How I soothed my scabbing, oozing scalp after a bad bleach

In this edition of Beauty Diaries, Beauty Editor Redzhanna shares her secrets to a scab-free, freshly bleached scalp. 

Going platinum blonde has been… a journey, to say the least. Things started off amazing—when I first left my first big bleach appointment, my hair was absolutely perfect. It was an even, white blonde that, most importantly, was healthy and thick. Better yet, my scalp felt fine. Apart from a little stinging during the toner application (that very quickly subsided), I felt absolutely no discomfort. Honestly, things could not have gotten off to a better start. 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky on one of my routine top-ups. Naive as I am, I decided to go to a different stylist, and I would quickly come to regret that decision. For a start, instead of the singular bleaching process I’m used to from my usual salon, this new salon bleached my hair four times and destroyed my hair. It should go without saying that this also left my scalp in terrible shape. Not only was it itchy and red, but it was scabbed up and oozing in places. It wasn’t a full-on, all-over bleach burn, but there were some rawer patches. All in all, it was a mess.

In short, healing up my scalp took a lot of TLC (and a visit to the doctor’s office), but we got there in the end. Thankfully, I didn’t need any prescriptions or special treatments as my burn was mild, and most of the remedies that worked could be executed at home. Ahead, find my biggest dos and don’ts to prevent and treat scalp sensitivity after a big bleach, perm or colour:

Disclaimer: If your scalp is really, really damaged, you need to go see a dermatologist. The advice below is purely for those experiencing minimal to mild scalp sensitivity.

Do: Go into your appointment with oily roots

Bleach, as we know, can be extremely irritating to the scalp. Fortunately, your hair has a natural mechanism to help protect itself: sebum. Before every bleach top-up, I make sure to skip washing my hair for at least two to three days prior. This way, I’ll have a nice coating of grease over my roots that helps serve as a little buffer against the peroxide.

Don’t: Scratch at your scalp 

A greasy scalp is great, but it does come with its drawbacks. Namely, leaving your hair unwashed can cause a little itchiness and discomfort. It’s important not to give in to the urge to scratch—I’ve made that mistake once, and it left my head much, much worse for wear post-bleach. All the attention from my nails caused a lot of friction on my scalp, which ended up causing some damage to the skin. As you can imagine, when the bleach went on, it stung like crazy. Not to mention, things only got worse when the toner went on after. At that point, no amount of grease would have helped to stop the scabbing. Moral of the story? No itching.

Do: Soothe your scalp

Regardless of whether you experience scabbing, your post-bleach routine should always involve one or more soothing steps. There are a lot of things you can do to calm irritation and damage, including using a scalp serum or tonic, investing in oils and cleansing with a gentle shampoo (preferably one infused with healing ingredients). To make things simple, here’s my go-to post-bleach routine:

Step 1: Pre-treat with Straand’s The Crown Companion Cleansing Pre-Wash Scalp Oil

If your scalp is feeling excessively dry, a pre-wash oil can make all the difference. This multitasking oil works to cleanse your roots and protects your scalp from drying out during the wash process. Harnessing its blend of nourishing squalane, hyaluronic acid, castor oil, jojoba oil and rosemary extract, it restores moisture to the scalp to promote healthy hair growth and revitalise your locks. I just apply one of two drops through each part of my hair and massage it in 10 to 30 minutes before hopping in the shower.

SHOP HERE, RM126

Step 2: Cleanse with Augustinus Bader The Shampoo

This shampoo is a game-changer. Formulated for extra-dry, coloured, heat-damage and breakage-prone hair, the shampoo uses the brand’s patented TFC8® to nourish and condition your strands while soothing scalp irritation and dryness. I love the lather on this, and the blend of black oat, brassica seed extrack, baobab oil and pomegranate seed oil leaves my hair feeling so soft. It has worked wonders to keep my irritated and/or damaged scalp clean and boost its recovery time.

SHOP HERE, RM325

Step 3: Treat with Kérastase Genesis Anti-Hair Fall Scalp Serum

There’s always the risk of breakage with any bleaching process, so to finish up the routine, I recommend using a soothing anti-hair-fall serum. Kérastase’s serum won the award for ‘Best Scalp Saviour’ in our 2024 BURO Beauty Empties for good reason. Made to be used daily, it is enriched with a potent combination of aminexil, edelweiss native cells and ginger root to re-anchor your hair follicles and soothe the scalp skin for healthier hair growth. The hair growth results take a few months to show up, but the scalp-soothing benefits are almost instantaneous.

SHOP HERE, RM109

Don’t: Pick at the scabs

If you’re looking for a surefire way to exacerbate the oozing on your scalp, you’ll want to pick at the scabs. If not, then heed my advice and keep your mitts where you can see them! I made this mistake—unfortunately, a grotesque little skin-picking session is irresistible to my perpetually bored fingers—which meant that I woke up the next day having made my scalp situation significantly worse and ultimately delaying its healing time. In my experience, the best thing to do is leave the scabs alone while working through your new scalp routine until your skin fully heals.

That just about sums it up. At the end of the day, the key takeaway here is to baby your scalp as much as possible when dealing with any kind of chemical treatment process. Not only will it save you from great discomfort, but it will also help you on your way to better hair in the long run. Again, if you’re experiencing extreme pain and discomfort, go see a doctor. Home remedies can only go so far with bleach burns.

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