Naturally Curly Haircare: Scalp Treatments

Tracy M just started her second week using the Curly Girl Method.  Take a moment to watch her progress; she just received some new hair products from Jessicurl, and her hair is really making waves!   The first commandment was to stop using a hairbrush on your curly hair.  This post is addressing another important hair topic:

Commandment No. 2:  Thou shalt treat your scalp and hair separately.

Recognizing this concept is essential for taking care of naturally curly hair.  Your scalp and your hair have different care requirements.    

If you use a special scalp treatment (like one with salicylic acid), or medicine for your scalp, you can continue to use it.  First apply conditioner to the ends of your hair to protect it from the harshness of your shampoo or scalp treatment.   My favorite product to use on my scalp is DevaCare’s No Poo, which gives my scalp just the right amount of tingly cleaning while still being gentle on my hair.  I also love using Jessicurl’s Gentle Cleansing Cream, which cleans and leaves my hair feeling soft and conditioned, not stripped.  Oh and that Island Fantasy scent is yummy!

1. After rinsing your hair, apply your favorite conditioner onto the ends of your hair.
2. Apply a small amount of shampoo or scalp treatment to your scalp area only.
3. Massage shampoo into your scalp gently using the pads of your fingertips.
4. Rinse out thoroughly with warm water.
5. Either re-apply more conditioner to your entire head, comb through and let sit for 3+ minutes, or for finer-haired curlies skip to step #7.
6. Rinse hair with warm water.
7. Finish with a cold as you can stand rinse to seal the hair shaft.

After your cold water rinse, do not aggressively squeeze or dry rub your hair with a terry cloth towel.  Gently blot hair wet hair with a microfiber towel, and Jess would recommend leaving your hair dripping wet until you have applied all of your styling products.  By keeping your hair dripping wet, your styling products will distribute themselves better and help seal in more moisture. 

Jessicurl has also created a Stimulating Scalp Massage Oil, which is to be used on the scalp to soothe and stimulate hair growth.  Jess reports it gives “quite a tingle” and can be used either on dry or wet hair. 

“This stuff is seriously potent! A scalp massage with this will leave your scalp tingly all over, and your hair much softer. It’s even better when someone else does the massage for you! Spray it directly onto your scalp and massage it in. After a few minutes you’ll start to feel the tingle. You can leave it in for an hour and then wash it out, or wait until the next morning to wash it out. A warning to those leaving it in overnight, I’ve found that if I use it too close to bedtime, the peppermint smell keeps me awake at night. For this reason, it’s better to use it far in advance of bedtime if you’re going to leave it in overnight. It can be used on either wet or dry hair, but I find that using it on wet hair allows for better absorption into my hair.” 

There is nothing I enjoy more than a good scalp massage.  This scalp treatment sounds like a great way to soothe your nerves as well as stimulate your scalp. 

Here’s to another week Tracy!