For the past few years I’ve had a few issues with my scalp. When I was 19 I started to get quite severe Psoriasis on my scalp, which made me have to completely switch up what products I use on my hair. But at the same time, I have very oily hair naturally, which means I have to find products for these two afflictions. So I thought I’d share my favourite products for an irritated scalp.
How I approach my ‘scalp routine’ is to prioritise keeping the psoriasis under control. While having oily hair is really annoying, I have to look after the psoriasis first as it can be quite painful and also it’s just not nice having flakes of skin in your hair all the time! So I use products to soothe the irritation and then other products to mitigate the oiliness in my hair.
Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo
Even though I have quite oily hair, I don’t like washing it everyday. In the long run it’s better to leave more time between washes and avoid product build-up. So I love using the Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo once a week to give my scalp a proper cleanse.
Even though this is an ultra-clarifying shampoo, I don’t find it irritates my scalp at all. In fact, I think it works quite well with psoriasis as it kind of clears everything away! It’s on the pricier side, but I think it’s totally worth it if you struggle with oily roots.
Philip Kingsley Flaky Itchy Scalp Shampoo
As you can probably guess from the name of this product, it’s meant to soothe irritated, itchy scalps. It’s another pricey shampoo, but it really does work wonders for my psoriasis. It doesn’t get rid of the sores, I can’t promise anything revolutionary, but it does help to get rid of the itch and soothe any inflamed patches.
I actually just ran out of my full sized bottle, the one pictured is the mini that I take to the gym, so I need to stock up ASAP.
Philip Kingsley Flaky Itchy Scalp Toner
This is something I use when the itch is especially bad from my psoriasis. I use it in the evenings before I go to bed and then wash it off the next morning. It’s basically just a liquid that you can put directly onto your scalp to soothe the itchiness.
I do find this very cooling and soothing, but obviously if your irritation is severe see your doctor or pharmacist to get something stronger.
Betnovate Solution
I have tried a lot of prescribed shampoos, gels and toners from the doctor since developing psoriasis – but none of them have really worked out for me. The shampoos (like Neutrogena T-Gel) smell so strong, don’t wash your hair properly and to be honest I didn’t notice much of a difference afterwards. But recently, I was given Betnovate by a pharmacist and it has actually helped me a lot.
It’s like the Philip Kingsley toner but stronger basically – I only use it when I have a very red, inflamed scalp or bad patches of dry skin. But it does ease the itch and burning sensation from bad psoriasis, so if that is something you suffer from I’d recommend asking your pharmacist about it.
Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream
This is not a haircare product by any means, but it is one of my holy grail psoriasis soother! This multipurpose cream is the best at healing and soothing dry patches around my hairline and in my eyebrows. It’s a very rich oily cream – so I don’t use it directly on my scalp – but it’s perfect for any other dry patches.
If Elizabeth Arden ever come out with a hair or scalp product, then I will be all over that!
So those are my favourite products for an irritated scalp! Hopefully this was useful to any of you who are suffering from a misbehaving scalp like I am. If anyone else has any recommendations I’d love to hear them as well – I’m always looking for new things to try.
