• Sage essential oil works wonders on itchy scalp, even a flaking, itchy scalp that might develop crustiness / weeping sores / sever dandruff. Lovely description, but it happens to many people. I often use it straight up on myself for various things - awesome for breakouts, scratches, insect bites - but you can dilute it in a carrier oil if you prefer. It can also be added to your shampoo and / or conditioner. Sage infused oil can easily be made as well, using olive oil as a base, or castor oil. You can make a heat infusion into your base oil using the dried herb, a cold oil-based infusion using the dried herb, or even a water-based decoction. If anyone would like instructions for that, ask & I will share the information. This can be kept on hand for future use. Decoctions can be frozen & thawed when needed. Infused oils can be kept in the fridge on in a cool, dark cupboard.
• Rosemary essential oil, or infused base oil, OR water-based decoction is also amazing for the scalp & hair. Use in shampoos & conditioners, as a hair rinse, or rubbed into the scalp. Feels fabulous on an itchy scalp!
• Witch hazel - preferable alcohol free - is incredible for anything that itches & is inflamed. Remember that product called TUCKS?
Used to be widely sold, then disappeared. Spray on the scalp after washing hair.
• A nettle water-based decoction is also amazing. It can be used topically or drunk as a warm tea. I make nettle infused olive oil for use in specific salves & skin oils. Great for arthritic pain as well, as my neighbours who I make salves for attest to. Nettles can also be steeped in raw apple cider vinegar for several months & then used as a hair rinse. This tends to be more comfortable used on a scalp which isn't raw & sore. Using the nettle infused vinegar as a hair rinse, allow to sit on your scalp as you shower up, then rinse well with lukewarm water. Allow your hair to air dry.
• Amla - Indian gooseberry - oil is also incredible for the scalp & hair. Beautiful, beautiful stuff! Commonly used in many non-Western countries. I use it daily as part of the hair oil I formulate for myself & others. Use a few drops massaged into the palms & then distributed through the hair & onto the scalp.
• Indigo, as I recently discovered when doing research for one of my new salves, has been used for people experiencing psoriasis since 627 A.D.
Many people experience psoriasis on their scalps, and all over their bodies, yet the fact that indigo naturalis has been used for this purpose has been mostly ignored.
https://www.aad.org/dw/dw-insights-...-new-topical-agent-for-psoriasis-think-indigohttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037887412200561XI would suggest finding dried indigo leaves, rather than using the pre-processed dye / colorant, although if you prefer the blue look....
• Avoid all shampoos with sulfates & fragrances, which can cause & exacerbate these problems.
• Avoid all conditioners with silicones in them. Research the many names that silicones go by. They are commonly found in conditioners & cause buildup on the scalp & hair, which traps all sorts of garbage under them including fungus, bacteria, yeast. Yum!
They also rinse off all over your body as you shower *ugh*
• Avoid styling gels, mouses, pomades, waxes, hair sprays. Same issue. And when people sweat, these things travel with their sweat, traveling far from the head. Double yum!!
That said, none of these is a permanent solution to a scalp that is itchy, sore, raw, scabby, weeping. They only treat the symptoms a person is having, not the root cause. And unfortunately, conventional doctors don't look for root causes.
The problem with cortisone-type creams is they are steroid-based. They do absolutely nothing to address the issue with which the problem originates & can cause more problems.
I broke out in severe eczema on my face, my scalp, inside my ears, down the back of my neck, behind my ears, all over my ears, my eyelids *don't even like thinking about it* in my early 20s. I bounced from doctor to doctor with no answers other than steroidal cream, while my skin thinned & my hair fell out from using the doctor prescribed cortisone creams. My face continued to crack, ooze, bleed....I couldn't go anywhere, the corners of my mouth split & bled even when I was trying to eat a meal or speak. I was miserably uncomfortable. It was torturous. Months of this, and not a doctor had an explanation, or even a basic solution. Skin is still not properly understood to this day, which is laughable when you really think about it.
I am well aware that this isn't a popular subject with most people as it is a form of medicine which is very poorly understood, and mocked, but that's when I discovered homeopathic medicine & doctors. Homeopathy is the only thing which cleared the problem, permanently, and within just a couple of days days, after months of needless suffering. I have not had the issue again in over 30 years. I have been using homeopathic medicine as my first choice of medicine since then, including for the health & wellness of my children & grandchildren for things such as severe allergies, headaches, teeth grinding, teething, colic, diarrhea, food poisoning, bruises, colds & flus, jet lag, cavities (teeth), toothaches, injuries of various types, you name it. I even used it for my dog & always have a homeopathic first aid kit in my house, my purse & in my travel bag. I used a remedy today for a serious sprained ankle I sustained while fencing on my granite bluff. 10 minutes later, like nothing happened. Last week for a serious large gash to my arm when I fell & caught myself on the ragged edge of a broken piece of lumber.
Since the time I had that experience with eczema, a lot of research has been done & is being done into the fact that water has an actual capacity for memory, which begins to explain how such dilute substances - homeopathic remedies - have the ability to trigger the body's innate healing responses. Many things have not been understood in the past - flight, electricity, gravity, combustion engines, the basic wheel, modern telecommunications, nuclear energy, quantum entanglement. That doesn't make them any less real or valid. We just didn't have a frame of reference or understanding to help us wrap our heads around them at that time.
I suggest that anyone looking for answers do some personal research into this topic. It's absolutely fascinating & eye opening. Good luck to anyone searching for answers in this realm
