Keeping your scalp clean and free of flaking is an important part of making sure that you have healthy hair. Unfortunately, this isn’t a subject that many people pay attention to. For example, while they might detox and exfoliate their faces to maintain smooth, youthful skin, they often never think of doing the same for their scalps. Neglecting your scalp in these ways can easily result in dryness, flakes, and product buildup.
What Is Scalp Detox?
Detoxifying the scalp is a simple process – you massage your scalp all over with a brush or an exfoliating scrub with the aim of working off dead skin cells, buildup, and anything that may be clogging your pores. You need to think of a scalp detox the way you do cleaning your facial skin — you need to wash, steam, or use a cleansing mask. Detoxifying the scalp helps minimize itching and irritation, and even dandruff.
The buildup on your scalp isn’t just debris from the products you use. It can also come out of your pores, depending on what is in your diet. If you include plenty of dairy in your diet, it can find its way out through your pores and build up on your scalp.
You can tell that you need a scalp detox when your scalp feels uncomfortable, or when you begin to notice over the course of a regular combing that you pick up skin flakes or unidentifiable detritus. In general, everyone needs a scalp detox at least once every eight weeks.
Doing scalp detox right
Brushing your scalp — working a brush deep in so that it actually makes contact with your scalp over each stroke — may seem old-fashioned, but it’s a good idea. If you’re already brushing your hair, you could take it a step further, and use a scalp-exfoliating product. All you need to do is to massage the product into your scalp with the tips of your fingers, and then wash it off.
A clay scalp detox mask can be a good idea, as well; you part your hair in little sections to expose your scalp and make it accessible, and apply the mask to it. After letting it soak in for a half-hour, you wash it off and shampoo your scalp.
A number of other products can help detoxify your scalp, as well: ginger heals the skin of your scalp through its heat-generating properties, salicylic acid cleanses and unclogs your pores, sugar hydrates the scalp and physically exfoliates the skin, bentonite clay clarifies the scalp, apple cider vinegar heals inflammation, and aloe vera gel soothes itching.
A mixture made out of five drops of the essential oil of ginger and two drops of the essential oil of lemon in half a teacup of water can detox the scalp, too. But you do need to make sure that you don’t use more essential oil than this. Lemon oil, especially, has phototoxic properties, making the skin extremely sensitive to light if used in greater concentration. Massage the blend in your scalp, leave it in overnight, and shampoo it out before you go out in the sun in the morning.
Trying In-Salon Scalp Detoxification
Salons offer more effective and luxurious scalp detox treatments. After they assess the condition of the client’s scalp, they use steam to soften any hardened buildup, use an exfoliant to scrub your scalp, and clean up using a shampoo and conditioner specifically made for scalp detoxification. They may try further treatment with salicylic acid, as well.
Finally, before you either try scalp detox on your own or go to a salon, it can help to devote some time at home to checking for any tangling in your hair. Tangled hair can make it very hard for anyone to access your scalp to apply the treatments necessary. Untangling your hair is an important step to take before detoxifying your scalp.
A scalp detox is something you should do on a regular basis. At the very least, it’s important to try it if you notice flaking or buildup. Putting in this kind of care can pay off in the long term: you’ll have healthier hair.
Recommended Products
L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Derm Intensives 1.5% Pure Hyaluronic Acid Serum
La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum
CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Night Pressed Serum
First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream
Aveeno Calm + Restore Redness Relief Cream
Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream
e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Face Cream Fragrance-Free
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