Ongoing Dreadlock Care - Itchies!

No Money For the Shampoo Bar? Try this...

If you are dealing with the itchies and are too broke to pick up one of our amazing shampoo bars to help treat it, there are a few other all-natural things that you can also try before resorting to gross-smelling, poison-filled medicated shampoos from the drug store.

The first thing that you can do to kill the itch itself is mix up a lil’ vinegar and water solution, and spritz it onto your scalp (not your dreads) with a spray bottle. The proportions are 1 part vinegar to 9 parts water. The great thing about this is that this stuff is easy to make, and for some reason it doesn't make you smell like a fish ‘n’ chips shop at all! Spray it onto your scalp, and let it sit for a couple of minutes before rinsing your hair. If you find this solution too weak, beef up the vinegar a little, but be careful, and keep it way the funk outta your eyes. If it’s too strong, well, add less vinegar or add more water to the bottle. Even though this vinegar/water treatment is quite diluted, you still don't want to burn an irritated scalp. And we don't recommend that you use this solution more than a few times a week.

As for dandruff, there is something you can make that has proven to be successful amongst the Knotty Boy team in the past, so we'll pass it along. It's a rosemary tonic, and it's really easy to make...

Go to the health food store and get a bag of dried rosemary, not powdered. (It'll look like little sticks.) Go home and put a large handful in a pot and cover it with water, plus an inch. Don't boil it, but just simmer it for about 20 minutes (DON'T LET IT BOIL DRY) until the liquid is really dark, like a strong thick tea, and then strain it into a cup or something you can pour from easily. Then swab your scalp with a cotton ball dipped in it so it gets to all the irritated spots - and the point is to keep the solution in contact with your scalp as long as possible so it's effective. Let it dry - don't bother rinsing unless you really want to. Hopefully you will notice the dandruff is completely gone the next day and no itch! And if it reappears, do it again. No more stinky septic shampoos. Yay!