Hair Matters

Homemade Treatment for Hair Build-Up

SCALP & HAIR BUILD UP - Let’s talk about it, because not very many people do.

For a lot of people, scalp & hair buildup is an embarrassing problem that can be hard to control. There are several different causes of scalp & hair build-up, including bad habits, overuse of hair products, dandruff, etc. Check out some of the causes of scalp build up below, followed by a homemade hair treatment to help remove scalp & hair build-up Also see Home Remedies for Scalp Build Up.

Lack of Hygiene can cause Hair Build-up
People get older, life gets hard, difficulties in life present themselves, and for some people, they deal with this by showering less, or not at all. This can be a difficult subject to broach with someone you care about and are concerned for. An extreme lack of hygiene can be a red flag, a huge warning sign that should not be ignored, and it can lead to further health concerns. Take an active interest in this person and help as much as you can; something as simple as brushing their teeth or getting them into a shower is not only a necessary part of life, but it can also make them feel better about themselves. Try to get them back into a daily routine. .

Hair Products can cause Hair Build-up
This is a VERY common cause of scalp build-up. Well, scalp build-up isn’t really the most correct term, product build-up is much more accurate. The best example of this, and most common situation that we see, is hair spray build-up. Even when you wash your hair every day, if you consistently use hair spray, especially a low-quality hairspray, it will, over time, accumulate and build-up in your hair. This is especially true for hair spray users who don’t wash their hair every day, fearing that washing daily will dry their hair out. (Newsflash: basically every hairspray contains alcohol, which sucks moisture out of your hair and prevents moisture and nutrients from naturally replenishing themselves in your hair.) Washing your hair daily is a necessary step when frequently using hair spray, or other hair products. But even this might not be enough to keep build-up from occurring, depending on the amount of product used or the quality of product.

Dandruff can cause Scalp Build-up
For a complete description and product recommendations, check out the link above for dandruff. When left untreated, dandruff can become a major problem. When salon products and over-the-counter treatments don’t seem to help, definitely try the homemade hair treatment described below. If that still doesn’t help, you should probably visit a doctor.

Cradle Cap can cause Hair Build-up
This is a condition, normally found in infants, where dead skin cells fail to detach and fall off naturally from the scalp. The result is unsightly build-up. The treatment below is effective at removing the build-up on infants. We do recommend that you use your regular baby shampoo with the formula.

Hazards of the Job can cause Hair Build-up
For all the guys, and gals, who work in mechanical fields and occasionally, or regularly, get any type of oil or engine grease, etc, in their hair: this is the homemade scalp treatment for you. If you fall into this category, you can apply this treatment once or twice a day, for everyone else, we recommend doing this treatment once a day at the most. Washing and rewashing your hair again and again and not seeing any results will be a frustration of the past if you use this helpful little trick. The best thing is that it isn’t expensive!

Homemade Conditioning Treatments can cause Hair Build-up
We've all heard about them: supposed at-home conditioning treatments that people claim will restore shine, moisture, strength and health to hair. People claim that pantry items like Olive Oil, Mayonaisse, eggs, lard, etc. will help improve the quality of your hair and can be used as a deep conditioning masque. The truth is, you're much better off spending a little money, and a lot less time, by getting a salon quality deep conditioner or conditioning masque. These "at home hair conditioners" DO NOT WORK. All they do is coat the outer layer of your hair, the cuticle, without imparting any nutrients or benefits into the core of your hair. It is a temporary surface fix. Furthermore, these pantry products can actually be extremely difficult to remove from your hair. If you have to wash your hair to remove your "conditioner", you are doing more harm to your hair than good. If you find that you can't remove the "at-home conditioner" with several shampoos, try the mixture described below; it should do the trick.

Okay so what’s the big secret that can help make all of the things above problems of the past? The answer is found in your pantry.

The HairMatters Homemade Treatment for Hair Build-up

You Will Need: (Warning - not for use on small children with cradle cap)
Baking Soda
Vinegar Shampoo
Vitamin E Gel Cap *** optional

1. Gather up these items and head to your shower.

2. Get in your shower – THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!

3. Pour some baking soda into your hand, or a small container. Slowly add your regular shampoo to the baking soda, mixing along the way, to make a paste. The paste can be however thick or thin you want it. You may have to experiment a couple times to find the consistency that is perfect for your scalp needs.

4. Gently massage the paste into your entire scalp.

5. Take about a half of a cup of vinegar (depending on the thickness of your paste you could need more or less) and pour it over your scalp. Be careful to avoid pouring the vinegar on your face, so as to not get it in your eyes. OUCH Now, you will have a similar reaction to the one that occurs in the homemade science fair volcano projects we all did at one time or another. This is why it is very important to be in your shower while you do this, because the resulting mess would not be fun to clean up in any other part of your house.

6. Massage the mixture into your scalp for about two minutes, and then leave the mixture on for another three to five minutes to allow it to fully penetrate all of the layers of accumulated build-up.

7. Then thoroughly rinse the hair and condition as usual. If you are worried that this treatment will dry out your hair (especially if you are a victim of hairspray build up), you can take a vitamin E gel cap, which you can buy at any drug store, puncture the cap and add the resulting oil to the baking soda/shampoo mixture. This will help maintain shine and balance out moisture in your hair.

This treatment should immediately improve most of the cases of the conditions listed above. Some more sever instances of the above conditions may take more than one treatment to fully clear up. Other cases may need continued treatment to maintain proper balance of the scalp. Use caution to avoid letting the mixture come into contact with the face and eyes. Also, do not ingest the mixture.

We have been told by several older clients, with severe build-up problems, that they now expect their scalp to be sensitive & red right after the treatment. If you have had the build up on your scalp for a long time the normal ageing of the skin, underneath the build up, has been slowed down. This means that the skin-underneath the build-up will not be fully keratinized, or hardened. When the treatment removes the build up it  exposing this not-yet keratinized-skin, on the scalp.  this is why the scalp appears red and might be sensitive or tender.  These 2 side effects only last a short time while the skin on the scalp re-normalizes itself.  Applying a good, "after-shampoo, conditioner" to put back the good things your hair and scalp needs, may also help with this expected side effect.

It would be best to avoid this build-up in the first place by shampooing & conditioning every day using tepid to warm (not hot) water and following normal shampooing  & procedures. See How to Shampoo. Tepid water - means not-hot and not-cold ... as felt on the inside of your arm between the wrist and elbow.

**You should always consult a doctor when dealing with medical conditions. The advice given in the article should not be used to diagnose any type of condition and should not be taken as medical advice**