Q: It sounded strange to me when a friend said that she exfoliates her scalp … and loves it. As part of my facial skin care routine I exfoliate a couple of times a week, but I’ve never heard of exfoliating my scalp. Can you enlighten me?

A:
Sure, we’d love to. First, there’s nothing exotic or extreme about exfoliating your scalp. A vigorous scalp massage is a mild exfoliating process that most people would welcome. And if you were bald, exfoliating your scalp would seem just like exfoliating any other face or body skin. But you have hair, so isn’t it different? Yes. There’s even more reason for you to exfoliate your scalp. The process, according to many doctors and professional hairstylists, is likely to result in healthier hair.

Here’s why.

Our scalp is continually shedding dead skin. Add the residue from chemicals used when we process or style our hair, along with the grime of pollution, and there are plenty of micro particles on your scalp to clog hair follicles. The result? Thinner or even damaged hair. Hair that’s lost its silkiness. Hair that looks unhealthy.

You might want to experiment with different degrees of exfoliation. Some dermatologists say a good massage for a few minutes during shampooing may be enough. Go one degree more by using hair scrub products. These contain silt or other ingredients to help slough off the dead skin and impurities. You can even make your own version of a scrub by adding a tablespoon of sugar (coarse white or brown will do) to your next shampoo. Some women have experimented, with beautiful results, using salt or other coarse particles that dissolve and rinse out well. But if you prefer magic in a bottle, hair scrubs are easy to find at your local drug store or supermarket. Just rinse well and savor the results.