Natural Cures for Dandruff

Borax

Posted by Lisa (Thousand Oaks, Ca, Usa) on 07/01/2012
★★★★★

I often see posts asking for help with dandruff and itchy scalp. I was plagued with this problem for a very long time. When I read about borax here on earth clinic, I decided, why not? That was a couple of years ago. Once I used it, I have not been bothered with an itchy scalp or dandruff since. I do have to say though that over those couple of years I've done an awful lot of detoxing as well. Still, I remember the relief I had from the borax for my issues! Hope this helps others, Lisa

White Vinegar

Posted by Paulette (Baltimore, Md) on 06/30/2012
★★★★☆

I suffered with dandruff for years, and it got worst as those years went on. Like many others with this problem, I tried every dandruff shampoo. Nothing worked. I even bought I lice treatment because I thought I had lice. I thought about shaving my head many times.

While I cannot remember exactly how I came across this page promoting apple cider vinegar, I thank God I did. When I first read all of the positive reviews, I thought I would have to buy something when I scrolled down to the end of the page. The solution to intense itching and flaking could not be as simple as vinegar I thought.

So I went to walmart to purchase the vinegar. I was willing to try anything, as I was at my wits end. They did not have acv, but they did have a huge bottle of white distilled vinegar for $1.82.

When my hair began to itch, I sprayed the vinegar onto my scalp using a spray bottle. I did not dilute it. After the first few minutes, I felt relief. It also burned. I let it sit on for an hour, then washed my hair with a moisterizing shampoo.

My hair never felt so fresh. Usually I have flakes even after washing my hair. Usually I have an itching attack within the next 3 days. Not this time. Now I would not say I'm cured, but its a real improvement.

I wish I knew about this sooner! This is life changing! I no longer feel insecure that flakes may be showing. I feel normal now. Spread the word! Vinegar for dandruff should be common knowledge.

Henna

Posted by Emily (Tampa, Florida) on 01/06/2012
★★★★★

I've had problems with dandruff, and an irritated, itchy scalp for years, especially since I've lived in a more humid climate (Florida). I recently tried apple cider vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, which helped a little, but not that much. I did notice recently, however, after coloring my hair with henna, my scalp felt much better, not itchy and irritated at all.

A little internet research suggested that henna is in fact a treatment for dandruff, lice, and other scalp issues. The only downside to this would be the fact that it's a dye of sorts, so you'd have to be willing to go with that. Worked great for my purposes, however, and I wasn't even anticipating it helping my scalp issues!

Water Only Wash

Posted by Lardiver (Abbotsford Bc, Canada) on 12/30/2011
★★★★★

I read a story about a girl who cured her dandruff just by washing her hair in water with no soap or shampoo. This seemed too easy, but I tried it. Now, a few weeks later, my dandruff is almost gone. Very few flakes, it's just going away. You want to get rid of your dandruff, just us your finger nails and water for about 15 seconds when you wash your hair. It really works. Lardiver

Iodine

Posted by Kaz (Greenbank, Qld, Australia) on 06/03/2010

Dandruff can be a symptom of iodine deficiency.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Mrloux (Bay Area, Ca) on 02/13/2010
★★★★★

Dandruff: ACV-H202 mix worked!!

After using a baby shampoo I noticed my scalp flaking and itching. So I went and got a coal tar shampoo and things got worse. After a hair cut I could see the red scaly areas and my bald forehead was very red. I was so worried that I tried a little of everything, ACV, alcohol, milk of Magnesia, colloidal silver, it got better then it came back again a day or two later. Thinking that it was the coal tar that was working but it came back, knowing something worked I had to go through and try again, this time with Ted's 1/p ACV 1/p H202, 10/p water and things are clearing up fast at 40 hours later.

I washed w/ ACV solution let it sit for 5 min then rinsed. Then applied Aloe Vera gel and let that set for the night next morn cold shower wash w/ ACV solution then shampooed w/ my old stand by natural citrus from TJ's. I decided to stay away from SLS which is the main ingredient in the baby shampoo, coal tar, and many other so called psoriasis shampoos.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Regulator555 (Grand Rapids, Mi, Usa) on 06/02/2010
★★★★☆

Ted's remedy helped with the itching, however, I still have the flakes. Any ideas?

Apple Cider Vinegar, Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Debbie (San Diego, California) on 01/31/2010
★★★★☆

While I know I still need to address the cause,( not drinking enough water and eating too much processed foods)I have found much relief to my very, very bad dandruff problem thanks to this site. I read through all the posts and did the following;

Raw, unfiltered, organic AC vinegar and tap water 1:1 ratio in spray bottle. Adjust to stream and seperated sections of hair to soak scalp. I just let it dry overnight, next morning I brushed it out and things looked better. I went to whole foods and picked up the tea tree oil.

When I got home, I added @25 drops of tea tree oil to spray bottle that had 1/2 cup ACV and 1/2 cup water. Same method of application and again, left it over night. I washed hair with my new DE shampoo and conditioner. WOW!! 90% better!! My hair has not been this shiny in ages. My scalp does not hurt. Minor,random itch.I can pull my hair back and am not worried. I have great hope that this is my answer.

Dandruff shampoos never really worked for me and this last batch seemed to make it worse. My hair looked awful. Keeping my fingers crossed and will post again after giving this method some time.

Thanks to all who posted information.

Red Wine Vinegar

Posted by Maler23 (Chicago, Il, USA) on 09/14/2009
★★★★★

Stats: 30 yr old male; Short hair (might make a difference for some of you)

Symptoms:
Started getting noticeable dandruff this last winter. My skin dries out really easily and winters in Chicago can definitely dry me out. Was noticing it most on the pillow when I woke up but, the more I tried to "treat" it with different conditioners and shampoos, the worse it seemed to get.

Finally, I found the best and least stinky way: Red Wine Vinegar.

Solution:
Tried a couple of variations using Trader Joes products(Tea Tree Shampoo and Tea Tree Conditioner). Tried Shampoo first and then followed up with the solution. Nope. For a while, I also tried the solution and then followed up with the Conditioner. It was ok(the tea tree/peppermint was nice and cooling), but I still noticed flakes.

The best solution I've come up with is no shampoo and no conditioner. I simply use the following solution once every couple of days:

I just use:

-1/2 Red Wine Vinegar
-1/2 Water
-Mix and put into a spray bottle.
-Wet hair, spray, let soak for 30 seconds-ish and then rinse twice.

It's actually pretty amazing. I was worried my hair would get too greasy or that my scalp would freak out, but I simply use that solution every other day(or so. on off days I just rinse with water), but the solution de-greases my hair while still leaving it conditioned and my scalp is very happy. It also passes the girlfriend test for smell. If I'm feeling paranoid or I run out of Red Wine Vinegar and have to switch to Apple Cider, I simply spritz some essential oil or cologne on my hand and run it through my hair.

Good luck!

Zinc Pyrithione Shampoo

Posted by Mike (Sofia, Bulgaria) on 07/04/2009
★★★★★

Nizoral, Skin cream, Shampooing much less often, and Zinc Pyrithione

I used to have the worst dandruff back in the Head and Shoulders days.I would create a snowstorm every time I swept my hair back. I have brought it completely under control now. Here's how I did it.

First of all on the advice of a dermatologist I used Nizoral, maybe 2 times a week and shampooed with some neutral shampoo other days. It's a standard dandruff product and it works great in the beginning. Trouble is that like most dandruff cures eventually you get tolerant to it and the problem comes back. When it started coming back I cut back on the Nizoral. In fact I eventually phased it out. Instead I was putting skin cream on my scalp after shampooing. Makes the hair a little greasy but it beats dandruff for sure. That worked great too, for almost a year. I was pretty much dandruff free. Eventually the problem returned but I had a good year :)

It occurred to me I was probably shampooing too often and that there is an ingredient in most shampoos that causes dandruff called sodium lauryl sulphate (it's in toothpaste too. I eliminated mouth ulcers by getting special toothpaste). So I decided I was going to try to do without shampoo altogether, like the hippies :). Well it was pretty horrible going 3 weeks without shampoo. I used an earthclinic tip - the apple cider vinegar directly on the scalp to keep my dandruff under control whilst not shampooing. I got though the period to the point when your glands stop over producing oils and my scalp calmed down. The itching stopped, but I'm afraid to tell you ACV doesn't work for ever. After some time I got resistant and the problem came back.

I went to a dermatologist and she gave me some Zinc Pyrithione shampoo called ____. I don't think the brand matters much. In any case, wonderful stuff. Since that day I shampoo my hair only once a fortnight with the ___, and do not use anything else on my hair in the between periods. After about 14 days I start to get a little itchy so I have another blast of it. I resist the temptation to use it more often because once you go down that road it will stop working. If I feel more irritable than usual I apply vinegar before using the ____ shampoo, and might apply some skin cream afterwards, but only once - not every day.

Well that's it folks. I've been under control for at least a year. Unlike most of the testimonials here I posted mine after a long period of testing :)

I think the secret for me is 2 fold. First the zinc pyrithione works for me, but secondly I needed to be shampoo free for several weeks before using it so I could minimize the usage. I am pretty sure if I was using it a couple times a week I would become tolerant and would already be looking for a new cure by now.

Coconut Oil

Posted by Philip (Kyle, Sask) on 01/24/2009
★★★★★

I had read about coconut oil and takin internally helps in weight loss so I took 3 tablespoons a day for a few months yes it works my side effect was all my life i struggled with dandruff ....no more dandruff... Phil

Apple Cider Vinegar, Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Keyana (Ridgeland, Mississippi) on 12/01/2008
★★★★★

My husband was suffering from very bad dandruff. There were flakes everywhere! I tried tea tree oil, but while it eliminated the lesions on his front hairline, the flakes remained. Finally, I mixed a solution of apple cider vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and water at a 2:2:1 ratio. I sprayed it on his scalp, massaged it in, and we left it on for about 10 minutes. Then he washed his hair with baby shampoo. Afterward I oiled his hair with cold pressed coconut oil. His dandruff has greatly diminished and we don't see a single flake unless he goes more than a day or two without washing.

He's down to the point now (after 1 1/2 weeks) where he doesn't HAVE to wash his hair every day. He doesn't do the vinegar/peroxide spray as often (about every other wash), but he continues the baby shampoo and coconut oil.

Rain Water

Posted by Marjorie S. (Clarkrange, Tennessee) on 03/01/2008
★★★★★

Dandruff. Rain water is the very best to shampoo with and then the most wonderful rinse you will ever use. Leaves your hair shiny and soft as baby hair. You will be thrilled. If your rain water is not perfectly clear when you collect it, let it settle and then carefully strain through a coffee filter. Do not collect the rain water in aluminum. Enjoy!

Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Raquel (West Palm Beach, FL) on 11/30/2006
★★★★★

I've had a mild case of dandruff for the past couple of years, but a few months ago it intensified. I have not figured out exactly what triggered it, I just knew that I had to something about it. I began developing open sores on my scalp from all the itching, and there was a lot of flaking. I had been taking apple cider vinegar orally for all of its benefits, but I began applying it to my scalp. While this stopped the itching for a while, as soon as I washed my hair, any improvements disappeared. I then began using a tea tree oil shampoo and applying coconut oil instead of a conditioner, and while this improved the quality of my hair, the itching and flaking remained. I work at a vitamin store, and one day I'd discovered that we carry straight tea tree oil, and I bought it and began massaging it only my scalp every other night, leaving it in my hair for the night and washing the next morning with my tea tree oil shampoo.

I also began taking two 1200 mg of organic flaxseed oil every day, as well as evening primrose oil. It's been about a week and the results are amazing! I have no itching, no flakes, and the sores are almost healed. I've even began using the tea tree oil on small scrapes I get on my hands from sculpture, and I find they are healing much faster than without it. This is an amazing find, and I would recommend the system to anyone.

Candida Cleanse

Posted by Ted (Bangkok,Thailand) on 01/22/2006 392 posts

Sorry, this is only one of the many causes. One cause may be fungus in your blood, which is a candida issue. The other is called a skin fungus, however there is no candida present. The third I found when doing microscopes samples of people's scalp is a parasites I have seen quite often, but candida is not present. The fourth cause I found to be a nitric oxide deficiency caused about by a nutritional deficiency. The fifth cause has to do with a circulatory issue caused by the pH acid/base imbalance which caused constriction of vessels which leads to a seborrheic skin which bought about a dandruff condition. The sixth cause is a hormonal imbalance issue bought about by several factors. Trying to cover all the causes in practice is not a practical one, so we narrow the most likely cases for a treatment. However, if you already know the causes than the treatment would be a relatively straightforward one. Suppose you do have a candida problem which bought about fungus which caused a dandruff issue. then a possible treatment is to take antifungal drugs such as Nystatin.

There in practice, the most common cause of severe dandruff based on extensive surveys is a skin fungus and parasites issue and this could in most cases be easily remedied with the use of lavender/tea tree/ apple cider. Candida which caused the dandruff does exist but it is not as widespread as people with a skin condition due to external fungus, parasites and nutritional issues. If you do have candida issue, then the treatment would be relatively straightforward to do anti-candida therapy. Unfortunately not everyone has candida.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Diana (Hong Kong) on 08/08/2018
★☆☆☆☆

Hi...I'd appreciate if anyone with similar problems to what I'm experiencing to share their solutions with me. I've had this dry itchy flaky scalp for so many years. Coupled with this is my 'hair fall' which seems to be worsening in the last few months. I've tried ACV, ACV with baking soda, ACV with tea tree oil, tea tree oil on its own, ACV with tea tree and rosemary, etc...

What else can I try? Thank you to whoever can offer some tips...

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Anon (Usa) on 08/15/2018

Suggestions:

Eat raw cacao butter to improve your skin

After washing your hair (daily) pour isopropyl alcohol over your scalp and wrap a towl around your head so it penetrates a bit - this is to kill any infection

Go organic, raw vegan

Stop eating: grains, dairy, tea, chocolate, anything that may be contaminated with lead, toxic metals, radiation

No hot tubs or public pools

No hats, ponytails, hair dye (black hair dye may contain lead) etc.

No petroleum based soaps, use baking soda, borax, or apple cider vinegar for washing

Borax

Posted by Shigure (Everywhere) on 11/16/2016

Anyone know how Lisa used the borax? Internally or externally?

White Vinegar

Posted by Citygirl27 (Richardson, Tx, USA) on 06/30/2012
★★★★★

When first getting in the shower, wet hair and take 1 cup of white vinegar and distribute it over hair. I have mine ready to go in a glass measuring cup. Rinse WELL before opening eyes, and then shampoo and condition as you normally would. I do the vinegar first because otherwise it strips my conditioner off instead of the residues and hair products I want it to. This serves numerous remedial functions: dandruff, lice, improved hair shine, clarifying, just try it. It is cheap and amazing. Smell will disappear as hair dries.

Cold Shower Therapy

Posted by @leahspeaking (Victoria, Bc Canada) on 06/19/2012

I started using Cold Shower Therapy as a way to kick start my day, and was surprised and thrilled to find that after a month of cold showers, I no longer have dandruff/dry scalp. I've had to deal with this since puberty, and it was starting to creep down from my hairline onto my face. It felt awful and it looked worse. I haven't changed my diet or any of the products I use, just the temperature of my shower water. I was at my salon for the first time tonight since starting the cold showers five weeks ago, and my stylist was shocked to see how healthy my scalp is. Give it a try! There are details on cold shower therapy elsewhere on this site, and some great info and inspiration at the Blog of Impossible Things.