Loading...Q. I have struggled my whole life with an itchy scalp. Prescription Nizoral shampoo offered a little relief, but it was expensive.
I tried amber Listerine followed by a vinegar rinse, but that dried my hair out. Then my hairdresser suggested Sea Breeze astringent for acne (sensitive skin formula). That has helped the most!
The condition will never go away, but I don’t itch anymore and using Sea Breeze twice a week in the shower has freed me from this annoying condition. I hope others will benefit from this natural and effective remedy for scalp itch and dandruff.
A. Listerine contains menthol, eucalyptol, thymol and methyl salicylate in an alcohol base. The Sea Breeze astringent you are using has some similar ingredients, including eucalyptus leaf oil and alcohol. Thanks for sharing your success.
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KC
I apply it after washing my hair. I use my fingers to massage into my wet scalp.
P.W.
About the Sea Breeze for scalp. I don’t get when it is applied– before Shampoo, Before Conditioner or AFTER both. Thanks.
J.L.
I have found this type of bottle at Sally Beauty Supply.
Entown
Sea Breeze Sensitive skin is one of those products you might not expect to work but it does work at least for me.
It contains benzoic acid which has a mild anti-fungal and antibacterial effect. It probably provides some moisture from the glycerin as well.
I’ve used it on my scalp as well as on my face as a toner. I don’t use it as a face toner more than 3x week (I’m in my 50s). It does not overly dry my face if I use it in moderation and it actually does make my skin look clean and refreshed.
KC
@G.H. There are waterproof vinyl protectors available for arms and legs. Depending on where your pain patch is located, they may be able to help you.
Thanks for the info on SB Sensitive Skin.
G.H.
I’ve used the Sea Breeze astringent liquid, Sensitive Skin formula, for a week. I’ve also done as another reader advised in grabbing a control-top cap from an unused shampoo bottle and affixed it to the Sea Breeze container (good idea, Catherine!);
The Sea Breeze Sensitive Skin formula is entered into my scalp when shampooing every three nights during my bath.* It is also applied over the affected scalp area in the mornings when preparing to comb/brush my hair and even in the evening before bed. I conclude some of this Sea Breeze’s formulation has ingredients which calm the scalp. Therefore, I’m less liable to scratch my scalp while sleeping.
Sea Breeze Sensitive Skin formula’s ingredients’ surprised me, as it seems to me (a non-scientist) a mostly-natural list of ingredients (in order): “water, SD alcohol 40B, glycerin, benzoic acid, camphor, clove oil, eucalyptus globulus oil, fragrance, blue 1.”
I’ve had this nagging scalp issue for almost 20 years, around the time when I quit smoking. I’ll never return to smoking, and only mention it because maybe my hands found a new thing to do other than switch hands with the cancer stick. Though I’d found most dermatologists professional in their approach, the last dermatologist I visited seemed more interested in promoting cosmetic applications such as Botox and other “youth-rendering applications.” She lasted a year at the medical center and then struck out on her own practice to cater to the youth-obsessed. If I found a Seattle dermatologist more married to helping people with conditions rather than “The Fountains of Youth,” I’d try their assistance.
Thanks to someone’s hairdresser, the infinite sources of much good gab AND information, for suggesting the Sea Breeze Sensitive Formula! I’m aware of at least one non-profit health agency’s attempt to disseminate information about stroke via African American and Black hair professionals catering to Black males. Their tonic is more than just for hair!
* I only bathe every three days due to the need of wearing a 72-hour fentanyl (opiod) pain patch which would deteriorate if it came in contact with water; the patch is part of my therapy for severe neuropathy pain in my feet.
mssachs
I had been using amber Listerine on my scalp, and while it worked, I didn’t like the smell. I dab it on my scalp with a cotton ball (I have thick short hair) and leave it on my scalp overnight. In the morning I rinsed my hair in the shower and used conditioner. I would do this 2-3 times per week. I tried Sea Breeze recently and love the clean fragrance. I will try Sea Breeze for several weeks (leaving it on overnight) to see if it works as well as Listerine. I only shampoo once a week with a SULFATE-FREE shampoo, but I do rinse my hair with water and use conditioner daily. This works for me. My hair smells clean and I do not have that terrible itch.
Rol
I have also tried Baby Shampoo with no avail..Now I`m using Organic Shampoo with no Sulfate…It seems that my scalp is not as itchy…Keep on giving me advice but it seems that this shampoo seems to help a lot…It does not take the oil out of my hair…
G.H.
I, too, have had itchy scalp and outbreaks since moving to Seattle 13 years ago. I thought it might have been stress-related and to the fact I’m HIV positive and could also relate to the medications I take (which have saved my life but also caused peripheral neuropathy in my feet).
Back to the scalp: I tried the Nizoral, too, and had limited success. But I recently have been on the Sea Breeze plan and don’t wake up scratching my head or with an irritated scalp! Whether or not it’s like Listerine isn’t the point with me; it’s not as nasty to smell as Listerine. I hope Sea Breeze keeps on working; it also leave my hair very soft.
EMC
I have a question about using Sea Breeze for dry itchy scalp…do I rinse it out after applying after my regular shampoo regime…..or leave the Sea Breeze on my hair?
Mariellen G.
Shhhhh–don’t tell, promise?
I stopped using shampoo, period. I had dandruff until I started this practice. I rinse my hair in the shower each morning, comb it and let it dry without using a hair dryer. (Yes, it takes patience to wait for hair to dry naturally.) I began this about five years ago… my scalp is happy, my hair healthy. You understand, I work at a desk all day, rather than at a flour mill or automobile factory. I don’t have to deal with really, really dirty situations very often.
Years ago, I read in Prevention that somebody regularly used corn meal and a hairbrush to keep their hair clean. Never tried it. My best friend had pneumonia when she was ten years old, while living in a drafty house with a coal furnace. Her mother washed my friend’s hair by taking it a section at a time and stroking it with a cloth soaked in alcohol. Dried fast, kept her hair clean.
There are other ways to keep hair clean than by putting chemicals on your hair.
Rol
I have itchy scale and I`ve tried everything in the book. This had been going on for at least 3 or 4 yrs. if not more.. My doctor gave me “Derma-Smoothe-oil (did not help) also “fluocinonide topical solution” (did not help) T-Jel Shampoo (no luck) “Head n Shoulder (still no luck) “sea breeze also with no luck. Vinegar rinses (still no luck). No matter what kind of shampoo or medication I`ve tried, nothing has helped… If there is anyone reading this and would like to give me advice I would be grateful because right now I am still in limbo & scratching my head like I`d have a head full of bugs…
PLEASE ANYONE ……I REALLY NEED HELP!!!
THANKS IN ADVANCE IF ANY OF YOU HAS ANY ADVICE TO GIVE ME , I`D APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH…..
KC
I also have had dandruff/scalp odor since I can remember (decades). No shampoo would help. Prescription Nizoral took care of the odor/patches of dry skin about. Still, the itching,dandruff and small areas of hard skin persisted.
I have always shampooed pretty much everyday due to oily scalp/skin. I recently went another round with various shampoos. I tried baby shampoo and for the first time in years do not have any hard areas or large areas of skin flaking off. I also seem to get better results when I don’t shampoo everyday.
Another thing I’ve changed is that I don’t wash my hair for very long. Just a minute or so.
Last time, after using the baby shampoo I used the soap foam from a bar of Camay/Oil of Olay for about 10-15 seconds and did a quick rinse. This seemed to add some oils back and acted as a conditioner. My hair is very soft and full of body.
I’m pretty sure my previous shampoos, washing too long and too often were stripping the oils from my scalp. I had a similar thing happen when I attempted to use acne soap on my nose area. It got real flaky and peeled.
My scalp is not perfect but it’s improved so much that I’ve worn some dark blue t-shirts and not worried about it (too much). The flake sizes have decreased to minimal and itched reduced by 95%.
Catherine
One general hint for using anything on the scalp while trying to save the hair: Get your hands on a squeeze bottle that has a pointed cap, one that twists closed. (These are hard to find, and I’m given to wonder if there isn’t some commercial reason such caps are so scare. So, if you find such a cap, hang onto it even when the bottle goes into recycling. Many cap sizes are standardized.) I suppose some other pointed cap might work, but these offer dispensing control.
The trick such caps afford is that you can sort of aim the point THROUGH the hair and right onto the scalp. This puts more of whatever one is applying onto the skin, and much less of it on the hair.
I happen to have long hair and issues with yeast-based dandruff. I use a mixture of Listerine and cider vinegar when the itchies act up, applying it this way, and haven’t had any problems with my hair drying out as a result. I think the trick is the bottle I’m using to apply.
Mary
My skin doctor put me on Head and Shoulders dandruff shampoo and after one week – I have been itch free for 2 yrs – she said shampoo daily –
Sally
I had itchy scalp also. One application of Tea Tree Oil shampoo stopped the itching!!!
Tony D.
One more thing to try on my psoriasis!! It won’t hurt and it might help!!
sheila
Put the amber Listerine in a small spray/spritz bottle ~like ones you can buy at beauty supply stores or in the travel size thingies sections in stores~; simply spray/spritz some onto the scalp; you don’t need to apply Listerine to the hair, just the scalp; leave on a while, then wash as usual.
Using it in a small spritz/spray bottle really opens up the application/ uses/possibilities. (like spritz on jock itch or athlete’s foot areas, etc.)