A Guide To Properly Exfoliating Your Scalp

Just like your skin, your scalp needs to be exfoliated too! If you haven’t done it yet, get ready for this; all you need to know about exfoliating your scalp!

When taking care of our luscious locks, we’re putting creams, heat protectors, and conditioners in them to help keep them beautiful and shiny. But we tend to forget our scalp and only really pay attention to it when we wash our hair.

Your body naturally gets rid of dead skin cells and replaces them with new ones, and sometimes it could do with a bit of a push. Here’s all you need to know about a scalp scrub.

Why do you need to exfoliate your scalp?

You may not have even heard of exfoliating your scalp until now, and if you’ve not done it for this long, why do you need to start? Simple, it’s going to help keep your hair in good condition.

If you use styling products, washing with shampoo doesn’t always get the product off your scalp. Exfoliating helps remove the build-up of hair products, leading to dandruff and even slowing down our hair growth.

It encourages hair growth by removing the dead skin cells, and you should know that a higher cell turnover rate means it’s going to promote growth. You’ll also be removing the enzyme that promotes shedding, so you won’t have to wake up in a pool of your own hair!

By removing the dead skin, you’re clearing out the follicles which your hair grows through, and the new and healthier hair growth is going to be shinier! Instead of trying countless hair products to add sheen to your locks, all you need is a scrub!

Sometimes the flakes in your hair aren’t from dandruff; it could just be a sign of a dry or an irritated scalp. Even if those flakes are dandruff, removing those dead skin cells will allow your natural oils to nourish your scalp.

Types Of Exfoliators

Physical exfoliators contain ingredients like sugar that, when massaged onto the skin, helps remove the excess cells and build up. You can buy these from Amazon for $14,99 or even make one at home from sugar.

Chemical exfoliators can help your scalp eliminate the excess cells without needing to physically scrub your scalp. You need to be careful with the ingredients in these scrubs because you can get chemical burns if you leave them on for too long!

You can also use specially designed scalp brushes to exfoliate your scalp, but an easier option would be using an old toothbrush. You can also make an aspirin or a sugar scrub at home if you don’t want to buy them.

How To Exfoliate Your Scalp?

Try to avoid over-exfoliating your scalp; your scalp doesn’t need to be exfoliated often unless you’re adding a lot of product to your hair. To beat that build-up, exfoliate at least once or twice a week; otherwise, try exfoliating every ten shampoos!

After shampooing your hair, while it’s still wet, apply some of the scrub to your scalp. You can do this in sections to be able to access your scalp easier!

While exfoliating, try to avoid your hair shaft and use gentle circular motions to lift any dead cells or hair products. Friction to the shaft can lead to damage and even breakage so make sure that you’re as gentle as possible.

After that, you can rinse the exfoliant out thoroughly and apply your conditioner. You want to make sure all of the exfoliant has been rinsed out because it can lead to further build-up.

Things To Be Aware Of

Your ideal exfoliation period should be between ten washes to avoid over-exfoliating. If you do over-exfoliate, it’s going to stimulate oil production because the oils keep getting stripped away.

If you have an open wound, lice, or ringworm, you should avoid exfoliating. Because you could prevent an open wound from closing, make an active infection worse, or provide lice better access to your scalp!

Remember to always test a product before using it so that you know if it’s safe for you to use it and to avoid any skin irritation. So grab your card, and start shopping for a scrub!