Why does my scalp hurt?

Question

My scalp has been hurting lately. Not just itching. It genuinely hurt. It’s really frustrating. The pain doesn’t go away. Aspirin doesn’t help either. I keep resisting the urge to not touch it, but I can only bear is so much! I didn’t bump my head onto anything, so certainly isn’t caused by that! Why does my scalp hurt? Is there a remedy to relieve it?

Answer 1

One of the more common causes for the scalp to hurt is harsh chemicals. Harsh chemicals that your scalp aren’t used to, say a new shampoo and conditioner, can cause soreness on the scalp. Hair products strip the scalp and hair off its natural protective oils, especially hair coloring, often containing sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) which get rids of that “greasiness”. In fact, going no shampoo at all might be more beneficial for the hair! Since our head is used to the daily shampoo, the scalp would produce extra oil to replace it, a whole day of not showering will make it greasy and so you once again use more shampoo to get rid of it. This cycle means your body ends up relying on the shampoo to regulate the oil on your hair. Give going “cold turkey” a try for a few days, your hair might look better. The reliance on the same hair product might also be the cause of the pain. Excessive oil in hair and scalp might also cause inflammation. Check if you tried new hair products, it could be the source of the soreness.

Answer 2

You could just have tied for hair too tight. Tying hair too tight is a significant factor to consider when you asking “why does my scalp hurt” because if there weren’t any itching or flakes or dandruff, then it could just be having your hair too tightly tied. When you tied your hair into a pony-tail or something similar, it’s literally pulling the hair in together, so naturally it hurts. If you have a rich thick hair, then the problem will be worse for you.

What if you didn’t tie it tightly and it still sore then? There is a theory that if you tied your hair loosely and it still hurts, the weight of the hair might instead be the culprit. When you bunch up a long hair together, it becomes pretty heavy. Although, it is not so heavy that it pulls to the degree that a tightly tied hair might do. Instead, the additional weight stresses your more sensitive hair follicles and causes the pain. There you have it then, try not to tie your hair for a few days, see if the pain went away.