Ketoconazole shampoo makes my hair fall...

[Estrid]

Today I used a ketoconazole shampoo for the first time, I have had issues the past months with my scalp (itchy and sores) and since I have some dandruff too I decided to give it a go.

I noticed during and after the shower that more hair than usual came out, all and all I would say that I lost maybe 3x or 4x more than usual. Now, I am supposed to use this shampoo twice a week for about 3 weeks, should I continue even though it makes me lose more hair than usual?


I suspect that I will go on since I want my scalp to go back to normal, but having so much hair fall out is a bit scary. A part of me wants to believe that these are weak hairs caused by my stupid scalp and that they will grow back better after this, not sure how true that is though...

What would you do?

[Anje]

How do the ingredients other than the ketoconazole compare to your normal shampoo? I think I shed a bit more with sulfates, for example.

I'd give it one more try -- shedding can vary substantially from wash to wash for some of us. If you lose a lot of hair again, clearly it's not going to work for you. Was it prescribed by a doctor?

[Estrid]

How do the ingredients other than the ketoconazole compare to your normal shampoo? I think I shed a bit more with sulfates, for example.

I'd give it one more try -- shedding can vary substantially from wash to wash for some of us. If you lose a lot of hair again, clearly it's not going to work for you. Was it prescribed by a doctor?

My shampoos normally contain sulfates, so that wouldn't be it. It was not prescribed by any doctor, I bought it on my own. Normal anti-dandruff shampoos have no effect on me and since my scalp had flared up like this I thought it would be good to treat it with "the real stuff".

Now ... after calming down a bit and thinking some more about it: it might be the fact that I massaged this shampoo a bit more into the scalp than I would with a normal shampoo, that could have caused it to fall out more... I did have a lot of hair fall out when I tried the inversion challenge (I only tried it once, haha).

Since this will only be something I deal with twice a week during 3 weeks I don't feel like it is that bad, what else should I do about my scalp if not this? This makes me so unsure, but in the same time it feels like I don't really have any choice.

[lapushka]

The hair falling out may be what's left of the disaster your scalp & hair is in now, and the shampoo may fix it, if you give it a shot. You can only try. I'd wait and see.

[Estrid]

The hair falling out may be what's left of the disaster your scalp & hair is in now, and the shampoo may fix it, if you give it a shot. You can only try. I'd wait and see.

Yeah, I think I will go on with this. I might end up with a bit less hair but I feel like it's worth it.

Thank you both for your answers :)



I wonder if it was the stretched washes (stretched to every 3rd day) that made this flare up or the milder shampoo...maybe them both. Wonder if it is worth trying to stretch my washes again someday or if I should just settle with every other day.

Not sure how I should prevent this from happening again.

[Anje]

Well, if you tend to get sores on your scalp, stretching washes might not be a good idea for you. Different people have different results, but it seems like most of the folks with seborrhic dermatitis find they need to wash their scalps frequently with strong sulfate-y shampoos.

[lapushka]

I have Seborrheic Dermatitis, which makes it possible for me to stretch washes (2/3 times a week to once a week), *but* and this is a major but I have to use harsh cleansers. CO and sulfate-free were a no go. Herbs were a no go, like shikakai. And WO/SO most certainly didn't cut it!

Try a harsh sulfate shampoo in your wash, and your scalp may actually be happier.

[Estrid]

I am using normal shampoos with sulfates right now since I went back to them after *this* happened, haha, guess I'll just have to stick with them.

Now I will just have to wait and see with this ketoconazole treatment, I hope it works.


Thank you both for the help :)

[spidermom]

The ketoconazole shampoo prescribed for me made my hair so nice. I didn't have the usual cloud of fly-aways. Now I'm out of it with no refills of my prescription so I'm using something over the counter that is not as nice. I hope it works for me, though!

[lapushka]

The ketoconazole shampoo prescribed for me made my hair so nice. I didn't have the usual cloud of fly-aways. Now I'm out of it with no refills of my prescription so I'm using something over the counter that is not as nice. I hope it works for me, though!

What are you using instead, spidermom?

[spidermom]

Clear Men's scalp therapy with tea tree oil and mint, among other ingredients.

[lapushka]

Clear Men's scalp therapy with tea tree oil and mint, among other ingredients.

Isn't that just a regular anti-dandruff shampoo, though? You'd probably be better getting Nizoral, the over the counter one. No?