Fragrance-free shampoo and conditioner

[Jaybee]

I have an itchy scalp. It is not red, scaly, or flaky, just itchy. I just had allergy testing done due to a different issue, but asked the allergist about it and he suggested Vanicream or any fragrance-free shampoo. But lots of the low reviews say it is harsh and dries out their hair. As I am older, my hair is rather dry now, but I like to wash it daily because it is short and it feels so much fresher. Some good suggestions, please?

[Katy]

I’d see what sort of proteins are in your favorite shampoo. For example I can now eat wheat again thanks to a probiotic that fixed my food allergy, butI still can’t tolerate it as a shampoo ingredient or I get very itchy. 

[Jaybee]

5 minutes ago, Katy said:

I’d see what sort of proteins are in your favorite shampoo. For example I can now eat wheat again thanks to a probiotic that fixed my food allergy, butI still can’t tolerate it as a shampoo ingredient or I get very itchy. 

Well, every shampoo I try, my head still itches. Right now, a sulfate-free Garnier Fructis for dry hair is doing the best, but there is still itchiness. I tried one of the Head and Shoulders, and it was horrible! 

[prairiewindmomma]

My itchy scalp is my primary pollen allergy symptom. It hasn't been the shampoo.  It took a very long time to figure that out. The only cure for me is managing my allergies better, including using Zyrtec during birch and tree pollen peaks. 

Almost all shampoos have an odor, but some are fragrance free. Ouai Fine Hair is probably the best out there of the sensitive skin/fragrance free shampoos, it's $32 at Sephora. Sephora does returns, I think, of opened products. Paula's Choice would probably be my second pick.

 

[LuvToRead]

A lot of shampoos have stuff in them that coats our hair in order to make our hair feel softer and healthier.   I wonder if that is what the reviewers are experiencing - a shampoo that stripped that coating off and made their hair feel dry.  Their hair was dry all along, but the coating masked that.  Anyway, that's just a thought. 

Aveeno used to make a fragrance free shampoo but it looks like it is discontinued.  I would try the Vanicream, it's not super expensive and see what happens.  I am super sensitive to fragrances but I seem to tolerate fragrance in shampoo.  I just have to make sure to rinse off really well. 

[sbgrace]

My son uses Zeroderm and also Baby Dove fragrance-free.

He's allergic to an ingredient in the Vanicream, but that's free of fragrance and other ingredients most people are allergic to. It will be a different kind of shampoo, which may more may not work from your hair. 

[Selkie]

Take a look on Etsy. I've seen lots of fragrance free shampoos and shampoo bars on there.

[Pawz4me]

If you're open to using bars Ethique has fragrance free bar shampoo and conditioner.

[Katy]

I’d try hypoallergenic baby shampoo and if that doesn’t help try oral allergy meds. 

[bolt.]

There are two fragrance free shampoos (and conditioner) in the organic aisle of my grocery store. One of them is "Nature Clean" and the other one is "Desert Essence". Both brands also have fragranced options from the same product line, but come in fragrance-free too. They are organic products and priced accordingly, but they function and feel like normal shampoo (not drying, at least not when using both shampoo and conditioner).

I've also used Dove "Itch Relief" shampoo & conditioner, which isn't fragrance free and is more marketed towards flaking etc. But whatever is in there, either there's enough soothing ingredients to make up for any fragrance irritation, or they've chosen some kind of fragrance that doesn't irritate me. Again, expensive, because it's 'medicated' -- but very functionally like normal hair products.

You could also look at baby shampoo products, which often have fragrance-free as a selling point.

Edited April 18, 2023 by bolt.