Beauty Cult Classics: Sulfur-8 and How It Cured My Dandruff While Wearing Locs
Grease?! Girl you still grease your scalp in 2021?! Yeah, I know it goes against everything the Natural Hair community has taught us over the last decade. I totally get it. Hell, I was skeptical myself when I decided to give the Sulfur 8 scalp conditioner a try with my natural hair, but I was desperate and very close to cutting off my locs due to my flaky scalp.
I’m no stranger to dry scalp. It was at its worst during my chemically relaxed days and of course I know why. I was damn near burning the top layer of my scalp off just so I could have straight hair. Whew chile. The absolute ghetto. Never again.
From 2006 to 2015 as a loose Natural, my scalp improved dramatically. I believe the longest I went without washing my hair during that time was 2-3 weeks unless I had my hair in my favorite protective style, mini twists.
Pause. Speaking of washing hair and protective styling, remember when I tried the “water only washing'“ method. Ahhhhh. Good times experimenting with my hair!
But back to the matter at hand, because I used to wash my hair more frequently when my hair was loose I don’t recall having much of a scalp issue. However, with my locs I stretch my re-twisting anywhere from 6 weeks to 10 weeks.
Since locing my hair, I’ve tried experimenting different carrier oils (olive, jojoba, etc.) mixed with essential oils (green tea, eucalyptus, peppermint, etc.). Although I enjoyed the cooling effect, the dandruff would still return.
I experimented with misting my scalp with water every other day but that only resulted in a short lived re-twist and frizzy roots.
Ugh! I was getting frustrated which led to me to my usual safe haven when feeling overwhelmed…Google lol. I can’t recall the exact keywords I searched but the Sulfur-8 medicated grease was listed on the first page of results. I mean this product has been around since 1948 and and is well known around the world for controlling dandruff and reliving dry scalp. I remember back in the day when women in my family used it and spoke of its praises. I ordered a two ounce jar thinking that this six dollar gamble was one I was willing to take..
As soon as it arrived I used on my 4-week old hair,meaning that my scalp wasn’t its cleanest and had already been itchy for sometime. But two wash days ago, it dawned on me that I typically experienced tightness of the scalp at about day 2 after re-twisting. I used to joke that my scalp would rebel from being clean. But it was that realization that I decided to use the Sulfur-8 on my scalp the day I washed and re-twisted my locs. It was as though I was sealing in the moisture and medicating my scalp before any dryness could occur.
GAME CHANGER! My dandruff has been reduced by 85 percent as it will appear the longer I stretch my wash and re-twist. That’s usually around week 7 or 8. But compared to seeing flakes after just a week after wash day, this is the biggest blessing. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the smell of this product isn’t the greatest. It kinda reminds me of burnt barbeque. But for the benefits it provides I’m willing to smell a bit smokey for a day or two until the scent wears off.
If you have locs, or Natural hair in general, and suffer from dry and flaky scalp, I recommend giving Sulfur-8 medicated scalp conditioner a try. The key again is to apply it to a freshly washed scalp. If you decide to give it a go, I would love to hear about your experience!
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