Have you ever been tempted to go no ‘poo? I’ve tried homemade shampoo but have never been especially happy with the results. My hair seems to freak out at the prospect of detoxing and goes slightly crazy. The no shampoo adjustment period – which is said to last weeks – has me totally petrified. Who can endure a 2-week long bad hair day? If you’re not ready for no poo, there’s good news – a deep cleansing DIY scalp scrub not only will help your hair detox but it also feels amazing.
These DIY scalp scrubs get rid of product buildup on your scalp and hair follicles. Regular use of conditioners gels, hair spray, and so on can make hair dull and flat so why not give your scalp the same detox attention that your body gets?
1. Exfoliating Brown Sugar + Oatmeal Scrub
This scalp scrub from Live Strong combines brown sugar and oatmeal to gently exfoliate the scalp, provide moisture and increase circulation to the hair follicle.
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons finely ground oatmeal
- 2 tablespoons hair conditioner
Combine ingredients in a bowl. Shampoo hair first to remove any styling products then scoop a small amount in the palm of your hand and work the scrub into your scalp, using a circular motion. Rinse thoroughly.
2. Clarifying Shampoo + Baking Soda Scrub
Add baking soda to your shampoo once a month makes for a easy and inexpensive clarifying shampoo that gently absorbs oil and removes product buildup. Tea tree oil is naturally antifungal and antiseptic. Using it on your hair helps eliminate bacteria and dandruff.
- 1 heaping tablespoon baking soda
- Big squeeze of shampoo (roughly 1 tablespoon)
- a few drops of tea tree oil
Combine ingredients and work the mixture through your hair, focusing on the scalp and roots. Give yourself a couple of minutes to massage into hair and enjoy a nice scalp massage to remove the accumulation of product and dead skin buildup. Rinse thoroughly with warm water. Note: this scrub isn’t recommended for color treated hair.
3. Deep Cleansing Salt + Olive Oil Scrub
Salt and oil combine to stimulate hair growth and remove any dandruff or dry flakes without drying out the scalp. The fatty acids in olive oil coat hair, providing moisture and protection against damage while the lemon juice dissolves product residue.
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Mix salt, lemon juice and oil together then wet hair and massage scrub into scalp for several minutes. Rinse well and shampoo.
Finish your scalp treatment with a moisturizing coconut oil, honey or avocado hair mask or an apple cider vinegar rinse to seal the outermost layer of your hair, the cuticles, leaving it super shiny.
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I have tried baking soda + lemon + shea butter instead of others oil.
After washing away i use remaining fresh aloe vera to apply my hair.
https://www.naturallivingideas.com/shea-butter-benefits/
Hair felt smooth and clean.
Hope this able to aids those who are in doubts.
Thanks
I tried the baking soda scrub, I would not recommend. I mean sure it removed the build up but it comepletly dried out my scalp and giving me temporary dendruff that lasted for a week. It also made my hair knotted beyond oblivion. If you use this then I suggest bracing yourself for the hell to come
Baking soda is very alkaline, so I am not surprised that you had this reaction. When I saw that they recommended baking soda I cringed. When I saw lemon, I flinched. When I saw the link to Livestrong, I finally got it.
There’s a web community that just sort of recycles these tips among one another without really checking with any dermatologists or anyone with a science background. It’s pretty irresponsible, really. Unfortunately, Livestrong is one of them (I have no idea how that happened) so when I see it, I am immediately wary. I hope that this is just this author and not this site that writes articles like this without proper research.
If you want beauty tips from people who do their research, Lab Muffin and Beautypedia do a fairly good job. The latter has ties to Paula’s Choice skincare line, so be wary when they recommend her products. Reddit’s skincareaddicts sub also has a good overall outlook toward doing your homework before recommending something. Now if only we could get the rest of the beauty web onboard!
I am very sorry that you went through this. At least you didn’t suffer in vain; hopefully people will read the comments and not try that remedy.
I tried the oatmeal+brown sugar +conditioner and my hair feels like velvet.
I just finished blowdrying with the brown sugar, oatmeal, and my choice of conditioner.
I suffered from severely tangled hair and the steel cut oats I had finely ground in a Mr. Coffee grinder remained attached to so many strands of hair that I appears to have nits!
Now – after leave in conditioner, cool and gentle, patient blowdrying on cool, my scalp and hair feel so Good!
I’m sure the scent of my treatment made me apply too much. It’ll be a while before I try another homemade treatment but it’s really worth the effort.
I love the deep cleanse scrub. I made it with coconut oil and citric acid too. I added these to your original ingredients. The citric acid gives it some lather. Hair and scalp feel great after this.
I’ve been using this recipe for over a year now and not only do I love it but my mobile hairstylist says that she loves it and it smells good too. Thanks for sharing this.
I’m sorry but I really didn’t like the oatmeal one. I followed the instructions but the scrup was really hard to get on my scalp. It didn’t really do any exfoliating and now I have oatmeal bits stuck in my hair.
I also tried the oatmeal scrub, not only is it messy, but stays in the hair for a very long time.
The other ones are good though and have been alternating them.
I used deep cleanse #3 first, massaged my scalp, left it on for 10 minutes, and washed my scalp with shampoo and baking soda twice( without the tea tree oil), applied some conditioner to the ends and my scalp feels so fresh and squicky clean and my hair is so shiny. I’m loving it!
Really then I will try it too
Hi Stephanie! Would really appreciate if you could reply me :)
#1 Are these scrubs meant to be done at the same time?
#2 How often would you recommend to do the oatmeal and salt scrubs?
Thanks :)
I have done the lemon olive oil and salt before and find it works wonders on my scalp. I find it is the best thing to get the gross build up I get from oily scalp with dandruff. But I find it is super messy!
Tonight I tried it with the shampoo, bicarb and teatree to get it all out and I am going too see if it will work too maintain a healthy scalp.
would it be smart to combine all the ingredients together for the effect of all 3?
i have long dreadlock .the deep cleansing remedy with salt lemon and oilive oil is only homemade remedy out of the numerous others ive tried that has worked good so far thanks for posting.
I have a mediterranian bold and feel some itchy like acne on my head skin.. Which method should i use?
Thanks
I usually use GKhair pH+ clarifying shampoo once a week on my scalp to remove an excess styling products, dirt, residue, product build up and other impurities. Amazing stuff. Works very well on my oily and greasy hair that is always suffering from residue and product build up. :) <3
I did the salt/lemon/o.o. scrub and it not only helped my scalp but i was so surprised to find that it made my hair so incredibly soft and strong feeling. my hair has NEVER felt so healthy, it was as if i had great virgin hair when its actually been colored/bleached many many times. Its been 5 days and my scalp hasn’t itched or flaked. Ill be doing this every week or 2 for life!
Hi. What type of salt did you use?
I used rock salt and added molasses. Perfect.
hey umm when you did this, did you need shampoo to wash it out? Or did you just rinse with water?
I would like to know too if the olive oil will need to be washed out. I couldn’t get my head to not stay being greasy afterwards. I only rinsed with water but my hair was still VERY oily.
Am I supposed to do these all the same night one after the other? And how often should I do each one?
Thank you
is any flavor of oatmeal usable? eg. cinnamon flavored.
I’d say use a non flavored oatmeal. 100% natural. Those flavorings may irriate your scalp.
Why is the clarifying shampoo not recommended for color treated hair? I’ve tried so many shampoos and alternatives but I cannot get a handle on my greasy and dandruffy hair, and I’d like to try that one. :(
The baking soda will strip out your hair color. It’s a handy trick if you overdid it with a hair color that’s too dark or something but otherwise you’ll end up having to color more often :/
Won’t the lemon juice scrub also mess up color treated hair? I’m really scared of using this one on my freshly dyed hair! Help!!