Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
Style > Beauty

I Exfoliated My Scalp, Because Apparently It’s A Thing Now

This piece has been syndicated from Her Campus at Cal Poly. You can join a chapter at your school (or start your own!).

Exfoliating your scalp has become a “thing.” And when something becomes a “thing” I see it EVERYWHERE and then I want to try it because I am a naturally curious person. Do I need to exfoliate my scalp? Probably not. Do I feel a desire to experience this strange and enticing new trend?

Absolutely.

Anything that could be beneficial to my luscious locks of terror is worth trying.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Her Campus Beauty (@hercampusbeauty) on

So, without further ado, here are my thoughts on exfoliating my scalp.

The Research:

The internet basically dictates that adding sugar to your conditioner is the DIY way to exfoliate your scalp. There are shampoos that are supposed to chemically exfoliate your head, but as a college student, I don’t have the funds for that.

It’s a good thing I already use sugar to exfoliate basically every inch of my body; I had just never thought to put any on my head.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Her Campus Beauty (@hercampusbeauty) on

The claims include:

  • Supports new hair growth
  • Soothes the scalp
  • Helps reduce hair loss
  • Helps minimize dandruff
  • Contributes to overall good health of the scalp and hair

Thoughts During The Process:

Okay, dump sugar in conditioner. Exfoliate head. Seems easy.

Oh my god, the sugar isn’t even reaching my scalp; I have way too much hair.

You know, I wonder if rubbing sugar onto my head will damage my hair.

I feel like I need to shampoo again after rinsing…because the sugar is melting in my hair?

I’ve been in the shower for 45 minutes now. I wonder if anyone misses me.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Her Campus Beauty (@hercampusbeauty) on

Overall thoughts:

While an interesting concept, getting the sugar to reach my scalp was a tedious process and I think I may have damaged my hair by rubbing it so much. As for the results, I don’t feel much of a difference up there, besides a little tingle. A good tingle, perhaps? The results may be something you have to wait for to see, like an increase in hair growth or less oil production. This is definitely not an immediate result experiment. But now that I know how beneficial it is to exfoliate your scalp, perhaps I’ll try this again. Just not while sober.

Andrea is a Communications Studies major at Cal Poly SLO. She likes to spend the day chatting, reading, or exploring new places, and her favorite snack is a Caribbean Passion from Jamba Juice paired with fresh-popped popcorn. If you see her on campus, she'll most likely be daydreaming about traveling to far-away places or thinking about adopting another kitten.
Rachel is the Senior Editor at Her Campus. She graduated from Elon University in 2015 where she wrote for Her Campus's Elon chapter as well as the national LGBTQ+ section, and has since held editorial positions at Hello Giggles and Brit + Co along with running social media for several publishers. Her work has been published in Teen Vogue, Glamour, StyleCaster, and SELF, and she can be found in North Carolina smearing face masks on in the name of content. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @RachelCharleneL.