People say toddler years are hard but after going through them with 5 children I can honestly say that is not true because the teen years are by far the hardest! Our oldest son turned 13 this year. I have seen a huge shift in his personality, attitude and appearance. I am sure it’s because he is going through puberty. Through it all I have to think back many years ago as to when I was a teen. What he is going through is normal.
One of my biggest struggles is to get him to care about his appearance. Why is it when I speak to my friends that have teenage boys they struggle having their boys to take a shower like I do with mine? Do boys like to stink? I stress to my son that his body is changing, bacteria is growing which causes body odor. Not only is the shower issue but then there is the issue of keeping his face clean. Unfortunately he has oily skin and his face breaks out frequently. On top of that he has dandruff. His hair is so thick and burly that I buzz it short every few months to keep him cool in our Florida heat. No matter the length you can still see the dandruff whether it’s in his hair or the flakes on his shoulders. We have tried the expensive shampoo’s but they did not work.
I wanted to learn more about dandruff, what exactly was it and what caused it. From what I found hormones are a big factor. Skin cells that grow and die off too fast are the issue. When it boils a fungus contributes to dandruff. Gross, right? So let’s get rid of it! I decided to add one of my favorite essential oils (tea tree oil) to his shampoo. Yep, good ol’ tea tree oil. I have 5 bottles of it in my home and use it all the time. Why not add it to his shampoo?
Materials:
A bottle of shampoo (I tried to stick with a brand that did not have an over powering scent)
100% Pure tea tree oil with a dropper
Use a FULL bottle of shampoo and add one drop per 2 ounces of your shampoo. For instance if you have a 24 oz. bottle of shampoo add 12 full drops of tea tree oil into the shampoo. About 1/2 way through the amount you are adding into your shampoo place the top back on the shampoo and give the bottle a good shake. Then continue with the remainder of adding the tea tree oil. When you are completed adding the tea tree oil shake the bottle again to ensure the tea tree oil is fully mixed in with the shampoo.
Tea tree oil is known to have anti-fungal properties, so it can battle dandruff. After my son used this shampoo for a few weeks the dandruff was gone! No more flaking! No more irritated scalp! No more scratching! Yay, it’s gone!
What natural products have you made for your teenagers?
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I’ll have to give this a try. One of my kids has dandruff, and the dandruff shampoo doesn’t agree with their scalp. I think this might be the answer.
Does this work with dry scalp too? My husband gets dry scalp in dry weather and dont need anything aggressive. Will have to give this a try.
yes! Try it! You have nothing to lose!
I prefer tea tree oil and making my own. It is amazing what oils can do – save time and money!
This sounds worth a try if you have dandruff. Will definitely keep this in mind.
This would save so much money and be very helpful to have on hand. My oldest daughter is having huge hormone shifts.
Might have to try this at our house. We have two that need this. I’ve used peppermint oil tor a daughter that gets migraines. Love to learn about natural ways to fix things.
YES! Peppermint oil is amazing for migraines. I use it for that as well.
We haven’t made any natural products for our kids, but do use tea tree oil to keep ants away. It works wonders!
Oh, this is perfect! My daughter has super dry scalp, I’ve tried some shampoos for this problem, but they haven’t seemed to help much. I know Tea Tree Oil does really help but didn’t know what the ratio of oil to shampoo was.
Dandruff can be embarrassing and you never know when those flakes may appear. This homemade shampoo would be a wonderful thing to keep on hand.