Most people think about their scalps as an ancillary aspect of their hair instead of a top priority. If you look at all the products on the market to fixate on hair, you’d think that’s where it’s at: fancy shampoos to get your tresses nice and shiny, leave-in conditioners for frizz, hair masks to combat damage. While all of these professional products are lovely, what most people fail to recognize is that they do nothing if the root of the issue – the scalp – is out of whack. When your scalp isn’t working properly, your hair isn’t either, and no expensive products will get you the looking locks you desire.
Perhaps more annoying is that scalp problems present as hair problems. You’ll think your breakage is stubborn; it may actually be your inflamed scalp. That lack of shine is chalked up to dullness; it may be circulation issues. That thinning hair you’re worried about might be sensitivity; you’d never know anything was wrong with the first layer of skin in your body.
Table of Contents
Inflammation
The number one issue that goes undiagnosed is inflammation of the scalp. The crazy thing about this is that it doesn’t always present as crazy redness or itchiness; sometimes it’s just a low-level inflammation that turns follicle health into havoc over years.
When the follicles are inflamed, they operate under duress. They either produce weaker strands that break or operate out of dormancy too quickly, and thus, people notice thinning hair. When those strands do emerge, however, they lack shine and bounce as the follicles aren’t in the optimal environment for making pretty hair.
Scalp inflammation can come from product buildup, irritants, over-washing, under-washing, unnecessary treatments, and even stress. But it happens over time; people fail to correlate their scalps with their hair. They just notice their hair looking lackluster and invest in different treatments.
Circulation Issues
Poor circulation throughout the scalp is another issue people rarely think about when it comes to getting their hair looking pretty. If blood isn’t flowing through the scalp, then there’s a lower likelihood that follicles will appreciate the nutrients necessary to make desirable strands.
This presents as hair that grows slowly, lacks strength and simply appears lackluster despite the amount of work that goes into it. All people feel like they’re losing hair – with some even remarking that they’re feeling it in their hands because it’s thin – when it’s not the case. It’s simply that they’re not getting the proper circulation through their scalps that they need for nice, lush hair. People assume this is age and genetics; in reality, poor circulation can be helped.
For those who have long-standing issues, professional help creating a customized scalp treatment plan can assess what’s wrong with circulation and other factors through and beneath the scalp health that cause problems.
Stress, bad posture, tight hairstyles and even how you sleep at night can impact circulation for all parts of your body; if one doesn’t pay attention to massaging the scalp or really thinking about how to keep the skin of one’s scalp healthy, there’s less likelihood of scalp success.
Buildup
When residue builds on the scalp through harsh ingredients – or just natural progression over time – the follicles suffer. The buildup doesn’t operate like buildup in general – excess products we apply to our hair; it’s talking about dry shampoo accumulation over time, hard water minerals that we can’t escape from our showers; nonexistent exfoliation efforts on our skin from shampoos just not cut out for the job.
When buildup occurs around a follicle opening, it can lead to many problems: the new hairs trying to grow in are stuck between a rock and a hard place – existing hairs look lackluster because the base cannot provide natural oils for prettiness or products cannot be absorbed in an adequate manner.
What’s difficult about buildup is that it happens slowly. People fail to notice their dulling hair or products working only for so long – and think their hair genetics have changed. They think they need different products when they actually just need a cleanse.
Sensitivity
Many people are sensitive to their scalps and don’t even know it. Scalp sensitivity doesn’t always present itself sensationally (pun intended) but instead causes chronic low-level irritation that they might not even notice until their hair quality improves over time.
Sulfates, fragrances, certain oils, even natural ingredients trigger reactions for those with sensitive properties. There may or may not be a reaction (a slight tingle) but the long term chronic inflammation makes hair weaker – and down the line – results in thinner, weaker strands, as well as slower growth.
Those with sensitive scalps often take it upon themselves to strike out with lots of different products because they figure a change will help their hairs out when in actuality, it’s their invisible sensitivity that makes it less than useful despite good efforts.
Unnatural Oil Production
Whether natural oil production is lacking or overpowering, this affects your hair more than you think – and not in terms of how greasy or dirty it looks – or alternatively too dry. Excess oil production leads to clogged pores which creates buildup – that cystic acne like presence of oil getting stuck near your hairs roots – which promotes fungal and bacterial growth which isn’t applicable unless we’re assessing flaking conditions.
Oil production leads to dryness and combined with a poor reaction to soap ingredients like sulfates and fragrances often makes people itchy without the right kind of barrier in place for their scalps underneath where most people cannot see.
The bottom line is that people often assume their hair is oily or dry. They blame genetics when all along there’s an uncomfortable reaction on their natural scalps prompting this development.
Environmental Issues
Sun damage occurs throughout our lives as does exposure to hard water minerals which can dry out your body but there’s so much that’s replicated on the skin surface levels of our temples and foreheads that don’t get transferred downward. Pollution particles contribute to clogged pores as do gross environmental stressors which contribute to hair quality.
This occurs as sunshine hurts your strands and breakout issues occur – but no one usually attributes scalp health with general skin health all around – and that’s a major problem because both take equal care and time to promote wellness.
How To Know Your Hair Problems Start at Your Scalp
Those who pay attention will notice when their patterned approaches with hair care no longer serves them. For example – when your hair feels great after a wash but three days later it’s doomed , that’s a problem with circulatory support or excess oil or under production situations.
Hair breaking at the roots feels sicker than ever and takes an eternity to grow because its follicles have an issue – that inflammation versus sensitivity situation gets in the way.
Moreover – products that haven’t done a change – the accumulated use suddenly becomes ineffective; this suggests either too much or too little going on at the surface level of what’s wrong but instead indicates changes through and for sections normally invisible.
The bottom line is this: For healthy hootless hairs to grow in it’s best to start with a happy scalp – and most common problems people have with unfortunate appearances come from problems starting above!