Hair New Era

As a teenager, whenever I'd complain of dandruff or itchy scalp, my mother would tell me to douse my head in mouthwash. Though I hated to admit when she was right, this little trick worked every time. Even after I went away to college and discovered that the reason most every scalp/hair explanation or ritual my mother had proposed ended in epic failure was that my hair was actually "ethnic" (vis-a-vis birth culture discoveries/identity crisis) and could not be treated as simply White-person-curly hair, the mouthwash strategy remained a go-to for irritated scalp. Inevitably, the mouthwash will come in contact with hair, but it seems that hair, in any texture, doesn't react--it made no difference whether my hair was relaxed, bleached, half-kinked, or all natural. The roots never complained.

Say you have dry winter head when December hits, which is what happens to me. Or after a workout your head itches to no end and you just washed your hair yesterday and can't wash it again today or it will bloom into a giant, dried-out Afro. Get out the mouthwash. (Fluoride rinses do not work. Nor do non-alcohol based mouthwashes.) Pour a capful on your scalp, and immediately the minty liquid tingles and seals the pores. Rinse. Done. Problem-free scalp that lasts at least a week or two.

The only other thing I've found that comes close to soothing scalp is tea tree oil, but it doesn't always work right away for me. Mostly I stick with the mouthwash, and every winter when I reach for the bottle of Scope before stepping in the shower I think, "Guess what, Mom? You were right."