Burning scalp

[gangsta]

I had my hair bleached at the end of September and had it rebleached during the beginning of november. The weather has also completely changed from hot and humid to very cold and dry because I live in an area where we get all 4 seasons. I’m not sure if this is caused by the bleaching because my stylist doesn’t put bleach directly on my scalp at all but i’ve been experiencing a burning scalp and hair loss. my hair is compromised and very weak (lots of breakage) from having it bleached over twice but i’m losing a crazy amount of hair and my scalp hurts a lot. i’ve never had scalp problems before and i’m hoping this is seasonal but i’m not sure. Has anyone had this problem before because i’m kind of scared? I don’t think it’s caused by bleaching due the fact that it hasn’t been applied directly to my scalp.

[GG84]

Hi @gangsta Hairstylist here - first and foremost what did you have done? Are we talking Balayage where the lightener is several inches away from the scalp or are we talking global application (your entire head was lightened but your stylist left 1/2 inch roots out?), foil highlights? This matters because bleach swells. There are VERY few brands of lightener that don't swell. When this happens it expends - so technically depending on technique, the lightener could have been on your scalp without you knowing. 

It sounds like bleach/chemical burns. It happens. Sometimes we have mineral deposits in our hair that we aren't aware of and they cause a chemical reaction with bleach almost always on the scalp as it generates heat. Pour a high fat content milk on your scalp and let it sit. You will feel relief right away. You can repeat this over the next few days. 

[gangsta]

Omg this might be the reason why. I always thought that the bleach has to touch your scalp to cause chemical burns but when i had the bleach in my hair i didn’t feel anything irritating my scalp and my scalp felt normal. I’ve never experienced scalp problems before in my entire life and it’s very abnormal for me so i think this might be the reason. The burning sensation is mostly the area above my ears and the top area of the back of my head located on both sides. it’s been a few weeks since i’ve been to the salon and i still feel the burning. My stylist put foils in my hair and she left a few inches of my dark roots while she put the foils in. Sometimes the burning gets worse depending on the time. I’m going to put some milk on my hair and see if that relives the pain.

[GG84]

@gangsta Make sure you saturate your scalp

[ather]

@gangsta I also bleach my hair and live in an area with 4 seasons (more like 2 but yea) I recently experienced the same thing. My head was burning and itching so bad. I am loosing tons of hair but it could be because I just had a baby. Not sure if it’s from that or from the bleaching. I’ve been going to the same place forever and haven’t changed anything. I had the  OUAI Cleansing Scalp & Body Sugar Scrub 8.8 oz/ 250 g at home and I put that on my scalp and scrubbed. Then I used a hair mask  Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Hair Mask 8 oz/ 237 mL aand it seemed to stop my problem. Not sure what caused it but it was pretty painful for a few days. Did your hairdresser change anything that could cause an issue??

[gangsta]

it’s probably because you just had a baby because your hair gets thicker and fuller when you’re pregnant due to higher estrogen levels and once you are no longer pregnant your hair doesn’t need to be in the growth phase for longer. My stylist didn’t do anything different besides bleaching my hair all over for the second time but the burning sensation started during the end of fall and then the winter. I just find it alarming and unusual because i’ve never had problems with my scalp ever and i’m afraid this might be a sign of something. I don’t think my scalp is particularly dry because I don’t get dandruff at all and i use a lot of moisturizing products on my hair including the briogeo mask you were mentioning. Like the burning sensation changes to different parts of my scalp and it can be really irritating and can get worse from time to time.