JANUARY 2023 | 5 Minute Read
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Sweat is made from 99% water and 1% salt and fat. Your body starts to sweat to cool itself down to maintain the optimal temperature of 98.6 degrees. When exercising, your blood flow increases in order to deliver oxygen to the muscles that are working, triggering your sweat glands to activate to cool you down.
What is unique about scalp sweat is the apocrine sweat glands found on your scalp produce a fattier sweat that can clog your pores and lead to the oily feeling you often feel after a workout.
The salts from the sweat after a workout remain on your scalp and can dry out the shaft of your hair, creating a dry, itchy feeling. The moisture accumulated on your scalp feeds bacteria which can be the smelly kind you have in the underarm region.
Additionally, sweat can clog the hair follicle leading to further irritation and an itchy sensation. Moisture from sweat can damage the hair as it also makes it more prone to breakage when hair is wet.
Not everyone has the time to shower or wash their hair after a workout, making dry shampoo an excellent choice to eliminate the odor. As a developer of a natural dry shampoo, here is how to use it to prevent a dry itchy scalp.
The key is to absorb the sweat before the salt and water content gets to your scalp, and prevent the creation of an odor and irritation on the scalp. This is why I developed a dry shampoo that I call the takesumi detox overnight dry shampoo.
This dry shampoo is to be used before you work out, so it’s sitting in your hair, ready to absorb as soon as your scalp begins to sweat. Gently spray the natural starches (rice starch) into the scalp and massage lightly so as not to notice you have it in your hair.
The key is to put it there before you work out, not after, so that you can let it catch the sweat before it does its damage. I would suggest washing your hair the next day as I would not let the dry shampoo build-up.
When you workout, place a thick cotton headband, the tennis headband type, right where your hairline meets your forehead. This means that when you start sweating, the headband will catch a lot of the sweat, particularly along the forehead, as this is where you notice sweat collecting. If you can catch sweat from the forehead, you can also protect your skin from blemishes that result from the bacteria sweat can cause, not to mention the sweating smell in the hair.
As I mentioned earlier, washing and shampooing your hair is not always practical, and washing and shampooing every day for everyone is also not recommended by most stylists particularly in the dry winter months, as it tends to cause additional dry itchy scalp.
So, when you’re ready to shower, sweat can be removed with just water; use your fingers to gently massage your scalp in a circular motion to help rinse the fat and salt from the scalp. Sometimes I find that just wetting my hair can leave it a little dry; for that, I recommend applying a bit of conditioner, which will give your hair a fresh washed smell.
Apple cider vinegar has antimicrobial benefits and is an ingredient that is easy to buy. I like to put the recipe below in a spray bottle and use it at least once per week on my scalp to keep it healthy. I know that apple cider vinegar does not smell nice on its own, but not to worry, with the recipe below, it dilutes the smell, and you will not smell it after you rinse it out.
Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse – a wonderful itchy scalp home remedy:
A dry, itchy scalp can be quite common after a workout. The key is to take measures to prevent it like using a natural dry shampoo before you work out and ensuring your hair is rinsed following a workout. An apple cider vinegar home remedy can also be effective to disinfect the scalp and keep it healthy.
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Clean beauty industry maven and product developer Madame Sweat (Mary Futher) founded kaia naturals after spending 20 years working for global beauty companies. She now shares advice on modern hygiene etiquette for grooming, hosting, home and travel on Instagram, TikTok and her popular blog called The House of Hygiene.
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