When I was 13 I decided to bleach my straight, black hair. While the bleach was doing it's work on my head, my scalp burned so hot it was painful. For the past few weeks I have been reliving those moments of vain stupidity (why did I think I would look better as a blonde?) due to some irritating scalp disorder. As if I don't have enough to worry about as it is!
For a few months I have suffered from a flaking scalp. You may just think this is just dandruff, but I have tried anti dandruff shampoos and they make no difference. My head feels tight and burning, so I scratch it, which just makes the flakes worse. I decided I had had enough of it as it is embarrassing and painful, so I went to Superdrug and bought T-Gel Therapeutic Shampoo, which a few people recommended to me.
A 125ml bottle cost me £4.99, so I am really hoping that it will work. I never normally spend that much on shampoo! It had better work
or I will be writing a letter of complaint, believe me!
The main active ingredient in T-Gel shampoo is, mysteriously, coal tar, which makes up 2% of the shampoo. Now I thought tar is what goes on the roads and coal comes from the mines. I am a bit wary at the thought of slopping it on my head, but hey, if it works then I?m all for it. After all, Vaseline is derived from petrol and I slaver that all over my lips to keep them soft and it does a great job, so who am I to complain?
The back of the box has a long section of CAUTION, warning not to use T-Gel if you are allergic to any of the ingredients, to not apply to broken skin and to avoid contact with skin. It says that in rare cases temporary discolouration of dyed hair may occur.
The most worrying warning is the one that says ?coal tar may cause acne-like eruptions on exposure to the skin?. I presume that means that you must rinse it out thouroughly and be sure to clean your skin if it comes into contact with the shampoo. It would be nice if this was a bit more clear though.
I have to point out that as I am writing this I have a towel wrapped around my head as I have just washed my hair with T-Gel for the first time and I will report exclusively on the results once my hair is dry!
The bottle of shampoo is contained within a box for a good reason-not only does it look more ?medical? next to all the bottles on the shelf, but the shampoo is a strange orange/brown colour (described pleasantly as ?amber? on the box itself). The box also claims that
Well if you like snogging a smoker after they have chewed gum you may think this shampoo has a pleasant smell. What I mean by that is that although thy may have stuck a bit of perfume in the ingredients, there is no disguising the TCP-esque, medical smell of this shampoo. However, it is not a shampoo that is supposed to smell beautiful, it is a shampoo to cure flakiness, so it?s not that important! You can always do what I do, and use a fragranced conditioner (I use leave in coconut spray-mmmm) to cover up the hospital smell.
The instructions on the back told me to wet my hair thoroughly and apply liberal amounts of T-Gel to my head and massage into my scalp. They would say to use liberal amounts, wouldn?t they! I did as they told me, and felt a stinging sensation on my scalp, most likely due to the chemicals doing their work. You have to leave the lather on your scalp for a few minutes. During this time, the sensation became more prickly and warm, so it was a relief to rinse the shampoo out. I was surprised at the colour of the water running down the plug hole though! It was orangey/dirty brown, mmmm nice.
You then have to repeat the process. The shampoo lathered up much better for me second time around and did not prickle my head so much. Then rinse thoroughly (often flakes on the scalp are caused by not rinsing hair properly).
Maybe I am being over ambitious. On the box it says ?if there is no improvement after 6 weeks consult your doctor?. I am hoping that the first time will have had some effect, so I am off to blow dry my hair smooth and I will be back in a bit! I am going out tonight so it?s very important that I don?t have snow flakes all over my shoulders!
.........twenty minutes later..........
Wow, my hair is silky smooth and no sign of the dreaded flakes. I have to point out that even when I wash my hair with normal shampoo there are not usually any flakes for a few hours unless I scratch my head, so this is not anything particularly amazing. My hair does feel soft though, although it smells a bit chemical when I put it right against my nose. Hopefully no-one else will notice tonight and I will be free to toss my hair ?like I?ve just stepped out of a salon!? I will keep you posted about my fight against the flakes! So far, I am pleased with this product-even if Neutrogena adverts star the irritating, untalented Jennifer Love Hewitt.
.....one more wash and several days later....
My hair definitely has less flakes and is less itchy. I am pleased to say that this shampoo is a definite *winner* product for me.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
T-Gel Shampoo is a therapeutic medicated shampoo. It is used to treat conditions such as ... more
itchy, flaky scalp disorders such as dandruff, psoriasis and seborrhoeic dermatitis. Regular use helps control these problems, while leaving your hairy shiny and m...
Postage & Packaging: £2.05 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Dec 15th, 2001
(Apr 1st, 2002)
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