Natural Remedies for Scalp Infections

My entire scalp was red, painful, oozing, and covered in sores. After a week of various attempts at relief (mostly plant oils and cold water rinses), it was only getting worse. I ended up in the ER due to whatever reaction I was having spreading to my face, neck, and ears. I was prescribed steroids and given benadryl, yet after two doses, my scalp was getting worse. It was one of the most unbearable things I've ever experienced.

In desperation, I poured a 1:8 ACV/water rinse over my head. I was terrified it would make it worse, but after about 30 seconds of burning, I started feeling relief. I repeated the rinse 30 minutes later and OH MY GOSH, the results are nothing short of a miracle. Because I assume it was a bacterial infection, I blowdried my hair immediately to remove all moisture. The itching and pain are 99% gone, and the sores disappeared. I'm still in shock at how quickly and effectively this worked.

Hallo,

In perusing your excellent site, I came across a remedy for an itchy scalp, using a mixture of Borax & Aloe Vera.

But the instructions are not clear. It states:-

"3Tb borax with 1 liter of aloe Vera(100%) Massage into affected areas after shower and at bed."

Do I massage this mixture into the scalp - leave for ?? time - then shower it off plus ? massage more onto scalp,

then leave on for the night.???????

I would be most grateful for the definite & clear instructions as I have the ingredients at the ready & was hoping to start the treatment as soon as possible.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

I'm glad I found Earth Clinic.

Was at my wits end battling itchy, scratchy scalp. Like others I spend a fortune on shampoos, and deems and had zero luck. My scalp was always irritated and it actually made me feel sick. What worked for me as last treatment I mixed baking soda and borax into a paste and massage into my scalp and left on for ten minutes, then diluted it some in shower massaging mixture into skin. After rinsing followed up with Apple cider vinegar. Miracle! No peeling skin, or flakes. Amazing. I have a habit of touching my scalp from this affliction of a year, and there are no plaques! Ecstatic that such a simple remedy actually works. I have have also been using one part vinegar, one part 3 percent peroxide, pinch of borax, then the rest water as spray during the day, but what really worked was the baking soda and borax mixture. I did try just borax but it didn't give me the results. I am taking anti candida fungal herbals pau darco, caprylic acid, probiotics. Coconut yogurt.

Catherine, In the best seller, “Honest Medicine,” the Julia Shoepick describes how she healed her husband's head wound after repeated surgeries to the same area by using “Silverlon.” After struggling in the hospital for weeks, she was able to get a Silverlon bandage from a doctor friend and the would was healing overnight. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=silverlon+bandages&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 Best wishes.

Catherine, you should try Manuka honey on your Mother's sore, it has healing qualities.Good luck.

Hi! I am looking for something to heal radiation damage done to my mothers' scalp. She is happy and healthy, but she cannot get the weeping sore to heal on the top of her head. She says it doesn't hurt, it just will not stop leaking a yellow substance. She's frustrated with the mess it leaves on her pillow at night. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

This helped me rid my scalp of the itchy, peeling condition.

You'll need:

• 2 ounce sprayer bottle
• 1 ounce distilled water
• .75 ounce 70/30 alcohol. Having this amount alcohol will keep this self-preserved!
• 8 drops Lugol's Iodine
• 1/8 tsp borax, this is equivalent of a tiny pinch

Allow solution to sit and dilute the borax or it will clog sprayer.

Note: You can use without borax.

Use several times a day. If you have demodex, spray as soon as you feel a tickle.

This may hurt on affected area, but as they dry up and flake off this will no longer happen. Benefits easy to use, less discoloration than using full strength iodine.

Use on body parts without having iodine stain, knees, feet etc.

Do not add any other oils, or herbs to this - it will make it hard to preserve and you can make the spray bacteria soup.

If "they" are not sure you have candida, what do they base their assessment on? I used to work for a naturopathic physician in NYC. Some of his clients would come after going through "mainstream" medical exams. Blood tests did not show candida. BUT these patients had POCKETS of the candida that did not show up in blood stream. When those were addressed, patients healed. - They all seemed to get some periods of detox. The way we explained it to them was simple:

"If you are feeling great, and next morning feel lousy like catching the cold, it is detoxing. Why? Because your body was feeling strong, looked around and said- let's get some clean up done. Otherwise getting sick feels like coming DOWN with something. Hop into Epsom salt and baking soda bath - about 1 cup total, and you'll be good tomorrow." It was so true . Next day we got calls that the patient was feeling good again - and of course till the next detox. Usually one a week was what we heard, and saw.

I'm interested in trying out this method for bacteria infection in my head but won't my hair change colors with adding the hydrogen peroxide?

Hi Shanti,
Borax (2O Mule Team) from the laundry aisle is the first thing I would try. It's safe and effective. It's anti-fungal. It's great for your skin. I would get some pure Castile soap (such as Dr Bronners). Get the soap lathered all over your scalp. Then add a handful of borax on top of your head and work it throughout your entire scalp. Massage it in and let it sit for a while. Rinse. If you're going to use conditioner, then only apply it to your hair and not your scalp. This should really help relieve the itch and get your hair nice a clean.

Other great things to try-
- Tea tree essential oil (added to shampoo or to some coconut oil for scalp treatment)
- Scrub wet scalp in shower with baking soda. Wash as usual. Final rinse with water mixed with some apple cider vinegar
- Coconut oil and / or Castor Oil (pure, 100%). If you feel your scalp is dry and irritated, massage with oil and leave on for an hour or overnight. 1-2 drops of lavender essential oil added in can be soothing.

Hope this helps!

I am not sure if I have the same problem as you, but here is what happened. I have extremely curly hair. I stupidly left it in a bun for about 3 weeks without washing it. Once I took the bun out my hair was two giant matted knots on each side of my head. Same as you, they were very hard. It took SEVERAL sessions over a 2 week period of attempting to brush out. I tried everything I could think of and what I read on the Internet. Jojoba oil, coconut oil, Vaseline, several deep conditioners, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, etc. never found the tangler teaser (name?) and didn't go as far as fabric softener or we-40, but on a daily basis I patiently used a pick, a stick, and my fingers- digging my way through the knots. My hair was pretty long- it took YEARS to grow it- I am biracial, and though my hair is thin I had lots of it. When I finally got the last knot out I was left with very little hair :-(. A couple of pieces of my long hair remain, but otherwise I have areas of very short hair and I have very little left of it. I can fake a hairstyle by moving the longer pieces near the short ones. But what worries me most is my scalp.

During the time I was brushing it out and now, my scalp is EXTREMELY itchy. There are no big splotches or bumps, but I am constantly itching. Feels as if small bugs are crawling on my scalp. Could this be from dry hair? Or does it sound like an infection or fungus of some sort. I fear that my remaining hair is going to fall out. Oh, AND when I was detangling it there were pieces of hair that looked like they were covered in a dark slimy oil substance. It's been about 3 weeks and I'm still constantly itching. Not sure if I should try natural products or if I need to go to the doctor-maybe it's the same condition you have? The difference is my hair knotted because I didn't take care of it and left it tied up.

I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

This is pretty old but I thought I would respond just in case someone has a similar issue. I found the item below. It says that there could be a yeast that is a part of the demodex. Supposedly, the yeast thrives on oil of any kind.

SOURCE: http://www.herbaltransitions.com/Malassezia.html

QUOTE: I would warn you that the use of oils on the skin may feed this lipophilic (lipid loving) yeast. The craze of using coconut oil liberally on the skin for a variety of skin afflictions may make the feeling of something crawling and itching skin worse for these people. In research labs when they study Malassezia hyphae, they have to give them a lipid source to get the yeast to grow hyphae in the lab. Other things that will generate a proliferation of Malssezia are the use of corticosteroids and or antibiotics.

Hey I just totally saw this a few minutes after reading your post no it's not what I'm dealing with I just wanted to give you five things up for you are totally on track with your diagnosis and treatment why here it is sorry I feel the need to share but I'm going to :p

Demodex brevis mites feed on the glandular cells of the sebaceous gland that attaches to hair follicles (pilosebaceous glands) and meibomian glands. The sebaceous glands produce an oily substance known as sebum. Meibomian glands produce meibum which prevents tears from rapidly evaporating. It plays an important role in eye moisture.
Medication
TREATMENT:)
Tea tree 5% ointment.
Mercury oxide 1% ointment.
Topical insecticides like permethrin and crotamiton creams.
Topical antibiotics like erythromycin and metronidazole.
Oral medication like ivermectin for people with weakened immune systems such as in HIV infection.

DENISE,,,,,,, Get you a plastic jar add 20 mule team borax until 1/2 full. Add water. The jar will be saturated. Pour on your hair after washing your hair and then shower. When done, rinse your hair. Do not wash again. Keep adding water to the jar until there is no borax in the bottom after you shake. Start over. Hey girl, it's just that simple. Keep doing this until your problem is solved or you know this ain't gonna help. I have been doing this for many, many years. The only scalp problem I have is due to the sun and Borax will not solve that problem. It should take care of dandruff or a fungus.

Wish you well. =====ORH====

How do I mix and use borax on my scalp and for how long please?

I had scalp issues for 4 years after 3 dermatologist & many scalp prescriptions.... I used two lemons just squeezed them on scalp and it cleaned my whole scalp from fungus, dandruff. & dustmites.

Thanks for your reply Mama to Many,

So, just to recap :

- wash your hair with shampoo, rinse with water

- spray the acv/water (1:1 ratio) solution on wet hair (do you massage a bit the solution?)

- do not rinse and dry your hair with towel

I hope to get rid of my oily dandruff with this process. (I've already seen an improvement by using acv).

Dear Kevin,

I have done this daily or every other day for long periods with no problems.

I do not rinse out the water/acv mixture; I let it dry on my hair/scalp. You end up smelling like a salad until it dries.

~Mama to Many~

Mama to many,

Do you rinse the apple cider vinegar solution or let it dry?

It isn't dangerous to do this rinse everyday until I'm cured?

Thanks.

Me too. we have the same sometimes I try the anti-fungal shampoo the red one which does make it only work but they gave me this one in a white bottle and it was orange kind of did it really did work you could feel the difference see the difference and explore the difference but unfortunately they took it off of the shelf for Medicare people. I use espom salt in my shampoo which kind of works. And feels really really good on your skin. But I can't control the burning. I am going to the doctors .

I have the same thing. I used tea tree oil but it does not help. The hair mats into a ball of dry dandruff like mess. Sometimes sticky ooze forms. What brand of tea tree oil do you use? Like you I tried everything. It sometimes gets painful.

My scalp condition sounds familiar. I even thought I had psoriasis on my scalp at one point. The thing that has helped with the redness is vitamin c. I crush up a few pills, mix it with water and pour it on my head. Leave it on overnight, and it helps my hair too. It's a constant battle though, I have to use quite a few remedies. Other than that, I have found bi-weekly tea tree oil mixed with olive oil has helped (I think a 1/10 ratio, it irritates people's skin) and wash after 10 minutes or so. They say daily use is needed, so I also mix a little in my shampoo.

Thanks,

I'll will try the 50/50 solution (acv water) an let it sit for 30 min before rinsing with my organic shampoo.

Dear Kevin,

I would be careful about using hydrogen peroxide in your hair. It can bleach it.

For the build up you might try baking soda paste. Just mix baking soda and water and apply to the scalp and rinse out after 10 minutes. Repeat once or twice a week but not more often and the scalp really wants to remain more alkaline.

Some use apple cider vinegar to rinse the hair daily.

I dilute Apple Cider Vinegar with water - half of each. Then pour over head. If I really want it touching the scalp, I put the mixture in a bottle with a little spout and can squirt it right onto my scalp. (Worked great when my head was itchy one time.)

As a teen with greasy hair I did vinegar after washing my hair every day for a good while. I used distilled white vinegar for that back then.

~Mama to Many~

Hello,

I got what I think a scalp infection. I've tried borax solution and it's worked but I have a lot of buildup on my scalp now. My scalp is still oily but much less than he used to be. I'm gonna try the Apple Cider Vinegar with peroxide now. But before I have a few question.

Do I have to spray the solution on wet scalp/hair?

How much the recipe is in order to cover all the scalp? (Ratio 1 Apple Cider Vinegar / 1 h202 / 10 water)

Could I do this every day before shampoo until my scalp is clear?

Thanks for your advices, Kevin

You can do it like that. I had scalp sores so tried borax. My recipe was borax in water to make a paste, then add dish liquid. Apply to hair, lather it up, and let it sit for about 5 minutes. That helped a lot, but now I do this: stir borax into water, no need to measure because you want to dissolve as much as you can. Then you let the solid borax that cannot dissolve settle onto the bottom. Pour off the borax-saturated water, add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide and mix. Apply to your head, being careful not to let it drip into your eyes. I do this while standing in the shower and just keep my head out of the water. I leave it on long enough to get the rest of me clean, so 5-10 minutes, and then rinse.

Hello,

I'm going to try borax on my scalp but I'm not sure how to proceed.

I've seen on the internet the following process :

1/4 cup of Borax

2 cup war water

Mix and pour it over scalp (dry or do I have to put some water before?) and let it sit of 30min to 1h and then wash.

Do I have to scrub my scalp with the solution or just pour it?

For the wash do I have just to do it with water?

Thanks.

Kévin

I am defeating the head, neck and shoulders issue with spots/sores. The easiest way to cover all areas for me is to take a bath with epsom salts, baking soda (50/50 mix) plus Apple Cider Vinegar OR Food grade vinegar in the bath water. This instantly treats and dries up the sores. They can and sometimes do return if not treated well in a couple of days again. I also apply 100% Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca) during the day. It works well as long as I keep from scratching or irritating it further. Right now it's in a good stage of remission. There are many good ideas on here so I may get some Aloe Vera soon.

Have you tried washing with borax? This will help kill any fungus you have that is causing the build up on your scalp.

I'm sorry but what is TCP?

My scalp was badly embedded with an infection/fungus with extreme itching and hair loss. VCO & ACV did not help. What finally worked after trying so many products was non-deodorized mouthwash - cheap lysterine. From the first wash -- less itching. After daily use for a week, the infection and itching was gone and my hair started filling in where it had thinned. I applied to hair and scalp, scrubbed and massaged, waited 15 minutes, then thoroughly rinsed. No shampoos or conditioners required. It worked so well that this cleaning method is all I use and only once a week. I was hesitant at first but realized I occasionally use mouthwash in my mouth! As long as it beautifully works and I have no side effects, I'll continue using this cleaning method.

I, too, get eruptions on my scalp. I think it's fungus. I've been using turpentine on it. I usually dip a q tip into the turp and apply it to the spots but, sometimes, I can feel a spot coming on and then I smear it around. I had a fungus on my neck as a child (looked like I had a dirty neck) and it eventually went away on its own (my mom wouldn't apply the cream and I was only like 8 yrs old). Anyway, I see great results from the turp after several days of doing this. I put it on when I first get up and then, an hour or so later, take my shower and shampoo.

Patricia, try to find out what your body doesn't like and is trying to expel. Topical stuff is usually only temporary.

About one month ago I started getting these small barnacles ( for lack of a better word ) I used a Rx shampoo

And I thought all was well UNTIL

I started getting these raised sores and stabbed areas.I went to dermatologist who then gave me Clindamycin and a gel - oily steroid to put on the open areas. That all went away ..BUT then comes these massive amts of sandy, grainy junk all over my scalp. I wash and soak it with OTC shampoos to know avail. I can pick off the mounds of sand but within a minute it seems there it is again. I am currently taking doxicyline for a month. I have tried a mixture of half n half organic ACV with water. Again no help. So does anyone have any ideas.?

Thank you for reading.

I see all these remedies for the coconut oil and peroxide but do you leave the mixture on overnight and wash it out the next day or wash it out after a few hours?

About 2 weeks ago I noticed 3 different knots or small mats forming in my hair, they were about the size of a quarter. I didnt think much of it because my hair is very long to my butt, and has always gotten tangled easily. I had also been sleeping alot lately and not brushing my hair after showers. Well I a friend offered to brush out the knots because she is a hairdresser. So she worked on my hair for 4 hrs one night, and didnt get out a single knot, as a matter of fact, they all got BIGGER, and hard, they formed actual shapes, one was shaped and sized exactly like a computer mouse, one was perfectly circle and flat about the size of a 50cent pc, and the third was perfectly round like a ball. The amount of hair in each knot grew, like it was attaching itself to all the hairs. They got so big and firm that I couldn't even push a safety pin into one, not even a mm in! I scoured the internet along with my friends and family for 3 days trying to find anything that even came close to what I had, we couldn't find anything because these were no normal knots.

I came across and discovered It was from an EXTREMELY rare little known condition called Plica Polonica (I suggest anyone suffering from weird hair conditions, like sticky/tacky/dark slimy-like sections of hair, anywhere on the hair, look up this condition). Doctors still know very little about the cause and there is no cure or remedy except to cut the masses of hair off. But I suspected all along this condition is actually due to a fungal or bacterial growth. I tried everything known to man to get the knots out including wearing an entire giant jar of mayo on my head for 18 hours! I tried vinager, listerine, dawn, olive oil, hot oil, everything! I ended up cutting off the hair after a week of failed attempts to even remotely loosen them. But ever since I cut them all off 2 days ago, I have been getting these big pimple like bumps all over my head.

So I tried tea tree oil directly on the bumps, and its working! I don't know what the bumps are, but I know they have something to do with the scalp hair condition Plica Polonica, and the Tea Tree oil is killing it. If you have very knotty sections of hair, or you feel something kinda sticky in your hair, I suggest doing Tea Tree oil all over your scalp. I think if I would have paid more attention to the signs and treated my hair and scalp earlier, it never would have developed into Plica Plonica.

Please get your Thyroid checked. I had the same happen to me. I made an appointment with an endocrinologist. I had low thyroid and a small area of cancer. Gwen

I had the exact same issue with my scalp. I got those little bumps, some with pus some without and my scalp itched badly and felt sore and the bumps turned into cuts. Did you rinse the ACV and peroxide concoction out or did you leave it in. If you left it in, how long?

TCP for scalp infection/scalp odor/smell hair syndrome:

Use TCP which you can get from most pharmacies/chemists depending on where you live (I found it in the mouthwash aisle). Cover your scalp in TCP and let it soak under a shower cap for a few hours, then wash it off with normal shampoo.

Side effect - your head will smell like TCP for about a week. This is a strong disinfectant smell but not a horrible smell. So it's better to do this on a weekend or when you will be seeing less people. The smell of TCP will fade with time and the infection on your scalp that causes odor will be gone.

I posted this a few years back and would like to add that the citronella oil did help a lot in terms of decreasing the smell but the odor would come back on hot days when I sweated. (Before that, the odor was there all the time, sunny or cold). But the real thing that removed the smell completely is TCP.

I'm going through the same thing due to some meds I'm taking, all but the smelly hair. Try searching salt and water. As a light paste on your scalp, not hard! Leave on ten min.and then wash it out be careful. Not to dig into the scalp to hard. Then shampoo and condition as usual. At first try, it twice a week. That's what I'm doing.

Hello everyone.

From nearly all of the posts I see, it seems like most of you have demodex or hair mites. They thrive on oily skin and scalp. They live inside your hair follicle, hence your hair falling out. Also change your diets, this is a sign of a weak immune system. Eat organics and take organic vitamins to boost immune system. Best thing to do is see a dermatologist and ask for a natural treatment. If they don't help then YouTube and google are your best friends to finding a cure.

God be with you all.

Leo

Its not SD. Some to most have demodex. It all falls within the symptoms categories

You have hair mites (demodex) bro. Do some research. More and more people are getting hair mites. They live inside your hair follicles and eat at it which is causing your hair loss.

Staphylococcal Folliculitis Scalp Infection:

I have been very successful with a mixture of jojoba oil/tea tree/clove oil in a spray bottle. I put the nozzle to my scalp and get just the right amount with no mess. I massage my scalp and leave this on overnight. No more itch or follicle pain and my hair is growing back. I also added biotin to help the hair grow.

I was originally using Tea Tree Oil for the scabs on my scalp. When it got worse (not from Tea Tree Oil) I used 3 drops of grapefruit seed extract in my shampoo, as suggested by someone. After only 2 hair washes, the scabs are 3/4 gone. I also use grapefruit seed extract for teeth and gums.