sections and applied the aloe straight to my scalp and length of my hair. Girl! I’m telling you if nothing else, DO the Aloe vera on your scalp because it will give instant relief
Next we have the cleansing of the scalp. Now the aloe is to heal the inflamed itchiness, heal any scabs and moisturize your scalp and hair, while the cleansing is to get rid of any build up on your scalp. Now according to google there are specific ingredients we should look out for and they are Apple cider vinegar, Tea tree oil, Sacylic acid, baking soda along with African black soap which is a gentle cleanser and turmeric which has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.
And the shampoo I came across and used is created by our own YouTube natural Naptural85 called Melanin Black owned?! Yes, please. The ingredients in the shampoo are Black African soap, check, Tea tree oil, check, and tumeric, check! All of the main ingredients is exactly what’s needed to aide in healing the scalp and the bottle packaging makes it that much easier to apply due to the point top.
There is also a shampoo alternative with bentonite clay and ACV mixture that will cleanse the scalp of any buildup, and toxins while moisturizing your scalp and hair. Honestly the clay and acv is my favorite cleanser because my hair doesn’t really like shampoo due to the stripping and not only does it clear the scalp and hair, it moisturizes the hair, promotes hair growth and it also defines my curls!
And last but not least is the oil we will use to stimulate hair growth without causing excess oil build up on the scalp and that is tea tree oil mixed with a carrier oil which is olive oil. Tea tree oil numerous benefits includes it helps to get rid dandruff, treats dry scalp, promotes hair growth, improves scalp health and etc. And the tea tree oil I used is TGIN Tea tree and olive oil
Scalp Is healed and we can move on
To wrap up, general scalp issues can be healed in no time. Aloe vera, Apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil are the main ingredients you should grab first.
How is your scalp health?
