pookaloo83, what if you didn't dilute your shampoo and washed in sections? Try Giovanni 50:50. If your hair is in braids and you undid one, then used fingers to part hair and apply shampoo to scalp using fingers the same way pple used to grease scalp, and you did this while hair is dry. Then rebraided the section so hair does not tangle while you work on another braid section. If you rebraid loosely after applying shampoo to scalp, when you wet hair you will be able to feel through the base of your braids to your scalp for a good massage. Yes you apply first before you wet your hair. Because shampoo was applied thoroughly undiluted, its cleaning power will be good and all inches of scalp will be covered for a thorough cleaning And if you used a good shampoo like Giovanni, your scalp should be squeaky clean.
Access to my scalp is pretty easy coz I am in mini twists, but when my hair is loose, washing in braids seems to give me easy access to my scalp.