How To Clear Breakouts On Your Scalp

Getting facial acne is an irritating problem that happens to almost everyone. There's nothing worse than waking up to a fresh acne breakout on your face and having to pinpoint the culprit. After finding the cause of your acne breakout, you need various methods to treat your acne. This routine we all know very well and has become something we are accustomed to happening. However, one less common occurrence is waking up to a head filled with acne. Scalp acne is less mentioned but can still occur on anyone. While it's also common, this doesn't make scalp acne any less irritating, especially when you encounter a bump while doing your hair. Like with your skin, there are plenty of treatments and methods to relieve your scalp from acne.

The Cleveland Clinic explains that scalp acne is not any different from the breakouts you find on your face. This acne happens when pores and hair follicles get clogged, just as pores on your face can get clogged. Although the formation of scalp acne is similar to face acne, it doesn't mean you can go ahead and use your skincare products on your scalp. If you suddenly find more and more acne breakouts on your scalp, there are steps to take to ensure your scalp is healthy and clear.

The best way to get rid of scalp acne is to do a deep cleanse. Like on your face, the pores on your scalp can get clogged with oils and other junk. In fact, dermatologist Dr. Rachel Nazarian tells Skincare.com, "There's something to be said about not washing your scalp enough and having acne because when you leave oil on the scalp, you're leaving sebum on the scalp and occluding a lot of those glands, which can lead to acne." Nazarian suggests washing your scalp more often if your acne breakouts are happening more often. Because the scalp has extra oil, frequent washing can help clear some of this oil before it can clog pores.

Health Grades adds that other treatments include shampoos with salicylic acid to treat acne. While you can find this ingredient in your skincare products, shampoo containing salicylic acid can help specifically treat your scalp. Any skincare fan will know that salicylic acid is one of the best ingredients to help clear the pores and is always a must-have for treating acne. Salicylic acid can help clear clogged pores and hair follicles to calm acne breakouts. In extreme cases, you can also get an injected medication from your dermatologist to help alleviate your scalp acne.

The best way to rid any type of acne is to prevent it from forming in the first place. Scalp acne is no different in that there are many ways you can avoid it from even occurring. U.S. Dermatology Partners suggests looking at your current haircare products and only using non-comedogenic products. Non-comedogenic products are ones that don't leave residue behind that can subsequently clog pores. Like regular acne, avoid picking and popping your scalp acne. Although easier said than done, popping acne will only create scarring and infect the surrounding areas.

L'Oréal Paris adds that the best step to prevent scalp acne is to avoid scalp buildup. Avoiding scalp buildup includes going easy on oil products. Anyone with oily skin or hair will know that adding extra oil is seldom a good idea. If your hair is getting extra greasy while getting scalp acne, take the time to take a break from oils. Once you see a buildup of oil and leftover hair products, add a scalp scrub to your weekly hair routine to remove the impurities. Taking the same time and precision to care for your scalp, like your skin, will help prevent any future scalp acne breakouts.