‘Just Wash Your Hair, People,’ Says Woman Who Thinks Dry Shampoo Caused Her Bald Spot
Can using dry shampoo damage your scalp? (Photo: Shopstyle Photography)
Remember when you discovered dry shampoo and it changed your life? Now some of us use dry shampoo a few days a week, usually on mornings when we want to sleep an extra 15 minutes.
Nicole Baxter of Belfast, Northern Ireland, felt the same way — until she had a severe reaction to a dry shampoo, the details of which she shared in a scary Facebook post detailing how she noticed a bald patch on her head that kept getting bigger, along with some sores and blisters.
“Anyone who uses dry shampoo, please continue to read,” she wrote.
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“It’s a long one but work with me! So I went to my GP at the end of last year due to having a bald patch on my head which kept getting bigger. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t stress and my diet’s alright so there didn’t seem any reason for this to happen? My scalp was also very itchy and flaky. I had wee red sores and blisters all over my scalp and a terrible burning sensation all over my head — to the point where I would wake up several times a night due to the discomfort/pain. She referred me to the dermatology unit in Belfast City Hospital where I had my first appointment in February.”
Yikes!
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“At this initial appointment I was immediately diagnosed with TRIANGULAR ALOPECIA (hair loss in one area of the head, usually in a triangle, duh). And was told I’d have to come back to have a scalp biopsy (injection straight into my scalp to numb the area, then a hole punch tool used to remove a part of it, then closed up with stitches) done to see what was causing these blisters and sores I had. The doctor asked had I anything on my hair at the minute, I said just dry shampoo. So she advised when I come back for the scalp biopsy to come with nothing in my hair and to make sure it was clean. I thought it was weird she said that, it’s only dry shampoo what’s that got to do with it? So I actually stopped using it all together [sic] from that day to see what would happen.”
At this point, Baxter stopped using dry shampoo but still didn’t connect it to her scalp issues — although she might have if she’d looked into the product’s ingredients, 10 of 12 of which are considered moderately to highly toxic by the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database. The worst offenders are butane and isobutane, the first two listed ingredients, which can cause irritation to eyes, skin, or lungs, and be toxic to organ systems. Canada bans their use in cosmetics.
“So today was the day for the scalp biopsy, I’ve been up to high doe [freaking out] all week at the thought of a NEEDLE GOING INTO MY SCALP. I’d googled the horror stories and everything — terrible idea,” her post continued. “It was a different doctor doing the biopsy to the one who had prescribed it in February, so first thing I asked was ‘Why am I getting this done? What benefit can come from it?’ She looked at my file and said that it was to see what the blisters and sores were and could they diagnose a cause and straight away I’d realized that I didn’t have them anymore (I don’t know why I hadn’t realized before). So she compared my scalp today to the pictures that were in my file from February and asked what had I done differently in the last 6-7 weeks that may have helped it? I told her I’d stopped using dry shampoo and that was it, nothing else different. You’d of thought a light bulb went off in the woman’s head. She said it’s the best thing I could have of done for myself — if she had been at my initial appointment she never would have even prescribed the biopsy if I had dry shampoo in my hair that day and that a biopsy isn’t going to have any benefit because it can’t do anything for the bald patch. So I left the hospital with my scalp fully intact and a prescription for a bottle of T-Gel!
“Moral of the story — Dry shampoo caused me to now have this bald patch on my head (which I still have and it may or may not grow back, but nothing can be done) and a terrible scalp for ages. Just wash your hair, people! It is not worth having this awful patch that I might be stuck with on the side of my head all because I can’t be arsed to dry my hair.”
Batiste did not immediately respond to Yahoo Beauty’s request for comment.
New York-based dermatologist Whitney Bowe, MD, tells Yahoo Beauty that using dry shampoo wouldn’t necessarily affect everyone in the same way. “Almost any cosmetic product can cause an allergy in someone who is sensitive. Allergies in hair care products such as dry shampoo can result in dry and itchy scalp, which can then contribute to hair loss,” she says. “But this is something you can see — rarely! — with any product on the face, body, or scalp! It’s certainly not a ‘class effect’ of dry shampoo.”
Of course, when you share anything on the Internet, you’re bound to get feedback. Commenters on Baxter’s post told her she should “wash her hair” and accused her of poor hygiene. She responded (hilariously) to clarify, acknowledging that her reaction was possibly a unique one.
“In the name of God, never in all my life did I think I’d have to explain my personal hygiene to 23,000+ people!!
— I did not use dry shampoo instead of washing my hair properly
— I’ve obviously had a more severe reaction than most people will
— I’m sure other brands have the same/similar effects on other people, Batiste is just the one I used
— At no point have I said I don’t shower but people seem to think suggesting I shower would have solved the problem!!”
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