A dry, itchy scalp can be uncomfortable and frustrating to deal with, and it can have knock-on consequences for the condition and growth of our hair. Here’s a look at the causes of dry scalp, plus tips, treatments and products that may help tackle a dry scalp for healthier, thicker hair.
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What Is A Dry Scalp & Why Does It Matter?
You might experience symptoms, or you might be unaware until someone like a hairdresser comments on your dry scalp.
Dryness can often produce symptoms you can see and feel, like scaling, soreness, flaking, dandruff, tightness, itchiness, increased hair breakage, hair thinning or loss, and redness. You may have no symptoms, the odd symptom or several. If you’re unsure if your symptoms are caused by dry scalp, seek a professional opinion.
A scalp that’s dry and irritated can lead to hair that’s thinner, either more greasy or dry than usual, and brittle. It’s important to ensure your scalp can support healthier hair and hair growth, and that’s where a good haircare routine and the right products can help.
What Causes A Dry Scalp?
There are a few reasons you might have a dry scalp, and the issue may be temporary and dependent on trigger, or longer term and more challenging to identify and treat.
In the shorter term, current products you’re using may be irritating your scalp. Much like our skin may not get on well with certain products or ingredients, so too can our scalp be a little picky.
The environment can also impact our scalp in a similar way to our skin. For instance, cold weather, dry environments that lack moisture, central heating and sunlight exposure can contribute to a dry scalp and/or dry hair.
Our health overall can affect our hair, and chronic illness, especially perhaps where autoimmune issues are involved, may play a role in thinning hair or a dry scalp. Dehydration, a poor diet or nutritional deficiencies may make the situation worse. Particular medications can also cause hair-related side-effects, so speak to your pharmacist if you’re unsure whether what you’re taking may be causing a problem. Some skin conditions can also affect the scalp, like eczema.
While washing our hair regularly can be important for hair health, overwashing can strip it of its natural oils that hydrate and protect the scalp.
Finally, age and genetics are two factors that you can’t really change, but there are ways to manage the resulting symptoms. As we get older, our skin and scalp can become drier. Hormone changes, such as during the menopause, can have the same effect. And there can even be some genetic links to scalp health and the amount of sebum we produce to keep the scalp healthy.
How To Treat A Dry Scalp
It’s a good idea to build a personalised haircare routine that works for you and the particular issues your hair and scalp have. An effective, suitable shampoo and conditioner are the key starting points, then more specialised products can be added to help target key problems.
Consider Potential Causes or Triggers
Considering the above information, could any of these apply to you? Identifying the cause, or causes, where possible can really help when it comes to finding the best way to tackle the problem.
Check Your Products
Have your symptoms coincided with using a particular product? You may want to swap things up and try something else to see if the products are the culprit. Look for less harsh alternatives, ones promoting scalp health and hydration. With new products, providing they don’t make the situation worse, try to keep consistent with using them over a few weeks or months as it can take time to notice improvements.
Full Wash Out
It may sound silly, but ensure you’re thoroughly washing all shampoo and conditioner out of your hair. If your hair often feels like there’s some greasiness or residue after you’ve dried it, it may well be that the product hasn’t been washed out properly. If you’re prone to greasiness, you may want to experiment with using a little less conditioning product, or avoiding using it on the roots.
Hair Nutrition
If you can, try to get a healthy, balanced diet or top-up with supplements as required. There are several vitamins that contribute to healthy hair, as well as healthy skin and nails. For instance, iron and Vitamins A/C/D/E. There are a number of supplemental products now available for “beauty” benefits, often including the likes of biotin, selenium, zinc and collagen.
Give Your Hair A Rest
If you regularly put your hair through stress with curling, heat tools like straighteners, chemical products and bleach, you might want to take a short break to help nurture your scalp. Tightly pulling our hair back, leaving long hair to air dry (because the weight puts pressure on the roots and strands), or brushing hair too much can also add stress and strain.
Use A Detangling Brush
A gentle brush can help avoid irritating the scalp further, and a detangling brush can help prevent hair being tugged at.
Try A Hair Massager
When using products like conditioner or a leave-in product for a dry scalp, try a massager. It helps to stimulate hair follicles and circulation while spreading out the product and massaging it in.
A Clean Base To Start
It’s important that the scalp is clean, especially as products can build up over time and affect our scalp and hair. If you have dandruff, consider an anti-dandruff shampoo to try to cleanse the hair and target the dandruff for a few weeks. Consider a shampoo that specialises in deep cleaning (I like the Head & Shoulders Citrus Fresh for this).
How Often To Wash
How often we wash our hair is a personal decision and it can vary on our hair type and our lifestyles. I find that I need to wash mine regularly now that it’s thinner, as thinner hair can become noticeably thinner and greasier more quickly, but someone with thicker hair may get away with less frequent washing. Once you notice more oil and greasiness is building up, it’s a good time to wash it.
Reduce Breakage
If your hair is prone to breaking, or you want to improve hair retention generally, look for products that help reduce breakage. Use a heat protection product before styling with hot tools, and consider reducing the use of straighteners/tongs if you use them daily.
Roots vs Ends
You may find your hair is different to your scalp, ie. Dry scalp and greasy roots, or greasy roots but dry ends. Identify the condition of your scalp and hair ends, and target the issues separately. For instance, if you use a hair oil because your ends are greasy, it’ll likely make your greasy roots worse.
Try A Dry Scalp Product
There are pre-wash products and leave-in products that are usually more on the oily side that can be applied directly to the scalp to moisturise it and tackle dryness. This may be the best way to target the symptoms of dry scalp and get quicker results, but stick with it for a while as results can take time.
Look For Moisturising Ingredients
Some ingredients are well known for their moisturising properties, and these can be helpful for dry scalp and hair. For instance, hyaluronic acid (this acts as a humectant to draw in moisturise), panthenol, jojoba oil (and other oils like argan), and ceremides.
Do I Need To See A Doctor?
It’s always best to speak to your GP if you have any concerns. Alternatively, a pharmacist may be able to advise on medication side-effects or products that could help your symptoms. A trichologist, an expert in hair science, would be best placed to diagnose and treat hair and scalp conditions.
It’s worth treating a dry scalp for your own comfort and scalp/hair health. It may support stronger hair strands and even increased hair growth, but it’s not a guarantee for thicker hair. Please see a specialist if you have any concerns.
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Suggested Products To Treat Dry Scalp :
★ Shampoo & Conditioner + Balms Specifically Designed for a Dry Scalp :
- E45 Dry Scalp Shampoo
- All Head & Shoulders DERMAXPRO Scalp Care range
- DERMAXPRO Shampoo
- DERMAXPRO Conditioner
- DERMAXPRO Rinse Off Scalp Balm
- Bundle Set Of 3 Head & Shoulders DERMAXPRO (Shampoo/Conditioner/Scalp Balm)
- OUD Conditioner For Thinning Hair
- Philip Kingsley | Bond Builder Restructuring Hair Repair Mask to Reduce Breakage
★ Oils & Sprays For Irritated & Dry Scalps
- Q&A Nourishing Hair & Scalp Oil
- E45 Hydrating Scalp Serum
- Rosemary Oil Products @ Amazon
- Grahams Natural Scalp Relief Oil – For Dry, Itchy & Flaky Scalp Psoriasis, Seborrheic Dermatitis & Dandruff Treatment (Hydrating, Moisturising, Exfoliating)
★ Scalp Massager / Stimulator :
★ Supplements :
- Wellgard Women’s Gummies Multivitamins
- Sunna Supplements Biotin Gummies
- Boots (UK) Beauty Vitamin Gummies
★ Heat Protection :
- OGX Argan Oil of Morocco Shine+ Heat Protection Spray
- Schwarzkopf Heat Protection Spray
- Tresemme Care & Protect Heat Defence Spray
- L’Oréal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Oil Miracle Hair Serum (Nourishment, Shine & Heat Protection) @ Boots (UK)
- L’Oréal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Oil Nourished Hair Treatment Set (Day & Night Bundle) @ Amazon
★ Gentle Brushes :
- Tangle Teezer Brushes @ Amazon
- Extra Gentle Ultimate Detangling Tangle Teezer Hairbrush
- Wet Brush – Shower Detangling Hairbrush
- Wet Brush – Original Detangling Brush
★ Thorough Cleaning :
Have you had issues with a dry scalp? Did you find anything particularly helpful?
Caz ♥
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8 comments
Interesting and useful!
A good informative post for those who have dry scalp.
Luckily, I don’t have a dry scalp. But my hair has looked more healthier in the last few years and that was because of making sure I had a bit more protein.
Great post Caz. Over-the-counter last couple of years or so, I have discovered that I can only use Head and Shoulders as my scalp gets so tight and itchy with any other shampoo. I hadn’t thought about dryness, but that’s maybe the problem. It’s also getting thinner and more sparse…that’s probably an age thing. 😳 the joys of getting older.
No idea how over-the-counter appeared there. Predictive text, I guess. I really should remember to read before posting! 🤣
Thank you, Caz, for sharing so many valuable tips and product suggestions for hair care. I use a mixture of Jamaican Black Castor oil, Argan oil, and rosemary drops in my hair once a week to perk it up. 🙂
Fabulous tips, Caz. I generally like to give my scalp a good massage every now and then – helps heeps to keep it, and hair in good condition. I’ve also starting taking a multi-vitamin, which, I know, is helpful for the entire body.
Hoping you are well… xoxoxo
Great tips – thank you! 🌟
Chaplin: “When our beloved brother Dennis used to get this, Mama would give him a rub down with coconut oil! Which he then enjoyed licking off, so I guess everybody won in that scenario …”