My Mom likes to have me wash her hair, but her head itches so much sometimes.

My Mom has used Scalpacin for the itchy scalp. She went through a period of it a couple of years ago. But now no longer has the problem.

PS = Make sure you're rinsing out all the shampoo -- I bet there is residue remaining after the cup/rinsing over the sink method. Again, another reason to go with shampoo that doesn't contain soap and no conditioners at all - especially if she can't give up the AquaNet.

Wow - this forum is amazing. Another post with exactly the same dilemma we faced. Mom also has short hair and has it permed. Sometimes too often. I've had to chat with the salon owner to make sure they don't take advantage of her and perm it too often. That was step 1. Step 2: get rid of the current shampoo/conditioner routine. If you can afford it, pay for one of the specialty salon formulas that contain no soaps or waxes. There are several available online = you cannot find these in drug stores or markets. If you have to use something less expensive, believe it or not - by trial and error -- we found that Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo doesn't dry out her scalp and the constant itching has ceased. Try finding the unscented version (which is now very hard to find). Even the one labelled "Long lasting fragrance" is actually fairly a neutral odor -- mom and I are both allergic to everything and this one doesn't affect us. Use it every other day or less to start, until her scalp returns to closer to normal. And cut out the conditioner - if it's from the market or drug store, it's just waxes that are building up, clogging her pores and are probably the real culprits. Hope this helps as much as it did for my mom!

I just thought of one more thing....some people with curly hair use products with keratin....dump that, they do dry your hair out...keratin is a harsh Chemical.

Old scalps are pretty dry. After the shampoo, use a nice moisturizing conditioner. Check the products she uses on her hair. If they are more than a year old, chuck them out, they can get funky.

Maybe treat her to a salon day once every month or so if possiblel?

Look for a mild hairspray, or a gel, one without alcohol. Washing everyday, may be drying up her scalp, like freqflyer said conditioner is a good idea.
I would even try a dandruff shampoo to see if that relieves the scalp.
I tried Head and Shoulder's at mom's one day that I forgot my salon brand, and at risk of sounding like a paid advertiser, I was very pleasantly surprised.

She may actually be allergic to the hairspray or shampoo.

Use whatever shampoo that you have.... but also use a "conditioner", too.

I use to have itchy scalp and I cured it when I started to use a conditioner. They aren't that expensive if you look for a Sauve brand or VO5, sometimes you can find then for a dollar or two.

Yes, daily use of hairspray could also cause the itching because it is so very drying, but good luck in breaking Mom of the habit of using hairspray. I never could get my Mom to slow down on using it. Now my Mom has terribly thin hair to a point of being almost bald on the back of her scalp.