Hello Mamas! Ok, so my son is of mixed race (Mexican-African-America). His hair is fine and curly. Things have been easy with his hair, and he does great with allowing me to keep it clean. Recently, he has developed a bald spot on the top of his head. I have seen him scratch it a few times, but didn't realize it had gotten this bad. I use to wash his hear ever other day to every 3 or 4 days. I have sense been washing it about twice a week. He has stopped scratching, but his scalp is still very dry in this one spot. I find lots of advise on dry hair, but nothing on treating a dry scalp. I don't want to use too many chemicals, but I want him feeling better. Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Ok, so I called the dr's office early last week, and they told me to use baby oil and a soft brush to work it into the scalp, then to wash his hair and use conditioner. Well, I had a dr’s appt myself, so I decided to just schedule one for him ... just to make sure it wasn’t something more serious. Well, it was. Seems he has some type of scalp ringworm (tinea capitis). I’m so glad I took him to find out. Now, I’m off to washing everything in the house. Thank you all for the advice!
If you want to go chemical free try rubbing a little olive or canola oil into the spot. My ped has recommended a little bit of cortisone cream to stop the itching and help with the dryness.
Hi M.,
I don't think is just dry hair. It sounds to me like a seborrheic dermatitis, and I understand that it is produced by using harsh shampoos (a baby or kid shampoo is not necessarily gentle) or shampooing too often. There are other causes like hormone imbalance or lack of certain vitamins, so many!!!!I guess the bald spot in these cases occur because the hair folicules became damaged with the dryness and irritation. In babies is called "cradle cap", but it may become more severe; this dermatitis also happenes to older kids and adults. It is not uncommon. That's all I know, but it would be better to take him to his pediatrician, and I am sure she/he will give him something to relieve the itchy and recover the health of his scalp, and mostly to know exactly what he has. I know this is not harmful, just uncomfortable.
take care,
Alejandra
Good Morning M., Alejandra gave you some great information and advice. Until you see Brendan's Ped you could use warm baby oil on his scalp to help with the dryness and itching or some gentle lanolin cream. It could be caused from diet changes or stress of some kind. Check with Brendan's Dr.
God Bless you and your little Man M.
K. Nana of 5
Hey M.! Definitely don't use shampoo on his scalp. Unless you are using non-toxic products. The chemicals in even baby shampoo are harmful. Use a diluted mixture of Melaleuca Oil (tea tree oil) mixed with Olive Oil. That should clear it up in a day or so!
I use all non-toxic products in my home that I get from an online wholesale club. My pediatrician even took note of my kids skin and health when we went for my son's three year old check up. He's even recommending the store I use now!
D. S.
Living toxin free since 2008!
www.livewell2day.com
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Hey M.,
We use a wonderful shampoo and conditioner that has tea tree oil in it and no toxins or chemicals. It is wonderful my husband actually use to have scalp problems until we switched to this shampoo so I would love to get you the information about it so you could give it a try if you would like. I'm very confident that it would work very well for you and I know you would love it. If you want some more info please just let me know and I will be glad to give it to you!!!
T. Cogan
Work At Home United
Your Life, Your Dreams, Your Business!
Website: www.allgood4life.com
E-mail: ____@____.com
Phone: ###-###-####
"Nothing is difficult to those who have the will." --Dutch Poet's Society
A little bit of warmed up olive oil massaged into the scalp prior to shampooing did wonders on my daughter's scalp. You can put it on and leave it with a hair cap over the scalp for a little while or, as with my daughter, I just massaged it on with my fingertips and then she was off to the shower to shampoo. Her scalp was dramatically better after the first time and cleared up completely after the 2nd time. It is oily so you have to thoroughly shampoo 2x.
I second what Betsy said about having him checked for ringworm. Especially if he has been around kittens. They are notorious for carrying it.
Then try using a shampoo with tea tree oil in it. It will help the dry scalp. My hairdresser (who is also of African American descent) recommends it for dry scalp, and she is pretty smart about hair issues
M., not to alarm you but I would have his doctor check it out, it could be ring worm and you would want to get that treated right away, it is more common than a lot of people think, a child can pick it up at daycare or I ampretty sure they can even get ring worm from animals ( not 100% sure about that) but worth asking the pediatrician.
Lots of luck!
B.
Hi M., We use Head and Shoulders Dry Scalp formula for my daughter who has a dry itchy scalp. And I was really amazed on how great it's been for her hair over all. Her hair has never been softer! Good luck and God Bless!!
Hi M.-
We have an AA son, and we've been using the Olive Oil leave in oils/lotions on his hair twice a day. We wash his hair every other day with the same kind of shampoo (be careful because it's not baby shampoo, so don't let the soap get in his eyes). You can find it in the AA section of the shampoos at TArget or even grocery stores. It seems to work well, and you can use it more often to start to try to get his hair back to normal first. Also, I was reading some of the other responses, and just fyi, I was told not to use baby oil on his hair or skin for that matter. I don't know why, my AA ladies all told me so (if you can't guess, he's adopted, so we were pretty clueless!). Good luck!
