Tips

Reader Q&A: How can I relieve my 8 year old’s itchy scalp?

Our latest question from one of our concerned parents is how they can relieve their 8 year old’s dry, itchy scalp. While we can provide answers that we hope will help, there is power and strength in numbers. We will pose reader questions to our @naturalhairkids Instagram family and post a summary and answers in these Q&A posts. Feel free to also add your own suggestions and thoughts in the comments! You’d be surprised at how helpful your input could be!

Question:

My 8 year old’s hair is so dry in the middle. She constantly scratches it and it’s very damage and uneven from hair breakage to the point where she’s almost bald. Her pediatrician prescribed anti-itch shampoo but it’s not working. HELP!

Quick Tips:

We love our Instagram family. Here’s what they recommended:

Take your child to their pediatrician and have them run labs to rule out allergies, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, illnesses and/or diseases.
Try any of the following products:
- Sulfur 8
- 100% pure coconut oil
- Jamaican Black Castor Oil
- Anti-itch cream
- Tea tree oil diluted with vitamin E
- Wash with a baking soda and apple cider vinegar mix
Make sure your child is drinking lots of water

Check out the full responses below:

chanezbeauty__ – Sulfur 8!! The yellow jar. Wash her hair and let it dry.Then apply it. Its amazing! I had this problem with my daughter around her edges!

zharlem The middle is a stress spot. Does she seem stressed out? Did the pediatrician run some labs to rule out and vitamin/mineral deficiencies or illnesses. Finally is she itching elsewhere you may need to rule out food allergies.

tyshabazz Use anti itch cream as well

olivialaurenj Coconut oil is a natural remedy from itching. Use 100%. Purchase in supermarket. Hair breaks when dry. Use daily moisturizer. Three step process: liquid, oil, lotion. Spray with water, use coconut oil and then a Shea moisturizer. Do every night. Cover with silk scarf or hv her sleep on silk pillow case. Cotton dries out hair. Good luck.

_____patience_____ Tea tree oil diluted with vitamin E

alease_inc Tea tree oil with a carrier oil. Massage her scalp daily

__joifulli Vinegar rinse, 2 tablespoons vinegar, per cup of water. Try rinsing her hair with cool water only. Wash hair with cool water, I would say do this every week. Oil her scalp with light oils, nothing thick or heavy. Silk scarf, pillow case every night, keep moisture everyday, like a leave in conditioner. Avalon organics has a great shampoo and conditioner for scalp restoration. Please do an update and tell what worked for her. God Bless. Tea tree oil is also great for dry scalp, find a product that has it in the ingredients, because it’s very strong by itself and I don’t recommend using it by itself.

tackycatty Tea tree oil and raw shea butter, the white one

twinsmommy2012 Jamaican black castor oil

pinksarcasm Wash with Baking soda rinse with acv.rinse again and use a Shea butter coconut oil mix and maybe some jbco with it for strength.

totally_tiki As a stylist I’d recommend she see a dermatologist…I’d assume it’s eczema or psoriasis…the constant scratching will cause scarring eventually then making it hard to grow there as she grows older. Also request an allergy test…that’s a bit young for extreme dryness.

mixed_girls_hair_guide Organic Shea butter and/or Jamaican black castor oil!

f_nicolina My 10 year old has been dealing with this for 3 years. Her hair is chemical free. Saw a dermatologist a couple of weeks ago. Was given a medicated oil to use on her hair and was told to have her take Biotin 5000mg. She had blood work done because her primary care doctor thought her thyroid level may have been causing the breakage, but it fine. There is no eczema or psoriasis. Allergy testing is the next step. Glad to know I’m not the only one dealing this problem. @mckennah.posh_

tinalc75 Use tea tree oil and sulfur 8. I have had that issue myself and found that in addition to the doctor visits I must make sure I’m drinking water. It’s good to hydrate from the inside out.