Curing Scalp Acne

This might be kinda weird to write about, but maybe some people can relate.  It’s those itchy pimples on your scalp that ooze an oily substance when they pop.  Yeah gross!  Having them once-in-a-while is not really a problem.  It’s common around a menstrual cycle.  But some have a much bigger all-the-time problem, (and if you are unlucky to share a brush with them on a regular basis, you might get the problem too)!  

Circa 1970's The Last Time I Had Perfectly Healthy Hair!

I researched scalp acne and was able to eliminate it completely!  I’m not kidding.  I’m not really prone to this but as I said, sharing a brush or using the wrong shampoo or too many products on your hair could cause a horrible, itchy breakout!  If you have processed hair, or my suggestions aren’t working, consult a professional hair care consultant or even your doctor.

Some Possible Causes

Using too much of an oil-based shampoo or other hair-care products can also contribute to acne breakouts on the scalp.  I was using products to help with frizzy hair and I had to get rid of them.  I learned to read labels and avoid products such as shampoo, conditioner or gel that contain irritating substances like propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulphate, parabens, alcohol, lanolin or mineral oil.  After spending a really long time in the pharmacy hair care isle, I was amazed how many brands have these ingredients—even the ones that are supposed to help with scalp problems.

Take Preventive Measures

To prevent scalp acne maintain good scalp hygiene.  Keep the scalp and hair free from dirt and grease by washing the scalp regularly with a mild shampoo and luke-warm water.  Keep anything like a hat or whatever you put on your head clean.  Clean hair brushes and combs and don’t share these with anyone.  Change pillowcases often.

Try This Cure

To cure scalp acne, I washed my hair with Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo.  Then I put a cup of vinegar in a condiment bottle (Walmart sells them in the plastics isle—it’s what you can put ketchup and mustard in).  I rinsed my hair with vinegar by squeezing the condiment bottle along my scalp until I felt every bit of scalp had been hit with the vinegar.  Then I rinsed very well with luke-warm water.  The colder the water, the better hair care products will rinse out.  That’s really important for eliminating scalp acne.  I recommend doing this cleansing process every so often to strip the build up in the hair.  I also avoided scratching my scalp and if I accidentally did, I would clean the pimple with hydrogen peroxide on a Q-tip.  

I also bought a brand new hair brush that prevents static cling (which was one reason I used products on my long hair).  And I hide this hairbrush and don’t let anyone else use it.  I keep other hair brushes around as decoys ;o)

Remember when the isle with shampoo contained a lot of other things besides just shampoo?  Have you checked out the local Walmart shampoo isle?  It is shelves and shelves on both sides of the isle, from top to bottom, filled with hair-care products.  Do you think hair-care products are being over-used?  Could this actually be harming our scalp and hair?  What do you say?

How to Teach Children Responsible Behavior

I have been really surprised by how irresponsible our society has become—especially in the highschool and college venue.  Twenty-five years ago, my professors didn’t take excuses, you just got a zero.  Now high schoolers and college students can talk their way into extensions and prompting the answer to test questions from the instructor and other forms of CHEATING.  From what I hear, cheating is a real problem in high schools and colleges everywhere.  Apparently it’s a problem in the work force as well.  I think cheating is a form of being irresponsible.

Responsibility and other character issues will be taught by me to my own children now, and the children in my care when I am a teacher.  In the 1990’s, Character Education became important to many Americans.  There was even a movement—I remember getting these great little books and tapes on different character traits every time we went to Chick-Fil-A for kid’s meals.  (I believe there was an immoral president in office at the time?) 

Responsibility is a character trait that I feel needs more emphasis in schools since fewer children attend church regularly and have a very good chance of not being taught responsibility at home.  In a recent education class to recertify, I learned something new about teaching children responsible behavior. 

It was so exciting I immediately made a chart to use in my future class.  Hellison (2011) is cited in the textbook, Dynamic Physical Education for Elementary School Children (Robert P. Pangrazi and Aaron Beighle 2013).  On pages 108-110, the text gives a very good breakdown of his hierarchy of responsible behavior we can teach children.  I found this very enlightening for myself even! 

I’m sharing the chart I created with my D.J. Inker’s Dazzle Daze (2000) graphics I bought (I love her artwork!)  I had a little Family Home Evening lesson with the family and gave each of them a handout with the hierarchy of responsible behavior.  Then I also permanently displayed the chart on the front door.  We discussed what each level beginning with 0 would look like in real life and gave real examples.  Then we judged where we might be on this scale.  It’s a very real possibility that in different aspects of our lives we could be in more than one place.  The goal is to accomplish all levels leading up to the highest as the most desirable responsibility traits to attain.  Of course there might be setbacks to overcome.  I tried to put the chart in terms that even First Graders could relate to and understand.

Hierarchy of Responsible Behavior Printable

How do you help your children learn responsibility and do you think people are becoming less responsible in today's world than they were even a decade or two ago?