5 Home Remedies for Burnt or Irritated Scalps

A Canstar Blue survey has found that 59% of women have burnt themselves while using a hair straightener. You might be among those who have held a hair straightener too close to your scalp and burnt yourself. Or you might suffer from allergies to some of the ingredients commonly used in hair products such as shampoo or hair dye. Ouch!

What to avoid

• Dandruff shampoos contain chemicals that can irritate your scalp if the cause is not, in fact, dandruff. So steer clear unless you know your flakes really are dandruff.
• Don’t scratch it – even if it’s really itchy! Fingernails are one of the dirtiest part of the human body, and scratching your scalp with them can cause infection. Besides, scratching just lifts up flakes of skin, making it look like you have dandruff.
• Don’t style your hair with heat near your roots – no blow drying, no hair straightening. And try to keep hair products away from the roots of your hair until your scalp is healed.
• It should go without saying, but avoid direct sunlight. If you have to go outside, cover up with a sunhat, bandana or lightweight scarf.

Milk

Did you know that dermatologists sometimes use 2% milk on chemical burns? Soak a washcloth in cold milk and apply it to your scalp for up to five minutes. Yoghurt mixed with a baby shampoo will do a similar job, although it can be less effective. Why milk? It has enzymes and proteins that promote healing – and the coolness of the milk helps reduce inflammation.

Green tea or chamomile tea

The antioxidants in green tea (or chamomile tea) are soothing for stings like scalp burn. Soak two tea bags and let the tea cool to lukewarm. Gently massage the tea onto your scalp, leave for five minutes, and rinse it off again.

If you’re not a herbal tea enthusiast and don’t want to buy something that you’ll never use again, black tea works also works.

Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil is nature’s antiseptic. Dilute with water or baby shampoo before you apply, to prevent the sting of antiseptic against irritated skin. You can find it at the supermarket or at any chemist. Washing your scalp with vinegar will actually do the same job, by balancing the pH in the skin to stop pain pretty much instantly. Remember not to apply it directly onto the skin. Then you can apply a nice moisturiser and let your scalp heal without fear of any scarring.

Ointment

Ointment has an immediate soothing effect on burns. It works by trapping and adding moisture to the skin’s surface, while softening the damaged tissue. It’s important to gently clean the burnt or irritated area before applying the ointment, to prevent trapping any dirt or germs. A range of all-natural ointments can be found at your local supermarket or pharmacy.

Aloe vera gel

Aloe Vera isn’t just for sunburn – it helps with many different types of burns and skin irritations. It can reduce pain and inflammation, while stimulating skin growth and repair. Plus, you can grow it at home for a cheap, easy and natural burn remedy.

Treating one possible root cause

If you were in the ‘burnt by the hair straightener’ group, it might not be entirely your fault that you got burnt. Take a look at how old your appliance is, as it may need an upgrade. Modern technology is better at protecting our hair, and modern hair straighteners have more heat settings – so you can set it to a low setting to straighten more safely.

About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar Content Producer, Caitlin Bingham. Caitlin is an experienced writer whose passion for creativity led her to study communication and journalism. She began her career freelancing as a content writer, before joining the Canstar team.