I washed my hair today for the first time in two weeks. You guys know how my scalp “rebels” when I go longer than one week without washing it. Without getting graphic, I had buildup on my scalp that was neither itchy nor flaky. I avoid scratching my scalp to remove debris, because it is not healthy for the scalp. So, I decided to try this shampoo. I went to Target looking for the other Neutrogena shampoo that has coal tar in it. But this bottle was marketed for scalp build-up, which is exactly what I had.
The directions say to lather and let the suds sit on your hair for several minutes. Medicated shampoos can be very drying, so I only use it on my scalp. I put 1oz. of the shampoo in a color applicator bottle and added 1oz of water. I shook the bottle to mix the shampoo and water and then applied the mix directly to my scalp. This method allows me to clean my scalp without the shampoo drying out the rest of my hair. I massaged my scalp and let the suds sit for 7 minutes. I rinsed and followed up with another application of the shampoo, but did not let it sit on my hair. Finally, I did my usual wash day routine (shampoo, reconstruct, and deep condition).
Pros: The shampoo has a light clean smell and it did a great job of cleaning my scalp and removing debris/build-up.
Cons: It dried and tangled my roots like crazy. Fortunately, my conditioner fixed that problem. The areas that had heavy build-up, still has some debris left on my scalp. But I won’t hold that against the shampoo considering that it cleansed the majority of my scalp and I had severals areas with build-up.
Like/dislike: Like.
Despite the tangled roots, I will use this shampoo as needed in the future. I may actually use it at my next shampoo, to clear up the section that still has build-up. Next time, I will only let it sit on my scalp rather than massage my scalp. I suspect the massaging exasperated the tangles.
What do you use/recommend to treat scalp build-up?