scalp problems again... and curls coming out

[helanek]

need help please - back to my scalp problems

- probably SD and dermatosis (+ Rosacea)
- started using shampoo bars - without ACV rinse my scalp happy but my hair heavy and oily - with ACV rinse my hair very happy but scalp can get overly sensitive to vinegar and it is very difficult to adjust the amount needed
- once a while I have to use a regular shampoo (natural ingredients though) because soaps weight down my fine hair - i like that have more weight to hair but it is easy to overdo bars and hair might become dull; the effect of shampoos: extremely itchy and dry scalp
- hair gets oily very fast, when exercise scalp very itchy
- if I wash to often scalp gets extremely dry if I do not hair flat and oily and my scalp itchy and unhappy
- think my hair are thinning (my hairline) from the SD and i am desperate to find something that works

i know it sounds convoluted but I am desperate to find something that works...

also discovered something interesting - I always had wavy hair - more at the nape - not the top layer. when my hair dry really slow I get perfect springy shiny curls - bottom half of hair - the top more dry and straight...

[manderly]

Couple questions:

Do you rinse your vinegar rinse, or leave it in?

Have you tried WO, focusing on heavy scalp massage while the water runs on your head?

[helanek]

sometimes I rinse with vinegar but it is better to leave it on...

I thought about WO but my hair gets so dull ...

one more thing - henna helps a lot with scalp and shine of hair. I also can skip one more day of wash for 2-3 weeks after henna... but I lose lots of wave.

[manderly]

I must have misunderstood your first post, I got the impression your scalp didn't like the vinegar.

I was going to suggest you just "dunk" your length into the vinegar rinse.

I'm having a difficult time with my scalp right now too, so I don't really have any good suggestions for you.

Have you tried anything like the monistat on your scalp for the SD?

[Gilly]

I am going to try the Monistat stuff for my itchy scalp, surely something MUST work!!!!:rolleyes:

[Arctic]

I have been applying aloe vera gel on my scalp after wash, sometimes I add few drops of tea tree oil or lavender essential oil into it. I moisturizes and calms the scalp.

I too have very oily scalp and I suspect I have SD but am not diagnozed. I have found scalp massages don't seem to work, they just irritate the scalp. Washing often helps, I can use full strength shampoo without ill effects but have been experimenting with diluting it. My best way to dilute is at the moment with blob of AVG (aloe vera gel).

When the scalp is bad, nizoral helps. I'm still learning to find a good balance between scalp and hair.

Good luck!

[Rain76]

I have been applying aloe vera gel on my scalp after wash, sometimes I add few drops of tea tree oil or lavender essential oil into it. I moisturizes and calms the scalp.

I too have very oily scalp and I suspect I have SD but am not diagnozed. I have found scalp massages don't seem to work, they just irritate the scalp. Washing often helps, I can use full strength shampoo without ill effects but have been experimenting with diluting it. My best way to dilute is at the moment with blob of AVG (aloe vera gel).

When the scalp is bad, nizoral helps. I'm still learning to find a good balance between scalp and hair.

Good luck!


Thanks for this info. I am pretty sure I have SD, or some type of fungal infection on my scalp. I am about to try Nizoral, so I am cautiously hopeful that this will be the solution I have been looking for. It is sad, because 5 years ago, my hair was waist length & gorgeous & thick. :(

[Arctic]

Thanks for this info. I am pretty sure I have SD, or some type of fungal infection on my scalp. I am about to try Nizoral, so I am cautiously hopeful that this will be the solution I have been looking for. It is sad, because 5 years ago, my hair was waist length & gorgeous & thick. :(

Nizoral has never failed me, hope it works for you too! It's actually quite gentle shampoo :)

[MotherConfessor]

I second Artic on the aloe and oils. Have you tried rinsing with distilled water? That might help calm your scalp, it does me. As for the curl, have you tried plopping?

[florenonite]

Heh, I was reading through this thread and there's an ad for "Hair Care" with a picture of a straightener, because clearly you're taking care of your hair if you fry it into oblivion.

I don't think I've got SD, just a finicky scalp, but I find that scrubbing really well at it in the shower seems to help, as in really massaging the shampoo in, and then really massaging it whilst rinsing, too. This helps with grease and may also help remove dead skin, making my scalp happier. If my scalp is getting particularly flaky and itchy, I also spray a diluted ACV mixture directly onto it before bed, which helps calm it. HTH!

[danacc]

I have been battling with SD for a long time. Selsun Blue works best for me (one of the selenium sulfide versions; they have several lines with different active ingredients now). It will keep the SD in check with a twice-weekly wash.

Head and Shoulders works as an every day wash (one with zinc pyrithione; they also have different lines with different active ingredients). I don't want to wash every day, though, so I don't use this any more.

I really wanted Nizoral to work. I went through 3 bottles thinking I needed an adjustment period. My scalp simply hates it. Something in the formulation seemed to dry out my scalp. Whatever the reason, I'd have flakes within hours of using it, then continue to shed flakes from there.


Now that I know I can back to a happy scalp by using Selsun Blue, I've been experimenting with non-medicated cleansers. I'm currently having success with the following routine used every 3rd day (and I want it to stretch to every 4th, but flakes are showing up on the last day right now, so that's not a success, yet):

Every 3rd day, do a scalp massage on an otherwise dry scalp with coconut oil. Use oil lavishly. I think it's really the oil here that is important, and not the massage. The massage makes sure the oil gets everywhere, and that it is on for a while. Olive oil works, but not as well on my scalp.
Leave oil on for 15 minutes.
CWC with NO conditioner on my scalp. From previous experience, I already know that conditioner on my scalp is going to cause problems. I wash the scalp area with an SLS-free shampoo. I don't know if the "SLS-free" part is important or not. I just continued with my regular shampoo which happens to be SLS-free. I've seen references to SLS being a possible trigger for an SD outbreak because it is so effective at stripping oil, so I'm mentioning that my shampoo is SLS-free just in case it turns out to be important.
Turn the shower off, and do an ACV rinse over scalp and face. (Eyes closed! I get SD outbreaks on my face, too. As an aside, I apply the coconut oil to my face and use a non-SLS cleanser there in the previous steps.) For the ACV rinse, I actually use white vinegar. I dilute it in a 1:16 vinegar-to-water ratio. I do NOT "rinse it out"; it is the final rinse.Just an ACV rinse without the coconut oil pretreatment makes a little difference, but not nearly as much. The coconut oil pretreatment without the ACV rinse makes a substantial difference, but the ACV rinse lengthens the effectiveness.

I'm going to try putting aloe vera gel on my scalp between washes to see if that helps. Also on the to-try list is a coconut/castor oil mix instead of coconut oil alone.


I'm surprised at how much the coconut oil helps, particularly since the SD gets worse as my scalp gets oilier, and it shows up in the oily zones on my face. I didn't expect oil to make it better. But a deep oiling followed by cleansing is working for me right now.

[Katze]

I get SD on and off too; it's better now that I am in my 30s. But I know how terrible it can be.

Washing with sulfate shampoos seems to be the best way to get my scalp really 'clean'. WO worked (before I was pregnant) up to a point; I would alternate CWC and WO washing and, surprisingly, get a clean scalp from ONE WO wash...but not from two.

Vinegar works well for me but only if it is diluted and only if I rinse it out.

Honey also works; as a mild antibacterial, honey soothes the itchies and calms everything down. I have added honey to conditioner and washed with crystallized honey in addition to just doing SMTs. All of these help.

Finally, have you looked at your diet? for me, eating sugar, drinking caffeine, or alcohol, all exacerbate my SD and eczema...but stress also has an effect.

Good luck, hope you find something that works!

Katze

[helanek]

sorry for late answer... was busy with school and work

Nizoral does not work for me - irritates scalp a lot and i did try aloe, oils and so on... so far not much success

thank you for your advice... if anybody finds anything helping them please post, there is lots of people here with the same problem :)

[Schmoomunitions]

What about pure tea tree essential oil as a pre-wash. Maybe no coconut/carrier oil cause I was thinking that might hold in a fungus since it kind of coats. Plus tea tree is antifungal, so is grapefruit seed oil. When my scalp itches nothing soothes it and cools it like tea tree oil.