But in recent years, more of us are starting to smarten up about the scalp. One such way? Exfoliation. Once a term reserved for the face and body, exfoliation is now certainly in the lexicon of hair and scalp care. In case you’re curious, there are several ways to do it, depending on your needs, scalp type, and hair type—and much like you should be cautious with being overly aggressive, you should be mindful of that here, too. Too much of it can lead to scalp inflammation, resulting in flakes, itching, sometimes even tenderness or pain. “When you have product, dirt, and oil building up around your follicle opening—which is where your hair grows out of—buildup around that starts to slowly suffocate your hair root, and it causes inflammation,” trained trichologist and hairstylist Shab Reslan once told us about the condition. Even worse, this can lead to hair loss over time. Take it from Adarsh Vijay Mudgil, M.D., board-certified dermatologist and founder of Mudgil Dermatology: “If buildup is really extreme, it can even pull the hair down because there’s so much inflammation around the hair follicle,” he previously told us. That’s why many experts tout scalp-stimulating treatments for speedier hair growth—a clean, happy scalp leads to full, lush strands: Well, the same goes for shampoo. When you think of scalp exfoliators, you may initially think of tubs of salt-or-sugar scrubs, but you should also consider certain shampoos exfoliators. Namely, tea tree and salicylic acid shampoos. Tea tree oil is an astringent and is incredibly effective at removing oil and debris. Plus, due to the EO’s anti-inflammatory properties, it can help lessen any irritation caused by said buildup. Salicylic acid shampoos use the oil-dissolving power of the BHA to slough off gunk and dead skin cells.
