Home Remedies: Dandruff

I would number this, but I've been struggling with Dandruff for as long as I can remember and could not possibly tell you what attempt number this is to get rid of it or to find a routine that keeps it manageable.

The internet seems to think there are two kinds of scalp maladies: dry skin and dandruff. The internet also seems to think that you can't get fluffy clouds of tiny white specks if you have dandruff (characterized by thick or large chunks of white or yellow gunk) but to that I say Bah Humbug. Because I clearly get both, and there is no way this is "just dry skin."

You can Google dandruff if you really want more science. I'm not reinventing the wheel here, and you're going to get a much better education on the topic if you do. What I'm worried about is the fact that my dandruff has gotten so bad over the last two to three years. So bad that I'm scratching incessantly some days. So bad that it's in my ears, and I will obsessively pick until they bleed. So's SO DAMN ITCHY!

So of course my main concern is getting rid of the itch, but now I've got other people doing my hair for the wedding and can I just say? Getting your hair done by others with this scaly plaque on my scalp and snowy clouds falling to my shoulders? GROSS. And bloody embarrassing. My attempts to get a dermatologist to get this under control have been lackluster at best. Apparently no one thinks it's there responsibility because... dandruff is scary or something? Maybe it's incurable and nothing can be done about it pharmaceutically and they hate for their job to be proven ineffective. Of course, after a bunch of prescriptions failing to give me any relief, I'm now back in "eff them, I'll do it at home" mode. Uncle Google to the rescue!

I know I mentioned this before, because I was going to ry two weeks of baking soda scrubbing the crap out of my hair. Unsurprisingly, I only made it a week. Not just because I ran out of Spoons and fell off the wagon, but because it was clearly doing damage to my hair. It was very dry and brittle, and the baking soda didn't seem to do much after the first day. Go figure.

Couple months later and I'm back to desperation. This itching HAS to stop, regardless of everything else. Now I'm trying a new approach that's very green tea-and-aloe-centric. This is what I've been trying this week:

Pre-rinse: Boil 2 cups water, add 4 tbsp of green tea leaves (or 4 tea bags), and 4 tbsp of coconut oil. Heat the mixture for 2 more minutes and let it cool down completely. Store in a glass bottle, add 2-3 drops each rosemary, lavender & lemon essential oils. You will need to warm this gently under hot water before you shake well and apply. 

To use: Apply pre-rinse on your hair and scalp; massage it in for few mins. Let it sit for 45 minutes and then rinse off with shampoo.

Shampoo: Add aloe gel 1:1 to shampoo.

Conditioner: Use aloe gel or add 1:1 to conditioner.

Rinse: Steep 2-3 green tea bags in 2 cups, cool, and use as final rinse. Or, steep 8 bags in a half gallon, and store in the bathroom. You're leaving this on your hair, don't rinse it off with water after. 

Hair Mist: 1/2 cup aloe juice, 1/2 cup green tea, ¼ tsp olive oil, 2 drops essential oil (I used rosemary). Mist while hair is slightly damp. I've also been using it as a styling spray for a couple days, with great results at least in my hair. 

I've been combining this with a honey-lemon-rosemary facial mask with amazing results on my skin, so I'm going to try getting the honey on the worst spot of dandruff to see if it helps. Unfortunately, my hair is so freaking thick that getting to my scalp when I haven't shaved my head is VERY difficult. These recipes came from indianbeautyspot.com because (well they popped up on Pinterest but then) I figured with super thick, dark hair like mine, they might be a reliable resource even if that's not my heritage. I'm getting good results so far, it seems, so I'm happy with it anyway. 

The quest continues!