Seborrhoeic-Dermatitis and ACV

[LisaButz2001]

Hi,

Can people who have had the above condition and successfully used Apple Cider Vinegar to cure it, please PM me.

1) How long did it take? Either number of shampoos or number of months.

2) What concentration did you use?

Today I tried 1 quart of water and 1/3 cup of ACV. It was moderately helpful. My hair was super soft, but still tangled and a huge amount came out.

3) Did you use just ACV or in combination with a shampoo and conditioner?

I used a Body Shop shampoo and conditioner after using the ACV (was worried about after smell of ACV.)

4) Are you taking any vitamins or following a dietary regime?

5) What have you used for the hair thinning/ loss to stimulate regrowth?

6) Is regrowth possible/ How long does it take?

7) How long did the Seborrhoeic-Dermatitis stay gone?

eight) Has anyone tried salt with trace minerals as a treatment?

I've had this for several years. It just spontaneously appeared. It's only on my scalp. I've tried Selsun Blue 2%, but that was awful, in terms of the residue on my hair and limp lackluster appearance.

Please help. I'm so afraid I'll end up looking like Uncle Fester. This is not to belittle anyone with the same problem. I just notice it seems to have gotten worse and conventional treatments (ie dermatologists) have been useless.

Thank you.

[McFearless]

ACV is typically used as a rinse after the cleansing portion of your routine. The smell is potent in the shower but often doesn't linger and the hair dries, so don't worry about it. You should give it an opportunity to stay in your scalp and hair.

Could you say a bit more about your hair loss? How long have you been suffering from it? Have you had blood work and other tests done to rule out any illnesses?

[Firefox7275]

There is no cure for seborrhoeic dermatitis. The most effective route long term tends to be caring for the scalp both internally and externally, not just one magic bullet. It is an inflammatory condition where the skin barrier is damaged and the skin reacts to both fatty acids in your own sebum and the waste products of the malassezia yeast. It can easily be worsened by commercial products.

Do clean up your diet making it as anti anti inflammatory and nutrient dense as possible - plenty of oily fish, low sugar fruits, non starchy vegetables, mineral and fibre rich foods (nuts, seeds, beans, lentils), avoid or limit sugar, white/ refined/ high glycaemic index carbs, smoking, alcohol, stress. This reduces systemic inflammation, can alter the amount and composition of your sebum, calms inappropriate immune response, generally helps with nutrients for hair growth. Please do not randomly supplement without your dermatologist or a registered dietician's say so, you can set up or worsen imbalances.

Do not scratch, do not use heat - so cool water only, no blow frying, no towel turbans or heat caps - these promote inflammation and encourage histamine release. Use cool packs to relieve any itching.

Topically firstly start respecting the skin'a natural barrier function and helping that to heal - don't use any harsh sulphates, anionic surfactants, alkaline products like soap or baking soda: these all thin and damage the skin. Only use products at pH 4.5 to 5.5 (acidic), you can reset the pH with vinegar but that does not repair the damage done to the skin flora and acid mantle by neutral and alkaline products. You can purchase pH strips to test products or message the manufacturer. Gentle surfactants include the glucosides and the betaines, be sure to wash your scalp regularly and thoroughly to keep the sebum levels down.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/celebrities/ingredients-commonly-found-in-hair-care-products

Avoid all oils and butters rich in oleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid: oleic is the main irritant in SD, stearic and palmitic feed the malassezia yeast. That means avoiding most natural oils and butters. There is some research suggesting honey treatments are useful
http://www.pgscience.com/files/pdf/Dr._Thomas_Dawson/TRI_book_chapter_Ch12_Dandruff.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11485891

Depending how severe the condition is and how harsh the regime had been beforehand two good shampoos are
http://www.regenepure.com/complete-list-ingredients.html/ (contains the anti fungal ketoconazole, sulphate free)
http://www.komazahaircare.com/moja-shampoo.html (pH 4.5, very gentle scalp friendly ingredients)

Selsun and most other pharmacy type shampoos are loaded with harsh sulphate surfactants which are proven to thin and damage the skin barrier leaving it vulnerable to further irritation from the sebum and yeast overgrowth! You don't say which Body Shop products you are using so cannot comment on those.

[Teazel]

I have seborrhoeic dermatitis and I've used ACV over a period of about 4 years in an attempt to combat it.

1) As far as I know you can't "cure" seborrhoeic dermatitis. The best you can do is keep it under control and calm down flare-ups when they happen. I think the only real benefit ACV had regarding my SD was a slight exfoliating effect, though the acidity (as in balancing my scalp pH after shampooing) might have helped. Mostly I like vinegar rinses for the way they make my hair feel.

2) I used roughly one tablespoon of ACV to about a cup and a half of water.

3) Poured over my head after shampooing and conditioning.

4) Sometimes yes, but not at the moment. Just a multivitamin while on a low-fat, calorie controlled diet.

5) and 6) According to my dermatologist, seborrhoeic dermatitis does not cause thinning of the hair. My hair has thinned on top, but (again, as far as I know) that's due to my age and genetics: not a lot I can do about that, sadly!

7) I've never been able to get rid of it completely. One time I scrubbed my scalp with brown sugar and oil, and did a few other things, and my scalp was blessedly free of flakes - for a while. Didn't last long. The best weapon I have is a lotion (Betamethasone) from my derm.

8 ) Nope.

I'm sorry you're having such a tough time. But if my derm was right, your SD isn't to blame for any hair loss you're suffering. Have you seen a doctor to explore any other possible causes?

[Tattersail]

hey, i don'y know much about the condition, but i might know about question 8; do you mean tissue salts/ mineral salts? if yes you could try numbers 1, 6 and 11. have a look on this site http://www.schuesslersalts.com/wcm/mb/schuessler/en-en/schuessler-salts/index.html they are usually really cheap and help with balancing your levels of trace minerals in your body.

[lapushka]

ACV did and does nothing for my SD. When it pops up (I have this in bouts), I need to use Nizoral 2%. The itching goes away almost straight away and with continuous use, it clears up in about 2 weeks to a month. But it's something you need to stick with (and follow the directions to a T).

[Peggy E.]

Maybe it's just me, but the best thing I've found to help with my seborrhoeic-dermatitis has been the sebum only/no water treatment. It has made a huge difference - no flakes, no itching.

It's not for everyone, but it sure helps me.

[Beav83]

Not related to ACV rinses, my gf has seborrhoeic dermatitis and she finds her main triggers are stress, sugars and poor diet. When she exercises, cuts sugar, eats more vegetables, and is less stressed, it seems to help quite a bit and not flare up very often.

[Katrine]

I did have some success with ACV in the past but it makes my hair stringy and I don't care for the smell.

Having an outbreak now and I've been doing some experimenting with essential oils. Some reading I've done suggests adding a few drops or so to your shampoo. I've been experimenting with eucalyptus and I'm not getting the results I'd hoped for. It seems a bit clarifying.

Well, there's always tea tree oil and lavender. Anyone else have any success with SD using essential oils?

[Rose Angel]

My hairloss and SD are interconnected - don't listen to doctors saying it isnt. My hairshed is WORSE when my scalp turns pink and itchy and it is almost non-existent during the good scalp periods.

[Firefox7275]

Maybe it's just me, but the best thing I've found to help with my seborrhoeic-dermatitis has been the sebum only/no water treatment. It has made a huge difference - no flakes, no itching.

It's not for everyone, but it sure helps me.

I would strongly question whether you received the correct diagnosis.

[lapushka]

I would strongly question whether you received the correct diagnosis.

I thought the WO was odd as well. My SD seems to flare up intensely the longer it's kept from cleansers (ie Nizoral 2%).

[Firefox7275]

I thought the WO was odd as well. My SD seems to flare up intensely the longer it's kept from cleansers (ie Nizoral 2%).

That is the norm: malassezia yeast feed on the saturated fatty acids in the sebum, research suggests the oleic acid in the sebum and produced by malassezia is the irritant. I wonder if Peggy actually had contact dermatitis: erroneous diagnoses do happen.