Burning scalp is often caused by skin conditions, including seborrheic dermatitis, a common skin disease that causes inflamed, scaly, oily skin. Seborrheic dermatitis often appears in the body's oiliest parts, including the scalp. Other than a burning sensation on the scalp, the symptoms are: Skin Lesions.
Use a cool compress or hair products with a cooling effect – applying cold to the affected area can be soothing and reduce burning and itching. Protect your scalp from burns and heat damage – being out in the sun without UV protection or overusing heat-styling products can dry out your scalp and add to your symptoms.
The hormones involved, primarily oestrogen and progesterone, affect the hair growth cycle, the scalp and follicle health, the collagen production, and the natural oils that keep hair and scalp microbiome healthy and balanced.
Creams, lotions, shampoos or ointments that control inflammation. Your health care provider might prescribe a prescription-strength corticosteroid you apply to the scalp or other affected area. These include hydrocortisone, fluocinolone (Capex, Synalar), clobetasol (Clobex, Temovate) and desonide (Desowen, Desonate).
Bacteria trapped in the inflamed hair follicle can cause small pus-filled bumps called pustules to form. These red, oozing pustules look like acne.
Severe, often intractable burning pruritus of the scalp is a frequent complaint in dermatomyositis. Lichen planopilaris may mimic other autoimmune forms of scarring alopecia.
The tingling, itching, or burning sensations you may feel in your head and scalp have different causes such as dermatitis, migraines, and scabies.
Here's Why Your Scalp Hurts When Your Hair Is Dirty
When you go too long without shampooing your hair, oils and dead skin cells can start to build up around the hair shaft. While a little bit of oil can be beneficial for your hair, too much oil can suffocate the hair root and lead to inflammation.
Scalp pain is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS), a lifelong autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Scalp pain can be felt as a burning sensation or pain as a result of typically non-painful touch like hair brushing.
Definition. A palpable swelling in the scalp caused by an increase in interstitial fluid volume (excess fluid). [ from HPO]
Increased stress levels can cause hormone imbalance, disrupt your hair growth cycle, and cause scalp inflammation. Learning to manage your stress and incorporating low-toxicity scalp care products can provide a holistic approach to improving your overall scalp health and addressing hair loss challenges.
Occipital neuralgia is a rare neurological condition that involves shooting, shocking, throbbing, burning, or aching pain around the head area. The most common symptom of occipital neuralgia is pain that begins in the neck, which then spreads upward. Occipital neuralgia affects the occipital nerves.
Formication is a symptom where you hallucinate the feeling of insects crawling in, on or underneath your skin. This symptom has many possible causes, including mental health disorders, medical conditions and more. This symptom is often treatable, with available treatments depending on the cause and other factors.
Scalp tenderness and sensitivity can include symptoms such as burning, itching, numbness, and stinging. Causes include skin conditions such as psoriasis and sunburn. Alopecia areata, telogen effluvium, and CCCA are hair loss conditions that can cause scalp sensitivity.
Some people with MS may also experience other types of sudden warm sensations in the head area, including a flushed face or trigeminal neuralgia, which can cause stabbing or burning sensations on the side of the face, usually one side.
Most conditions that cause tingling in the head are not serious and may result from tension headaches, sinus, and ear infections. Abnormal or recurring severe pressure may be a sign of some underlying medical problem, such as a brain tumor or aneurysm in rare cases.
For many people, lupus affects the skin on the top of the head, with itchy rashes, skin lesions, or alopecia (hair loss). Scalp pain typically doesn't accompany these symptoms, yet several members of MyLupusTeam have shared stories of a painful, tender scalp.
In some patients the scalp becomes extremely sensitive to even the lightest touch, making washing the hair or lying on a pillow nearly impossible. In other patients there may be numbness in the affected area. The region where the nerves enter the scalp may be extremely tender.
Topical medications, such as medicated shampoos and creams, can also be effective in treating scalp inflammation and associated hair loss. These products contain active ingredients that help reduce inflammation and treat underlying conditions.
What does shingles on the scalp look like? Shingles is a viral infection that appears as painful rashes anywhere on the body, including the scalp. It may cause discolored patches of skin on the scalp with bumps or blisters that eventually form scabs.
If a scalp or hair disorder is accompanied by pain, sensitivity, burning, or itching, consult a board-certified dermatologist as soon as possible. This may be a sign of an underlying medical condition.