Occaional use of Head and Shoulders or Selsen Blue.

I've always had extremelybad dandruff. I am in the process of ntural dreads but I'm only about 2 1/2 months in. I wash with baking soda, which helps to remove residue and dry my hair up quicker. My concern is, it seems like if I don't wash with actual shampoo, my dandruff gets really bad, REALLY quick. It causes my hair to look really nasty and dirty. I know you can use different oils and such, but I don't have the money. I'm wondering if every other wash (I wash about twice a week) would be ok to use a anti-dandruff shampoo? Dandruff was one of the main reasons I combed my dreads out earlier this year and I don't wanna lose my progress to it again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

updated by @star-mercer: 01/13/15 09:14:06PM

Okay, here is an amazing shampoo for you....Garnier Fructis Salicylic acid Anti-Dandruff shampoo in clear control. They have two formulas, so be absolutely sure it says clear control and that the shampoo is clear too (you can see it as the bottle is clear too...with a green cap and green writing). I have done hair for over 30 years, and this shampoo is great! I was having some crazy itching from some mild psoriasis and I found this stuff. This shampoo worked when NOTHING else did! What I also like is that it has guaranteed 48 hour control, so it leaves your scalp healthy and happy for 2 whole days. It is not a zinc based shampoo and it leaves no residue, so it is safe for baby dreads and hair color (if your hair happens to be colored also). And, if all that wasn't enough...it is inexpensive! I bought mine at Stater Brothers and I have seen it at Target...so it is probably at Walmart as well. Hope that does the trick for you!

that sghampoo is great but hard to rinse and will buildup so a better option is continue the bakimng soda add the oils teartree and rosemary or at the least just rosemary..and be sure u do acv after if u dont do acv youyr going to get dry scalp

follow with a cold rinse

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Dandruff can be caused either by a dry and irritated scalp or a fungal infection of the scalp.

If it's dry and irritated scalp it's likely that "regular" shampoo won't actually help in the long run. It'll "look" like it helps because it often contains things that cause the loose flakes to stay glued to the scalp and won't let 'em fall off naturally.
Also, "regular" shampoo ('specially if you use it more than once a week) removes all the natural oils from the scalp and it "burns" the sebum glands so they produce less natural oils for a little bit which causes the scalp to become irritated because it's too dry.

The solution to this is to wait it out really.
That is to say. Stop all "regular shampoo" use and wash only every 3-4 days with something much milder than regular soaps.
It'll get a lot worse for a couple of weeks, but then all of the sudden you'll realize it's gotten a LOT better.

Now, if it's fungal, it won't actually get better unless you deal with the fungal infection and not just it's symptoms.
Most anti-dandruff shampoos only deal with the symptoms which is why it returns the moment you stop using them.
For actually treating the infection you need a proper medicated shampoo from the pharmacy "or" if it's merely a mild infection, adding certain oils to your BS wash "can" be enough.

Since it's apersistentproblem which you feel you "need" anti-dandruff shampoos to address it's likely it's fungal. This does NOT mean you have to comb out your locks, it only means you'll have to treat your scalp and then be patient while it heals (as after treating the fungus it'll take a while to recover from years of exposure to the harsh chemicals in shampoo along with the years of fungal infection).
I'd suggest getting a medicated shampoo, watering it down a little bit (so it can soak in good) and washing with it every 3-4 days until you're out of medicated shampoo, then switching back to the bs wash (again, 3-4 days apart) and giving it about 1-3 months and "then" seeing if you haven't cleared up good.

Also, rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse!
When you think you've rinsed everything out of your hair, rinse twice more.
Most of us don't actually rinse our hair well enough when we wash it.
So.. yeah...