Neurologic Causes. Headaches can cause scalp pain and sensitivity. With tension headaches, you may feel like a there is a tight band around your head. With chronic migraines, your scalp may be unusually sensitive to touch, causing pain with even gentle brushing. Headache from a condition known as temporal arteritis can involve the scalp. It is a medical emergency that may lead to vision loss. Symptoms include head pain at the temples and visual disturbance.