Dear Erica, Taking care of your flaky scalp

 Dear Erica,

Seven months gone already? Feels like it was yesterday. I had taken off my scarf at the gym, you had asked if my locs were real and I was so happy to tell you that's what I do :). Little did I know you had been considering getting locs yourself and all you were looking for was a sign. If I had know I would have been coming to our training sessions scarf-less. Haha!!! Lest I forget, your afro used to be banging. I actually admired them but after not combing my hair for about 13 years and loving it. All I have for afros is admiration and not a desire.

The rest is history, I'm glad you liked what you saw on Locitude's Instagram page and decided to choose us to be part of your loc journey. The months have flown by so fast and your hair is now officially loc'd. However, your scalp still gets flaky between salon appointments. Sometimes much worse than other times. Getting to the root cause of the issue is usually how I approach solving the hair and scalp issues my clients bring to me. Though, we have conversations around this at your appointments I'm writing to break things down from my perspective and hoping that we can be more attentive to what works and what isn't so that we can continually improve the condition of your scalp. 

Let talk about root causes. In my experience over the years as a loctician, I have found that the causes of dry flaky scalp center around theses four causes. 

1. Lack of hydration 

2. Product Allergies

3. Medical conditions - (hormonal imbalance, psoriasis) and 

4. Stress  

I am no doctor, but with clients that I see often enough, I am able to tell if the condition is getting better or worse. Over the last seven months I'll say that the flakiness of your scalp has fluctuated and at different points we have been able to see why and suggested ways to improve. 

I'll like to explore further the causes and possible solutions to the possible problems that we have identified.

Hydration: It is not news to humans that staying hydrated in and out is important. Water is the most essential and life sustaining product available to mankind. When it come to hair care it is not only important to hydrated topically; drinking water keeps those pores subtle from the inside and allows your hair follicles to do what they need to do. 

Winter and harmattan is coming and it becomes even more difficult to stay hydrated but we need to try. Does tea count as water? This is me trying to remind myself to drink more water too. 

Product Allergies: Often times people turn to products to solve the embarrassment one may get from your head snow flaking on you. Sometimes your body is just trying to say no to these products and it's doing so by flaking. Tea tree is one of the product lauded to help with dryness and flaky scalp, however a significant of people react to this product and the outcome is usually dry and flaky scalp. 

If you are drinking enough water and have a good routine of moisturizing your hair but still have dry and flakiness in your scalp I strongly suggest you strip your hair of products and start by reintroducing them to see which one you may be allergic to. In some cases one can solve a lifetime stressor by discovering the product that's triggering you. 

Medical conditions: Again, I repeat I am no doctor, I'm actually an Architect, turn Administrator, turn Loctician and more recently several other things but not a doctor. However, this much I know. What's happening inside of you often shows up on the surface. If you are properly hydrating and are certain that you do not have a product allergy. You may have to be medically treated for this flakiness and seeing a Trichologist, Dermatologist or starting with a primary care doctor might help you figure out which of your hormones are short and need help or if there's a medical condition that needs treatment. Sometimes, topping up with Vitamin D might just be the solution to the problem. 

Stress: I pulled this out from medical conditions because sometimes one may have figured out what to adjust in the three causes I mentioned above but have periods of stress that then triggers another flaky episode. I shouldn't be advising anyone about not stressing as I can worry for the world. but we can all do with stressing less. 

Here's just a reminder to you Erica, to keep adjusting as you need. Your scalp was much better in your last appointment and my waist line is disappointingly bigger. I promise to get back to being a skinny bitch starting October 1st, 2022... Wish me luck. 

Wishing you a flaky-less scalp this coming winter. 

Lots of love. 

Ade.