Daughter with Dry Scalp

by Jessica Williams
(Broadview, IL USA)

My daughter is 12 with eczema and it makes her scalp very dry. What is the best for her scalp?

Five years ago her hair broke out bad from the dryness. She has a relaxer and I cannot get the ends of her hair as straight as the rest of her hair. I am constantly greasing her scalp twice a day in fear of it getting dry and breaking off againg. I have also cut her bad ends last year and her hair won't grow back to its original length. I need your help because she is very unhappy with her hair. My goal is to get it healthier and straight. What should I do?

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Nina's Response

Hi Jessica,

I am sorry to hear of the problems that you are having with your daughter.

First, you are going to have to figure out why your daughter's hair and scalp is so dry so that you can work on that issue. Figuring that out will help you to learn how to care for and prevent the dryness. How often are you washing her hair? Are you using moisturizing shampoos and conditioners?

You say that you want to get your daughter's hair straight. You may have to have her wear her hair in its natural state for a while until it gets healthier. If it's already damaged and it's continuing to be styled with heat, it is just being damaged further.

Additionally, if her hair is already damaged, it cannot be completely reversed. It can be managed but not reversed. You may have to have her hair trimmed regularly until it completely healthy again. Unfortunately, the length you and she both want may not come as quickly as possible when you're dealing with damaged hair.

Once hair is healthy, then you'll be able to achieve straightness and length.

My guess on the ends not getting straight is because they are damaged either by heat or relaxing. How often is her hair being relaxed? What kind of relaxer is being used? Make sure her hair is being professionally relaxed using a professional relaxer. Also, ensure her hair is not being over-processed - meaning that only the new growth is being relaxed. Since most people's hair grows at the rate of .5 inches a month, a reasonable amount of time for a relaxer touch-up is every 2 months or more to avoid overlapping.

I hope I've given you some ideas on what could be going on with your daughter's hair. As I mention on my main page, first comes healthy and then comes length. I certainly understand wanting hair to look perfect and good but when it's not healthy, we have to sometimes submit to it to get it back in order.

Good luck and hopefully your daughter's hair will be looking good very soon!


Nina Dyoran, Editor, Long-Healthy-Hair-Advisor.com