Scalp skin is skin. It reacts to the same things facial skin reacts to, and it gets treated far more roughly — hot water, daily detergent, fingernails, styling products left on for hours.
What to look for
- Short ingredient lists. Fewer things means fewer candidates when something reacts
- Fragrance-free, or very lightly fragranced. Fragrance is the most common irritant in shampoo
- Mild or sulphate-free cleansing
- No added colour
- Nothing marketed as intensive, clarifying or purifying — those are formulated to be thorough, which is the opposite of what a reactive scalp needs
What to avoid
- Very hot water, which is the most underrated aggravator
- Fingernails while washing — fingertips only
- Daily washing with a strong shampoo
- Leaving styling products on the scalp overnight
- Trying several new products at once, so you cannot identify the culprit
How to wash
- Lukewarm water, never hot
- Dilute the shampoo slightly in your hands first — it spreads without needing as much friction
- Massage with fingertips for about a minute
- Rinse for longer than feels necessary. Residue is a very common cause of scalp itching, and under-rinsing is widespread
- Keep conditioner off the scalp
Introduce one thing at a time
If you are trying to identify what irritates you, change one product and use it for two weeks before changing anything else. A routine changed all at once tells you nothing.
When it is not a shampoo problem
Several conditions look like sensitivity and do not respond to gentler products:
- Persistent flaking with itching — often seborrhoeic dermatitis, which needs a treatment shampoo
- Well-defined scaly patches — possibly psoriasis
- Sores, crusting or hair loss in patches — see a doctor promptly
- Sudden severe reaction after a new product — stop using it and treat it as an allergy
A gentle shampoo helps an irritated scalp. It does not treat a skin condition, and months of switching products is a common way to delay treatment that would have worked.
For the range of formulas, see the shampoo guide.