How to Take Better Care of Your Scalp
Keep your hair and head happy with Liberty's guide to scalp care
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How to Take Better Care of Your Scalp
Keep your hair and head happy with Liberty's guide to scalp care
By: Team Liberty
It might be hidden under your hair, but is it about time you started to pay particular attention to your scalp? You’d be joining the legions of great-hair-hunters that are already employing the very best scalp care tips to keep theirs in perfect balance. In fact, Google searches for scalp health increased by 300% in 2023, while haircare shelves (including our very own) have seen a rapid influx of scalp-related products entering the market. So why the sudden scalp obsession? And does our scalp really need a skincare routine of its own?
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The Root Cause
The reason for our collective interest in scalp health is two fold. Firstly, the world of trichology (the study of scalp and hair) is starting to offer up more research than ever before into scalp conditions, identifying exactly how the health of our scalp affects the health (and look) of hair. Secondly, the legacy of the pandemic. During the peak of the pandemic, searches about hair loss jumped by 50%, as news outlets warned of a potential link between that and the virus. Then add in the stress of living through a pandemic - that has also been linked to cases of temporary hair loss, too.
Yet while hair loss and serious cases of alopecia exist on one end of the spectrum, at the other lies myriad scalp conditions that could impact the health of your hair, from dryness and flakiness, to skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and even scalp acne. If your scalp is out of balance, then the hair that sprouts from it has little fighting chance of growing long and strong. So it pays to take notice.
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The Skinification of Hair
Look at it this way: your scalp is simply an extension of your face. It’s unlikely that you’d go days without washing the skin on your face, or treating it to all manner of formulas - from moisturisers to exfoliants. Well, your scalp could do with a similar level of dermatological care.
This is where the ‘skinifcation’ of hair care comes in, the trend where not only do our hair routines start to look a little more like our skin regimes, but the products at our disposal reflect the kind of formulas we’re used to using on our faces. Plus, it’s about identifying your ‘scalp type’ in the very same way you’d classify your skin type, choosing products and rituals that cater to it accordingly. Think double cleansing and exfoliation, choosing shampoos with common skincare ingredients such as hyaluronic acid to hydrate or niacinamide to soothe, and even hair flooding, the hair equivalent of the popular TikTok skin trend. Take it from us: create yourself a ‘scalp facial’ and your hair will thank you.
The Best Scalp Care Products Around
An award-winning formula designed for afro, mixed and all curly hair types. This blend of manketti nut and ximenia oils helps nourish and hydrate hair, while caring for the scalp.
Available in-store
Infused with a trio of nutrient-rich seaweeds, Bumble and Bumble's Seaweed Whipped Scalp Scrub promotes a healthier scalp environment for hair that shines with vitality.
Available online and in-store
Formulated with stimulating caffeine and a biomimetic peptide blend that slows hair loss, this innovative treatment helps preserve follicle condition and scalp health.
Available online and in-store
How to Care for Your Scalp
We asked Anabel Kingsley, trichologist and owner of Philip Kingsley, why scalp care is so important. "Your scalp should be cared for in a similar way to facial skin – after all, the scalp is simply an extension of the skin on your forehead, and has a skin barrier which helps to protect and keep it healthy," she advises. "Making sure your scalp is clean and healthy will help to produce hairs of strong quality."
Here are Kingsley's top three tips on how to care for your scalp:
1. Re-moisturise – to moisturise the scalp, rehydrate with a water-based toner such as Philip Kingsley Flaky Scalp Toner, £25.
2. Scalp Serums – to help counteract irritated scalps or increase hair density, apply a serum to your scalp, such as the Philip Kingsley Density Preserving Scalp Drops, £50, which is formulated with stimulating caffeine alongside a biomimetic peptide blend to maintain hair follicle condition and scalp health.
3. Regular washing – try to leave no more than 2 days between shampoos. You take your hair and scalp to the same places you take your face, and it gets just as dirty. Your scalp is also a living tissue; it sweats, produces oils and sheds skin cells.
Try: Philip Kingsley Flaky Itchy Scalp Anti-Dandruff Shampoo, £30 and Philip Kingsley Flaky Scalp Hydrating Conditioner, £30
