Scalp care is having a moment – and unlike most beauty moments, this one has the receipts to back it up. In March 2025 alone, “scalp treatment” generated 24 million Google searches and 12 million TikTok views, which translated into a growth of 19% in sales of leave-in scalp treatments across Europe, as well as 40% of hair serums and 17% of hair oils.

Percentages aside, the driver behind all of this is what has been framed as the “skinification” of hair: the growing understanding that scalp is skin, and that scalp care is becoming part of the daily routine for both men and women. Which should have always been the case. We have been obsessing over serums, SPF and barrier repair for our faces for years, while the scalp – the actual foundation from which hair grows – has been largely ignored in favour of a dry shampoo and a prayer.

Your scalp is skin, so start treating it like it

A little fun (albeit nerdy) fact: your face and scalp contain more sebaceous glands per square centimetre than almost anywhere else on the body. This means it is more reactive, complex and uniquely vulnerable to the wrong products, as well as stress, hormones, hard water and environmental pollution.

Trichologists look at nutrition, genetics, lifestyle and external factors like pollution when addressing scalp concerns -the scalp ecosystem is that layered. Which is to say: if something is off, there is almost always a reason, and it rarely has just one cause.

Trichologists have been making this argument for a long time and since we’re finally listening, now is the time to catch up with science and see if we need to change our routines and the products we buy. Below are the top five tips trichologists swear by:

Top 6 tips for a healthy scalp

1. Don’t underestimate your everyday shampoo

Most people reach for a scalp treatment product when something goes wrong, at which point the damage has already been accumulating for months. The products used daily are the ones doing the heavy lifting – either supporting the scalp’s natural balance or steadily eroding it, depending on what’s in them.

Trichologists consistently flag sulphates (SLS and SLES specifically) and parabens as some of the most common culprits behind scalp irritation, chronic dryness and sensitivity. These are ingredients that appear in the majority of mainstream shampoos and are worth learning to recognise on a label.

The fix isn’t always a specialist treatment – sometimes it is simply a better formulation. Thankfully for us all, there are myriad of haircare brands that truly do but health front and centre. One brand our team is using and can truly recommend is Design.me, a Canadian brand that has just launched in the UK earlier this year with a sprawling range of products, none of which contain sulphates, parabens or other common irritants. There are many more brands available. Just make sure to do your research before adding to cart.

2. Massage your scalp (yes, really)

It sounds like the kind of advice you’ve find in a hotel spa brochure, but the evidence is more compelling than its reputation suggests. A standardised study found measurable increases in hair thickness after 24 weeks of regular massage, and a 2019 study found it could help improve alopecia (over 69% of participants reported improvements).

Why does it work? Mechanical stimulation increases blood flow to the hair follicles, delivering more oxygen and nutrients to the areas that need them most. Certified trichologist William Gaunitz recommends using a scalp massager three times a week for around 15 minutes before washing, followed by shampoo and a topical scalp serum. If that feels like a commitment, even a few minutes of fingertip pressure during your wash routine is better than nothing.

3. Use scalp serums (if you need to)

Sometimes, the damage is already done and a trusted shampoo just won’t cut it. If you feel that your scalp is irritated or produces too much oil, or you’re dealing with continuous shedding, you may need to consider a scalp serum.

There are scalp serums aplenty in the market. Ingredient-wise, niacinamide and zinc are commonly used to help regulate oil and reduce inflammation, humectants like glycerin or hyaluronic acid support hydration without heaviness, and peptides or antioxidant-rich extracts are often included to support scalp and follicle condition over time. Equally important is avoiding unnecessary heaviness or residue-forming ingredients if your scalp is already prone to build-up.

If you’re on the market for scalp treatment products, the Hello Klean Full Control Anti-Thinning Scalp Serum is a winner. It has key actives such as peptides, green tea extract, and zinc, alongside components aimed at reducing buildup that can contribute to shedding over time. Importantly, it’s lightweight and it does make your hair a little fuller at the roots.

Another option is the Amaraya Intensive Treatment, which we also got to try and can absolutely vouch for. This one has vegan keratin (a high powered combination of peptides), flower stem cells and botanical extracts to support fuller, thicker hair growth.

4. Wash your hair at the right frequency

Both extremes cause problems. Overwashing strips the scalp of its natural oils, which triggers the sebaceous glands to overproduce sebum in compensation – leading, counterintuitively, to greasiness rather than cleanliness. A build-up of product, dirt and sebum can clog follicles, potentially causing itching, flaking and even scalp infections if left unaddressed for too long.

Meanwhile, if you underwash your hair, product residue, dead skin cells and excess oil accumulating around the follicle over time can impede healthy hair growth in ways that are slow to manifest and slower to reverse.

The right frequency depends on scalp type, lifestyle and the products being used – trichologists suggest washing at least weekly as a baseline, with adjustments for oilier scalps or heavy product use. For example, straight and thin hair needs to be washed more frequently than curly or wavy hair, as does oilier hair. If the scalp feels tight and dry after every wash, that is the products telling on themselves.

4. Use dry shampoo sporadically

Dry shampoo can be a life-saviour, but it’s also one of the quickest ways people accidentally create scalp issues. It works by absorbing oil at the surface of the hair and scalp, which buys you time between washes, but it doesn’t actually remove oil, sweat, or product build-up. When it’s used repeatedly without proper cleansing, everything it absorbs (oil, pollution, dead skin cells, styling residue) just sits on the scalp. Over time, that can lead to itchiness, dull roots, clogged follicles, and that “never fully clean” feeling, even straight after washing.

The biggest mistake is spraying it day after day to stretch washes indefinitely. A better approach is to treat it as a short-term fix – one or two days between washes. When you do use it, apply it sparingly at the roots, let it sit for a couple of minutes so it can actually absorb oil, then brush it out properly rather than just leaving it in. And crucially, it needs to be washed out thoroughly at the next wash.

If your scalp is already sensitive, flaky, or prone to itching, dry shampoo can worsen these conditions because it disrupts the scalp’s natural balance without you noticing immediately. In those cases, reducing frequency or switching to a lighter formula helps, but the real fix is still regular washing.

5. Your scalp health is what you eat – so eat well

The scalp’s condition, much like anything that’s happening to your body externally, is a fairly reliable indicator of what is happening behind closed doors. Deficiencies in iron, vitamin D3 and biotin can deprive hair follicles of what they need, leading to excessive shedding and slow regrowth – and these deficiencies are extraordinarily common, frequently undiagnosed and rarely resolved by a serum alone.

Foods like eggs, lean meats, nuts, lentils and leafy greens provide the building blocks the hair and scalp need to maintain strength and growth – none of which is revolutionary information, but all of which gets ignored when the more exciting option is a new shampoo. Persistent flaking, unexplained shedding or a scalp that never quite feels balanced are all worth investigating beyond the product cabinet. A blood panel is a more useful starting point than most people expect.