The Best Salon Shampoos for an Itchy Scalp
The causes of itchy scalp, according to the Mayo Clinic, include too much shampooing and not enough cleaning, oily skin and dry skin, fungus, eczema and sensitivity to shampoos and creme rinses. Each scalp offers unique challenges for stylists who must analyze the hair and scalp.
The causes of itchy scalp, according to the Mayo Clinic, include too much shampooing and not enough cleaning, oily skin and dry skin, fungus, eczema and sensitivity to shampoos and creme rinses. Each scalp offers unique challenges for stylists who must analyze the hair and scalp. The selection of an appropriate shampoo is a central part of a salon treatment for an itchy scalp.
Tea Tree Shampoo
Shampoos containing Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil (from the tree popularly known as "tea tree"), including Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo, offer a natural astringent that dries the scalp to reduce the dandruff-creating fungus from the skin. Tea trees are native to Australia, and Paul Mitchell claims that clinical studies of the tea oil confirm its oil reducing properties. Peppermint, chamomile and lavender are also used in the shampoo. Stylists use Paul Mitchell products due to the environmental-friendly policies used by the company in selecting and harvesting ingredients used to manufacture the products, as well as the fact that animals are not used for testing.
Shampoo with Oil
Chris McMillan, hair stylist to Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox, recommends Shu Uemura - Art of Hair: Scalp Cleansing Oil. The choices include the Shu Uemura product, FUYU, with eucalyptus to stimulate the scalp, or NATSU, with jasmine to soothe it. Both offer oils to clean and balance the skin on the scalp The line of oil shampoos may be customized by the stylist or shampoo assistant to provide individualized treatments.
Antidandruff Shampoo
The Mayo Clinic states that dandruff is caused by a combination of excess dead skin cells and oil buildup that blocks the pores on the scalp. An antidandruff shampoo eliminates excess oil, cleans out the extra skin cells and treats an itchy scalp. "Glamour" magazine tested 50 shampoos in a clinical setting in 2009 and rated Biolage Scalptherapie Antidandruff Shampoo as the top shampoo "for preventing pesky flakes." The advantages of the salon shampoo include the non-medicinal fragrance and the effectiveness of the formula in preventing dandruff.
Scalp Treatment Shampoos
Shampoos designed to work with scalp treatments are part of the system used by top salons, including DNA Salon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This "Elle" magazine Top-100 salon uses the DevaCurl and Scalp Hair Treatment System as part of its shampoo and scalp system. This scalp treatment, categorized as a pharma-centric product, incorporates a hair and scalp analysis and selection of products that integrate treatment of the scalp as part of the system. The Deva-Curl No-Poo Zero Lather Conditioning Cleanser is a core product used in the system, and is free from any sulfates.