Hi, I’m Jeanine. I’ve worked at SheFinds for almost ten years now and during that time I’ve shared lots about myself with our readers. For the last ten years, though, there’s one beauty secret I’ve been keeping that I just didn’t have the courage to talk about… until now, that is.
Yes, I have a dry, flaky scalp. Like, really bad flakes. It all started about ten years ago when I gave birth to my daughter. I was prepared for my body to change and the thick hair I developed during pregnancy to thin out, but I never expected to develop such serious flakiness. If you’re a mom, then the only way I can explain it is that it looked and felt like I had cradle cap. My scalp was so flaky and some days, the itch was borderline unbearable.
I tried using the regular anti-itch shampoos that everyone always recommends, but they didn’t do anything. I decided to talk to my doctor about it and she didn’t seem super concerned. She was essentially like, “I can give you medicine to try to help combat it or you can just wash your hair more often to keep the flakes at bay.” I’m not a huge medicine person, so I made the decision to stop straightening my hair and wear it “natural,” just so I could wash it every day or two and keep the itch under control.
There are lots of stories on the Internet about the perks of wearing your hair “natural,” but I feel like no one ever is really, truly honest about just how much time, effort and money it requires to maintain. Washing your hair multiple times a week means lots of money on products that run out faster than ever before. And I could never just wake up and go; I always had to build in at least 45 minutes to do something with my hair. At the end of this summer, I decided I was over the commitment to wearing my hair natural. I wanted my mornings to be easier, so I made the decision to start straightening my hair again, flakes be darned.
As luck would have it, right around the time I decided to start straightening my hair again, I was given the opportunity to try Briogeo’s charcoal + coconut oil micro-exfoliating shampoo (which won an Allure Best of Beauty award!) and charcoal + peppermint oil cooling jelly conditioner:
Briogeo charcoal + coconut oil micro-exfoliating shampoo ($42)
Briogeo charcoal + peppermint oil cooling jelly conditioner ($36)
I’d seen ads for their products on social media, but never really gave them a second thought until I saw a video highlighting how it helped one woman get her dry, flaky scalp under control. The products are made with coconut, peppermint and tea tree oils, which are proven to moisturize and reduce flakiness. There’s also charcoal which helps absorb product buildup and detoxify the scalp. I jumped at the opportunity to be the guinea pig that tested these products!
When my two week straightening appointment rolled around, I showed up to my hairstylist with the charcoal + coconut oil micro-exfoliating shampoo and charcoal + peppermint oil cooling jelly conditioner in tow and asked if she could use them instead of her normal products. She agreed and was actually pretty excited to try something new.
Okay, brace yourself. Here’s what my hair looked like when I sat down in my stylist’s chair:
Eww, right?! And truth be told, this isn’t even that bad compared to what I sometimes see in my hair. My stylist did two washes with the shampoo and then applied the conditioner and let it sit for about five minutes before rinsing.
After the first shampoo, I started to get really excited. First of all, the minty smell was so strong, I just knew it had to be doing something on my scalp. What’s more, though, is that I could feel my scalp tingling in a way that it never had before. Good things were happening!
After the shampoo and conditioner were completely rinsed from my hair, my stylist put me under the hair dryer and the tingling continued. Next, she blow dried and flat ironed my hair as usual and I left praying that the dreaded itchy sensation wouldn’t return in a day or two.
I actually waited five whole days to take my “after” picture. With regular shampoo and conditioner, the flakes and the itch would be back with three days without fail, but here’s what my scalp looked like five days after using Briogeo’s charcoal + coconut oil micro-exfoliating shampoo and charcoal + peppermint oil cooling jelly conditioner:
Flake free, baby! And I’d like to add that this after pic was taken using a fancy DSLR camera with studio quality lights! Not a flake in sight! I couldn’t be happier.
While I was super happy to see how Briogeo’s charcoal + coconut oil micro-exfoliating shampoo and charcoal + peppermint oil cooling jelly conditioner would help my scalp, I was secretly a bit worried that it wouldn’t actually agree with my hair. Turns out, it didn’t just work wonders on my scalp; my hair is softer and has stayed straighter longer than when my stylist was using her own stuff. Win win all around!
I never thought I’d be one of those obsessive people that brings their own products to the salon, but until my stylist starts carrying Briogeo’s products, I’ll be bringing them with me every two weeks for my straightening appointments. I honestly never thought I’d be able to get my dry, flaky, itchy scalp under control and I can’t tell you how a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’m no longer self-conscious about wearing my hair parted and the itch is completely and totally gone.
If you have an itchy or flaky scalp, don’t think twice about treating yourself to these products. They’re beyond amazing and worth every single penny. I’ll be buying them on the reg without hesitation.
Beauty, briogeo, hair, solutions, sponsored