"Paste" on my scalp??

[GratefulShred]

Hi guys.

Ok so in 4 days i will have had my dreadlocks for one month! So pumped.. but i started to notice a week ago a weird moist spot in one of my front dreads. The knot at the base is extra tight, and when i squeeze it, theres a definitive wetness. More like..residue honestly.. like soap before it fully drys. Which is strange because i only use residue free shampoo. (Dreadhead HQ, the shop i work at carries dreadhead stuff)

So today i just got outta the shower and the whole front part of my scalp (bangs) is an off white color that is pretty visible. I wish i could get a picture but the camera doesn't show it. Its sticky right now. Like if i touch it hairs start sticking together and to my fingers and being real gross.

To me.. if feels like dandruff got in deep, got wet and turned to a paste. But now the entire front of my head is off. It doesnt itch.. but the amount of dandruff is unprecedented even for me. Is it possible the paste is my damaged scalp healing after the dreading process? Because when i was getting them put in, it truly felt like my head was being ripped open in some spots. I can honestly see a person getting up after one dread and saying... this isnt worth the pain. That was my experience. But it was 100% worth it for me. Just gotta get through the begining phases and weird changes.

Any help, even speculative, is appreciated!

[grassman]

I'm not for sure but it sounds like that might be residue. I especially feel a little stickiness during the drying with mine.

I've done acv rinses that seem to help though I'm not sure it's recommended with young dreads. I have some 2+ month olds that seem to do fine if not better after the acv rinse.

I wash my hair with a little amount of dreadlock shampoo about once a week. I also rinse it really well with hot water. You can never rinse too much.

I've been looking into hard water lately, there's a couple threads on here about it. If you have hard water it's can be difficult to rinse out. Over the summer I stayed at a place in Indiana that had ridiculous hard water. I washed my hair there & couldn't rinse the shampoo out. I had to get back in the shower & still couldn't rinse it all the way. Also I've never noticed my shampoo that I use bubble that much. It doesn't usually bubble at all for me. I did a deep clean when I got home.

Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong about any of this...

[willowbranches]

Grassman's points are all very sensible. If it's residue your water may not like your soap.

It could also definitely be that your scalp went overboard producing sebum from the trauma of installation. Either way I'd do a baking soda deep clean, it'll deal with dandruff and residue, but if your scalp is at all still sore I'd wait until there is no longer any pain, since baking soda, lemon juice, and salt can all be very irritating to skin already sensitized, and in which case you could try a wash or two with diluted degreasing dish soap such as dawn in the meantime. A weak-dilution acv rinse will balance the pH and sooth residual irritation but may not be enough to remove excess residue, so whether you'd want to use that before deep clean, after, or both is up to you.

[jxbx]

I get a dandruff "paste" like that every so often. I can scrape this from my scalp after a shower on occasion. It's not consistent, but I believe it happens mostly when I wash inconsistently.

For example, I try to wash dreads every two to three days, but if I'm inconsistent...wash Tuesday then Friday, and then wait until Tuesday again...then go Tuesday to Sunday...I'll get that type of build up.

I'd try some of the recommendations above as well as trying to keep a more consistent wash regimen. Perhaps, ya need another dandruff shampoo as well. I have a soft water tank so I can't speak to the hard water experiences.

[Charles Yamabe]

It's most likely the oils mixed with skin cells. It happens if you don't wash your hair enough. Here's the thing... How often you wash your hair depends on YOUR skin type. There is no set time. When you have dreads it tends Tom pull the skin a bit which can cause some flaking. Your body is always shedding skin cells as well. When those skin cells combine with the oil from your skin it can form a whitish paste. Wash your hair well with a good scrubbing and it should do away.