Sensitive scalp

Recently when I got my hair permed (have had it permed twice a year for 3 years so far) my forhead got slightly red for a bout a week. Now my head is sensitive to anything but a head band or a pony tail. Nothing else is visible to site or touch, just very sensitive. Massaging helps it a little bit. My mom told me I may have to stop getting perms because the acid used in the products even for sensitive skin could be causing the problem. If so I'm sure it takes a while to heal.

The time before the last that I had a perm, after my perm started falling out I switched back to generic pert just to save money on hair products. I think that was a bad idea now because my hair was used to the $8 shampoo and $8 conditioner for perms. So now with the new perm I'm back to using the $8 products just mentioned.

Is there anything I can do to help the sensitivity level of my scalp? Or is it something that will just heal with time? For the area of my forehead that was a little read, I have been putting lotion on it to sooth the slight irritation and mild redness. Thanks in advance!

[Dr Santos]

Hi,

Contact dermatitis can be either an allergic or irritant condition. Irritant contact dermatitis occurs when chemicals or physical agents damage the surface of the skin faster than the skin is able to repair the damage. The dermatitis is often well demarcated with a glazed surface but there may be redness, itching, swelling, blistering and scaling of the damaged area. Irritants include such everyday things as water, detergents, solvents, dyes, shampoo, acids, alkalis, adhesives, metalworking fluids and friction.

Do you have history of allergies? Allergic contact dermatitis may look similar to irritant contact dermatitis, but it is caused by an immune response following skin contact with an allergenic substance. Patch tests are used to confirm allergic contact dermatitis and identify the allergen. They do not exclude irritant contact dermatitis as the two may coexist.

It is good that you have already identified and stopped using the offending agent. And you're on the right track of treatment.  Irritant contact dermatitis is usually treated with the following: compresses, creams and ointments may assist healing, emollient creams. Topical steroids or antibiotics for secondary infection prescribed by your doctor. The time of healing and sensitivity of your scalp really depends on your level of immunity. Just continue with what you are doing and if it persists and doe not improve or with infection present, it would be best to see your doctor for further evaluation and management.

Take care and keep us posted.