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ectothermicfaun
April 24th, 2016, 03:07 AM
In may of 2014, for reasons i dont fully understand, I got a wild hair and went to a salon where I had my hair dyed to match my roots.. and she totally fried my hair. I had just short of tailbone length at the time. I wouldnt call it 'breakage'. She could not have done more damage if she poured Nair on my head and went on lunch. Whole sections of my hair literally turned into a gummy slimy mess before dissolving. There was no saving any of it. I came in quoted at $80 for all over color and a microtrim only, and went from TBL to an extreme under chin length near pixie in a matter of hours. 5 years of growing. poof! Gone. I cried. Then she had the nerve to threaten me with the police if I didnt fork over the now $300 she wanted for utterly destroying my hair. Eventually I was forced to pay it, the additional cost leaving me without funds for my 6 year olds birthday two weeks later. I will never step foot in a salon again.

Since then my hair just wont grow. Its been two years, Ive managed to regrow 4" in the back, my "bangs" barely touch the bottom of my chin. I used to grow at over .5" a month and barely worked at it. I dont trim it until it tangles, (so far only 2 microtrims) and I havent noticed much for split ends.

I went to the doctor to check for hormone problems, bloodwork, nothing. I just turned 28. My hair is insanely oily, and sheds badly, my scalp constantly itches, and flakes. I wash It once a week and by then Im practically scraping my scalp to bleeding just to get relief. I admit I probably use more shampoo than I should but its the only thing that relieves the itch. I dont have eczema or psoriasis... Doctor said dandruff, but the shampoo doesnt work, tried three different formulations including the expensive nizoral. Something is badly wrong with my scalp, and if i scratch it clearish fluid comes out and coats my fingers (like i have to wash them after) but nothing seems to work.

Historically when my hair was long it was quite dry thanks to my frozen arctic climate, lately since my heads been drowning I would call it moderately dry-ish at the ends at best. Moisture packs help with that but make the shedding worse? Suave clarifying helps with the scalp, but makes the hair impossible to finger comb. I use Aussie 3MM at every wash, CWC style, and I wouldnt dream of putting it on the roots. 3MM seems to be the only conditioner that gives it enough slip to keep it from tangling up when i take it down. Everything ive ever tried containing "milks" etc makes it worse, so I dont think its a protein thing. I dont use any other products, and I air dry. My hair spends the great majority of the time in an awkward low ponytail that my 'bangs' dont fit into so I pin them using metal bobby pins. i dont brush it but i do fingercomb- carefully. I do take the hair skin nails vitamins and have been checked for mineral deficiencies.

what do I do? any advice?

Sweets
April 24th, 2016, 03:19 AM
That sounds so terrible, ectothermicfaun. I'm sending you lots of hugs. I really have no advice, because it sounds like you have done and are doing everything you can. I have never dealt with you what are dealing with...it really must have been such a nightmare for you.

You said she dyed the roots to match the length...does that mean that whatever she melted you hair with didn't end up on your scalp? I can't imagine a reaction lasting that long. How long do you stick with each attempt at calming you scalp down?

You talked about a doctor...I'm really glad you went and tried to sort things out. It's helpful to know that your bloodwork and hormones are normal. Have you tried a dermatologist? Maybe even an allergist?

Hang in there. And I have to say that I am horrified she made you pay for it. That in itself is beyond words!!! How sad :(

Sarahlabyrinth
April 24th, 2016, 03:23 AM
Oh, what a horrible experience! And then on top of that to have all your extra scalp problems. I wonder if it might be a dermatitis? (which I don't know anything about, never having had it, but there are wiser heads heads here than mine who can tell you more about it).

Anyway I just wanted to say welcome and to send you :grouphug:

No way would I have paid that salon ANYTHING......let her call the police.

Sweets
April 24th, 2016, 03:36 AM
Anyway I just wanted to say welcome and to send you :grouphug:

No way would I have paid that salon ANYTHING......let her call the police.

I was so angry with your post, OP that I forgot to welcome you. Welcome! And I argee with Sarahlabyrinth...I probably would have let her call the police...let the cops show up and see what they did to you. Not only did they rob you of your hair, they took advantage of you in an emotional situation. I would call that emotional abuse. I wonder how that stylist sleeps at night!!

Anya15
April 24th, 2016, 03:43 AM
Oh my...what a terrible experience! :( I can't even begin to imagine what you must have gone through. The stylist who did that deserves to be sued.

:grouphug: I think seeing a dermatologist is a good idea.

Mya
April 24th, 2016, 05:57 AM
In may of 2014, for reasons i dont fully understand, I got a wild hair and went to a salon where I had my hair dyed to match my roots.. and she totally fried my hair. I had just short of tailbone length at the time. I wouldnt call it 'breakage'. She could not have done more damage if she poured Nair on my head and went on lunch. Whole sections of my hair literally turned into a gummy slimy mess before dissolving. There was no saving any of it. I came in quoted at $80 for all over color and a microtrim only, and went from TBL to an extreme under chin length near pixie in a matter of hours.

Oh my god, that's extreme! Even in my pre-LHC, DIY bleach&dye days I never came close to that. :( After doing that to a customer, it's your hairdresser that would be questioned by the police imo... Also because, since you say the dye was to match your roots, I suppose it was to darken or tone your length, and how do you manage to dissolve someone's hair with a dye and a toner? She might have used cheap, low quality products she re-labeled as "salon quality", some hairdressers do that. And she was a butcher on top of that.

Anyway...

From what you say it sounds like the products she used touched your scalp and damaged it (I have some experience with scalp damage/sensitivity). If it's the case, those products didn't just dissolve your hair, they also caused a hair fall, but maybe you didn't notice the thickness decrease because it's harder to notice on pixie/chin length hair, especially since you already had a big, unexpected change with your hair length to start with. The hair fall you supposedly had doesn't happen in a few hours. Even if you are gentle with your scalp after the accident, the consequences will last at least for weeks/months, there's no way around it, it's just a natural reaction.

After that, hair grows back, but it doesn't grow back all together, it does over a time span of a few years. What you are most likely experiencing imo, isn't that your hair just won't grow, it's that:
- Your hair goes on with the normal growth/fall cycle, but since it's thinner and uneven it's harder to maintain a consistent thickness at the length. If a longer hair falls, it's less likely to have another twin hair that keeps the length to look like the same. So you have the feeling your hair doesn't grow, or goes shorter, or thinner, but the truth is that at the moment you cannot keep a consistent length&thickness because part of your hair is missing.
- Your hair is gradually growing back from your scalp. Yes, gradually. Means some hairs start to grow back just a month after the accident, some hairs start growing after a year or two or three. I don't think this is something that has to be "cured", my opinion is it's natural (maybe follicles follow their cycles even after hair unnaturally sheds? I don't know). It sounds totally normal to me that your bangs barely touch the bottom of your chin after two years. I think you have even shorter hairs that are growing back.
- You are coming back from a scalp accident, so blood, hormones and "regular" skin problems like eczema, dandruff, psoriasis have nothing to do with it. I honestly don't think dermatologists and trichologists understand any of that.
- Your hair is oily because it's thinner, so the oil your scalp normally produces is too much for it.

What I described here is the aftermath, but from what you say it might be that your scalp it still between the "feel bad phase" and the aftermath. Meaning that growing back is not the only problem, you also experience scalp annoyances and shedding. As I said, the consequences of an accident on your scalp might last longer than you think, depending on what happened to it. Since what happened to you sounds pretty severe, your situation sounds normal to me.

The fact that your hair is very oily might not only be because of its thinning, it might also be a defensive mechanism of your scalp if it feels still irritated. In my experience, over-oiliness, itching, flaking, shedding are very clear signs that your scalp needs much gentler treatments. You might be using a shampoo that never gave you problems before the accident, but after the accident your scalp might have have developed a higher sensitivity so that your shampoo feels too harsh and triggers defensive mechanisms. Your problem sounds like you are in a cycle where your irritated scalp produces reactions that only end up reinforcing its irritation. The solution is to bother your scalp as little as possible (that's why moisture packs worsen your shedding), so you need gentler products and gentler handling.

Try switching to a shampoo that doesn't have SLS/SLES and cones, and have as few ingredients as possible. Look for such shampoos in "bio/organic" shops, but don't rule out regular supermarkets. I found my best shampoo in a regular supermarket, but it's quite the exception to the rule (it's a "natural", locally produced product, but it has existed for years before the bio/organic shops were even a thing). You should become an ingredient expert. Especially in regular supermarkets, don't trust labels that say it's a delicate, natural product, just look straight at the ingredients. This link (http://www.tightlycurly.com/ingredients/) is very much of help.
If you find the right product, you can already feel the difference after the first time(s) you use it.

If your scalp feels better after washing, wash it twice (or more) a week instead of once, but don't massage/scratch it! Just leave it alone. If you get the right products and routines, your scalp should feel better. It might take a while with the right products for it to feel totally good, so don't worry. My mother had itching that wouldn't let her sleep at night. Now, after a few years of delicate products and routines the itching is gone.

I hope my experience is helpful to you. If it isn't, give us further details! Discussing them and trying will get you a solution for sure. I and my mother had very different (yet very annoying) scalp problems, we both solved them (ok, it was me helping her :P) and had a huge regrowth/thickness increase. :flower: :love:

reilly0167
April 24th, 2016, 06:59 AM
Oh my goodness, if that was me I probably beat the crap out of her:slap:, the devastation you been through must've been hhorrific It seems you done whatever possible to rule out what the issue would be, however, I agree with the above posts a trip to a dermatologist and allergist would be a good idea and she deserves to be sued. :grouphug:

Silverbrumby
April 24th, 2016, 08:13 AM
First off im so sorry for that awful salon experience. Second i think this issue you are having now is something that can be improved upon. You have long hair genes but right now you need to work on the scalp.

I'd start washing it every 2nd or 3rd day asap. Go W with minimal cond on the last inch or 2. Do the two week rule to see if this moves your scalp into a happier state.

There are many of us here who must keep our scalps cleaner to stop hair loss and promote growth.

I use anti fungal shampoo plus a good organic sulphur free daily shampoo with herbs for my scalp health. I use the daily shampoo before my anti fungal poo if im feeling greasy.

1% ketoconazole for scalp health works for me but there are many good shampoo options. Health food stores, Amazon online.

renia22
April 24th, 2016, 08:14 AM
Any chance the scalp condition could be seborrheic dermatitis? You said the Nizoral didn't help, was it the over the counter one, or prescription? The Suave clarifying shampoo helping was a clue, maybe a doctor can confirm, but maybe scalp wash more often with that (I'd do it at least every other day), and use conditioner only on the dry parts, and see what happens? If it is some sort of a yeast problem on the scalp, stretching washes and going sulfate free is not a good idea. I know I'm giving conflicting info to prior posters, but I'd play around and see what works for you if the medical advise you received from doctors isn't helping:


http://www.m.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/seborrheic-dermatitis-medref

Obsidian
April 24th, 2016, 09:19 AM
I was also thinking seborrheic dermatitis, you scalp sounds just like mine when it has a flair. Itchy, flaky, oily and weepy. I often scratched until it bled and tried all kinds of over the counter medicated shampoos, nothing worked.

Finally got a diagnosis from the doctor and started using Selenium Sulfide 2.5% shampoo and it finally cleared up. I found the trick for it to work best is apply it directly to the scalp and let it sit for at least 5 minutes, then I add a little sauve daily clarifying shampoo and wash like normal. Its also important to keep your scalp really clean and oily free, for me this means washing ever 1-2 days and no conditioner at all as it will cause a flair. I can use leave in detangler or a small amount of oil after washing but absolutely none can touch my scalp or it will flair.

SD can be a real pain until you learn the best way to keep it under control. Now that I have it figured out, I rarely flair and if I do, it clears up in a couple days with my medicated shampoo.

lapushka
April 24th, 2016, 09:44 AM
Any chance the scalp condition could be seborrheic dermatitis? You said the Nizoral didn't help, was it the over the counter one, or prescription? The Suave clarifying shampoo helping was a clue, maybe a doctor can confirm, but maybe scalp wash more often with that (I'd do it at least every other day), and use conditioner only on the dry parts, and see what happens? If it is some sort of a yeast problem on the scalp, stretching washes and going sulfate free is not a good idea. I know I'm giving conflicting info to prior posters, but I'd play around and see what works for you if the medical advise you received from doctors isn't helping:


http://www.m.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/seborrheic-dermatitis-medref

Yes, you definitely need the Nizoral 2% for it to work well. Here the lighter version just doesn't get sold, and the stronger one is prescription-free. I'd talk to the doctor in any case. You do need a dermatologist from your description. Don't just keep throwing different products at it. It will cost a lot and not bring you any further in solving this. Show that scalp to a doctor! Pronto!

endlessly
April 24th, 2016, 09:51 AM
That is absolutely terrible! It sounds like you've tried everything you could, but with very little luck so far. I know you mentioned that you've gone to see a doctor, but have you gone to see a dermatologist yet? I would strongly suggest contacting someone in a more specialized field and seeing if they'd be able to help. Since your visit to the salon was nearly two years ago, it might be pretty impossible to get any answers from them regarding the products they used, but it might be worth it to check. That stylist should not, under any circumstance, required you to pay after messing up so severely and especially since she so drastically misquoted you on price!

Best of luck and hopefully you're able to get some help soon!

butter52
April 24th, 2016, 10:38 AM
Im not going to say anithing new, just that you need a dermatologist, it sounds like dermatitis/eccema.
I doubt it has anything to do with that awful salon experience.

Big hugs

ectothermicfaun
April 24th, 2016, 01:25 PM
if the dye was to match your roots, I suppose it was to darken or tone your length

This is correct. I am naturally dishwater blonde. That was my root color. Dark ash blonde. My ends a solid two feet down my back were an aweful shade of brass that I did not enjoy from growing my hair out from red box dye several years earlier. (Tsk tsk i know!). For some reason she decided to 'lift' the red out before trying to tone it with ash. She did not even tell me she was going to do so, since she was faar to busy talking to her coworker and playing on her cell phone to actually pay attention to my hair. Then when she was about half way done with the back of my head she told me I had too much hair to dye and that she would need to essentially do foil highlights in order to keep the back from over processing, but it would all look about the same after the toner..I disagreed with her about it coming out the same but i agreed to let her do the highlights because i didnt want the back of my head to burn off, which it did anyway.. so then i agreed to have it cut off once I released it was melting apart... hence the 5" long A-line. She made it out to me that she wasnt going to charge me to fix it untill her boss came out of the office, and then instead of owning up that she ruined my hair, she told her boss that i was being 'indecisive' and thats why it was taking so long. So her boss demanded I pay full price for everything. When she eventually called the cops for non payment, she told them that I agreed to "full head "corrective' color, for 3 hours, plus foil highlights, plus a cut' which is how she justified the now $300. I tried to explain what really happened but the stylist sat their and denied, denied, denied. Sleeze. The boss told the officer that she was there the whole time, basically insinuating that she saw the whole thing and i was full of it. So the officer told me i either pay up or get charged with felony theft of services. So I walked out with hair the shortest ive ever remembered it, my scalp was on fire bleeding, completely broke and dealt with a very unhappy husband that night.



From what you say it sounds like the products she used touched your scalp and damaged it

Yes, my scalp felt melted. It bled for days afterwards. I told her that the crap she put on there was burning. She said its normal for it to tingle and went right back to talking to her coworker. It wasnt tingling... it was burning. I was 26 at the time. I think its fair to say that I knew the difference. She said this stuff was going to even out the color so she applied it root to tip everywhere. If that was toner, im fairly certain i was having an allergic reaction.


it isn't that your hair just won't grow, it's that:
- Your hair goes on with the normal growth/fall cycle, but since it's thinner and uneven it's harder to maintain a consistent thickness at the length. If a longer hair falls, it's less likely to have another twin hair that keeps the length to look like the same. So you have the feeling your hair doesn't grow, or goes shorter, or thinner, but the truth is that at the moment you cannot keep a consistent length&thickness because part of your hair is missing....

- Your hair is oily because it's thinner, so the oil your scalp normally produces is too much for it.

This makes a ton of sense. It did start shedding when this happened. And I didnt change the routine after it got cut off. I used to brush all this crazy oil down near 3 feet on hair, now i only have less than 1. I guess my scalp didnt realize that. Looking back that seems silly to me now that I would be using the same routine for the near pixie as I did for my long hair.


The solution is to bother your scalp as little as possible. This is literally the opposite of what ive been doing. ive been under the impression that I needed to get whats irritating it off. Ive even took a steel cradle cap comb to it and scraped the plaques off, which provided a days relief from the horrid itching. but it always came back.


Try switching to a shampoo that doesn't have SLS/SLES and cones, and have as few ingredients as possible....wash it twice (or more) a week instead of once,

I will up the frequency, I thought that would make it worse! where i am in Alaska doesnt have any health food stores... I have a walmart though. Any suggestions for something that could be bought there or fred meyers/safeway? Theres a gnc next town over I could get too as well.

been thinking about trying some tea tree oil on the scalp, would this be a bad idea? I know not to do more than one thing at a time, just trying to come up with a workable plan of attack. Also thought about doing an application of monistat (as a scalp treatment not necessarily for growth). I really feel like my hair would come back if I could just figure out my scalp.

Sadly, my insurance wont cover a trip to the dermotologist unless its "medically necessary", and unfortunately my local doctor feels my hair is a 'cosmetic' reason, (as if wanting to stop itching constantly is a vanity and not a quality of life thing)... since he already ruled out the 'medically relevant' reasons for it, all he does now is tell me to buy some head and shoulders... sigh. :rolleyes: So Im afraid im on my own, but with the awesome help of you fine ladies of course :cool:

so anyway

Thanks everyone for the re-welcome, and the advice :)

lapushka
April 24th, 2016, 01:57 PM
Sadly, my insurance wont cover a trip to the dermotologist unless its "medically necessary", and unfortunately my local doctor feels my hair is a 'cosmetic' reason, (as if wanting to stop itching constantly is a vanity and not a quality of life thing)... since he already ruled out the 'medically relevant' reasons for it, all he does now is tell me to buy some head and shoulders... sigh. :rolleyes: So Im afraid im on my own, but with the awesome help of you fine ladies of course :cool:

I'd go and see a different doctor, if I were you. Get a second opinion. I don't think that we can do much, if the doctor can't help and you've pretty much exhausted the specialty products that are out there (Nizoral etc.). Leave your scalp alone as much as possible so the doctor can see it for what it is.

Did you try the prescription strength Nizoral? Or the OTC one. If OTC that is probably not strong enough.

ectothermicfaun
April 24th, 2016, 02:28 PM
Heres some images so you can see the sort of thing im dealing with.

This is what my hair used to look like, about 4 months before this happened. back when i used to not even take care of it. cant imagine how awesome it would have been now had i been taking care of it and this didnt happen.

http://s31.postimg.org/fi6kgui9n/IMAG0106_1_1_Copy.jpg

yep this is it now 2 years later, and no i havent gained weight, I lost so much hair that my head looks bigger by comparison.

http://s31.postimg.org/btv45ytbv/hair_now.jpg

also that light part in the front is some weird genetic thing my grandma, mom, sister, and I all have. Not bleach. wont hold color long even if you try to dye it. weird huh?

Obsidian
April 24th, 2016, 02:51 PM
I tried tea tree oil once and it didn't help at all, didn't hurt anything though so its always worth a try. Have you went to the doc when your scalp is really sore and bleeding? Maybe if you switch gear and see him for scalp issues instead of hair issues, he will be more willing to help? He sounds like a terrible doctor, is there a different one you can see? Any chance you are close to Naknek? I have a doctor friend there who is amazing, she is the one who diagnosed my SD.

I don't think I would go with a SLS/SLES free shampoo, if it is SD then your scalp needs to be really clean. I would keep using the suave clarifying, just more often. As soon as it start itching or gets oily, wash it, even if its everyday. At this point its not about what you want but about what your scalp want. Once its healed, you can probably start to stretch washes again.

Staying away from cones is a good idea though, at least until you get this under control. The suave daily clarifying conditioner is cone and oil free but its still important you keep it off your scalp.

Silverbrumby
April 24th, 2016, 09:30 PM
Heres some images so you can see the sort of thing im dealing with.

This is what my hair used to look like, about 4 months before this happened. back when i used to not even take care of it. cant imagine how awesome it would have been now had i been taking care of it and this didnt happen.

http://s31.postimg.org/fi6kgui9n/IMAG0106_1_1_Copy.jpg

yep this is it now 2 years later, and no i havent gained weight, I lost so much hair that my head looks bigger by comparison.

http://s31.postimg.org/btv45ytbv/hair_now.jpg

also that light part in the front is some weird genetic thing my grandma, mom, sister, and I all have. Not bleach. wont hold color long even if you try to dye it. weird huh?

I have a few thoughts. If you really want to try the 2% nizoral you could write/email/ph your doctor and ask them to send your pharmacy a prescription for it. You don't need to see them (with the extra cost and hassle of a visit). Just mention you feel you need to try this formula. It might be a cost effective way to try it and see if it helps. I think they recommend you use it every 3 days at most and I'd try that. Also leave it on your scalp for the full 5 minutes.

OR you might order this Organic shampoo from Amazon. I've found it gentle and effective. Just type in Maple Holistics "Sage Shampoo for Anti Dandruff". It has Jojoba, Argan, tea tree old and is sulfate free. It's about $11 and I use it between my medicated poo or before using it. I always shampoo twice now at the roots. It feels better.

I love that light part at the front of your hair. Very striking.

ectothermicfaun
April 24th, 2016, 10:19 PM
to answer the question about which nizoral i used it was 2%, i picked it up from soldotna professional pharmacy without a prescription, used it twice a week until the time the bottle ran out. but since it didnt seem to be helping I gave up on it and didnt buy a new bottle. also tried anti dandruff shampoos with zinc pyrithione, and selenium sulfide. had some sort of reaction to the latter so it didnt get a lot of applications. havent tried the coal tar though, I just learned of its existence today.

Sweets
April 24th, 2016, 11:37 PM
I absolutely love the light part in the front or your hair. I've never seen that before - how unique!

Everyone has given awesome advice. I just wanted to say hang in there and don't give up! Also, I think your doctor sucks.

ravenheather
April 25th, 2016, 06:20 PM
Well your doctor doesn't suck as much as your stylist did but I would definitely switch if possible. Agree with pp talk to new doctor about scalp concern. If you get the scalp sorted out I think the hair will grow.

Dovahkiin
April 25th, 2016, 08:04 PM
:surprise::nono::grouphug:

Silverbrumby
April 25th, 2016, 10:23 PM
Shampoo for Oily, Itchy & Greasy Hair with Organic Rosemary, Peach Kernel and Jojoba - 100% Natural Treatment from Amazon. $16.95. A girlfriend of mine tried it and said it worked better for her with her flaking, itching and oily scalp.

http://www.amazon.com/Shampoo-Greasy-Organic-Rosemary-Kernel/dp/B009DU4QYE/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Ingredients:
Aqua, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Lauryl Glucoside Carboxylate, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Acrylates Copolymer, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glycerin, Sodium PCA, D-Panthenol, Simmondia chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Botanical Keratin, Citrus limonum (Lemon) Oil, Callitris intratropica (Cypress) Oil, Prunus persica (Peach Kernel) Oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Oil, Ocimum basilicum L. (Basil) Oil.

ectothermicfaun
April 27th, 2016, 08:53 AM
Ugh I just wrote this huge long update and for some reason I got logged out and lost everything I wrote, but anyway ill rewrite here in a little bit when I can get on my computer. It's pretty good.

AJNinami
April 27th, 2016, 05:46 PM
*Lurks patiently* :)

ectothermicfaun
April 27th, 2016, 10:31 PM
SO sorry about the wait friends. So theres been a major breakthrough in the case of the unsolvable scalp...

went to the next town over and met with a FEMALE doctor. This made a huge difference i believe because it seems ladies seem to understand just how important hair can be to our fellow ladies whereas perhaps guys dont think its so important? sorry if that came across sexist fellas, just my experience so far. Anyway. I just got done with a fresh wash and was able to arrive with my scalp in all its nasty oozy glory for display. So I sit down and show the doctor my head and she says, 'oh good lord that must be miserable!" and so i agree and she asks me what Ive tried. So i start with "well i tried the nizoral" and she says, "no.. not just no but very much no." so I said why? and she says "well it says here that you were registered to the ER not to long ago after a severe allergic reaction to diflucan" and i was like yeah thats right. and she continues.. youve also had reactions to clotrimazole in the past. in fact every azole youve ever been prescribed has had reactions. youre allergic to azoles. the active ingredient in nizoral is in the azole antifungal family. so no thats not going to work for you.... lets remove sulfur from your shampoo too since your allergic to the drug sulfa as well. so no selenium sulfide either. try that and see me in a week...

Wildcat Diva
April 27th, 2016, 10:43 PM
Ho ho ho! Yay for good diagnosis! Hopeful for you!

Silverbrumby
April 29th, 2016, 01:40 AM
That's a wonderful breakthrough. Fingers crossed.

lapushka
April 29th, 2016, 05:48 AM
SO sorry about the wait friends. So theres been a major breakthrough in the case of the unsolvable scalp...

went to the next town over and met with a FEMALE doctor. This made a huge difference i believe because it seems ladies seem to understand just how important hair can be to our fellow ladies whereas perhaps guys dont think its so important? sorry if that came across sexist fellas, just my experience so far. Anyway. I just got done with a fresh wash and was able to arrive with my scalp in all its nasty oozy glory for display. So I sit down and show the doctor my head and she says, 'oh good lord that must be miserable!" and so i agree and she asks me what Ive tried. So i start with "well i tried the nizoral" and she says, "no.. not just no but very much no." so I said why? and she says "well it says here that you were registered to the ER not to long ago after a severe allergic reaction to diflucan" and i was like yeah thats right. and she continues.. youve also had reactions to clotrimazole in the past. in fact every azole youve ever been prescribed has had reactions. youre allergic to azoles. the active ingredient in nizoral is in the azole antifungal family. so no thats not going to work for you.... lets remove sulfur from your shampoo too since your allergic to the drug sulfa as well. so no selenium sulfide either. try that and see me in a week...

That is one amazing doctor's visit! And one amazing doctor, for taking your concerns and situation seriously, for one.

What have you been given to try?
I'm curious. :o

Horrorpops
April 29th, 2016, 06:04 AM
SO sorry about the wait friends. So theres been a major breakthrough in the case of the unsolvable scalp...

went to the next town over and met with a FEMALE doctor. This made a huge difference i believe because it seems ladies seem to understand just how important hair can be to our fellow ladies whereas perhaps guys dont think its so important? sorry if that came across sexist fellas, just my experience so far. Anyway. I just got done with a fresh wash and was able to arrive with my scalp in all its nasty oozy glory for display. So I sit down and show the doctor my head and she says, 'oh good lord that must be miserable!" and so i agree and she asks me what Ive tried. So i start with "well i tried the nizoral" and she says, "no.. not just no but very much no." so I said why? and she says "well it says here that you were registered to the ER not to long ago after a severe allergic reaction to diflucan" and i was like yeah thats right. and she continues.. youve also had reactions to clotrimazole in the past. in fact every azole youve ever been prescribed has had reactions. youre allergic to azoles. the active ingredient in nizoral is in the azole antifungal family. so no thats not going to work for you.... lets remove sulfur from your shampoo too since your allergic to the drug sulfa as well. so no selenium sulfide either. try that and see me in a week...

Yay!!! That's great news, it makes all the difference sometimes to find a doc who is switched on and actually cares too! :o She sounds really on the ball - checking for allergies and past medical history! I hope this means your on the path to healing.

I totally agree with you RE female doctors. I've had problems with recurrent bladder infections (sorry if TMI) and most doctors have been super dismissive but it seems like lady doctors tend to 'get' it a little more, maybe due to first hand experience etc. I have had excellent male doctors too, but ratio-wise the ladies have been much more proactive and helpful with that particular condition. :p

hopefullocks
April 29th, 2016, 10:45 AM
Just passed through to read your story, I am so heartbroken for you, Ecto. This sounds so awful and I don't really have any advice, just hugs and the best wishes :-\

Silverbrumby
May 1st, 2016, 07:54 AM
Any updates Echo?

Phanaferous
May 1st, 2016, 03:33 PM
SO sorry about the wait friends. So theres been a major breakthrough in the case of the unsolvable scalp...

went to the next town over and met with a FEMALE doctor. This made a huge difference i believe because it seems ladies seem to understand just how important hair can be to our fellow ladies whereas perhaps guys dont think its so important? sorry if that came across sexist fellas, just my experience so far. Anyway. I just got done with a fresh wash and was able to arrive with my scalp in all its nasty oozy glory for display. So I sit down and show the doctor my head and she says, 'oh good lord that must be miserable!" and so i agree and she asks me what Ive tried. So i start with "well i tried the nizoral" and she says, "no.. not just no but very much no." so I said why? and she says "well it says here that you were registered to the ER not to long ago after a severe allergic reaction to diflucan" and i was like yeah thats right. and she continues.. youve also had reactions to clotrimazole in the past. in fact every azole youve ever been prescribed has had reactions. youre allergic to azoles. the active ingredient in nizoral is in the azole antifungal family. so no thats not going to work for you.... lets remove sulfur from your shampoo too since your allergic to the drug sulfa as well. so no selenium sulfide either. try that and see me in a week...

Yay! I hope you start to see some healing soon. I know it's only been a few days, but something that combats itch and is calming for allergic skin is oatmeal. I have been using it in this way for my scalp: grind up plain rolled oats in a food processor/ bullet blender until it's almost a powder. Put a half teaspoon or so in a small dish and add warm tap water. Wet and wash hair as normal. Hold a washcloth over the bowl of oaty mush water (so the bits don't get caught in your hair) and drizzle the strained oat water over your scalp. Finish washing other body parts, then give your scalp a quick rinse. It has squelched my persistent back of the head itchies.

ectothermicfaun
May 4th, 2016, 03:18 AM
So I'm happy to report that my scalp is doing much better now that I stopped angering it with allergens. The new theory us that when my scalp was so terribly burned at the salon, it brought an amount of new blood flow to the top of my head, coupled with a massive fallout leaving a lot of surface area for shampoo, and the allergens contained inside, to sit on. Since my scalp was already so miserably damaged I couldn't tell it was reacting to the shampoo. So it threw a ton of oil out to protect itself from the sulfur I was now receiving contact with in larger quantity than ever before. Of course, this made it itch, so then we started on the dandruff treatments which contained even more sulfur, (active ingredient selenium sulfide) inciting even more oil! So then I tried the azoles which it turned out I was even more allergic to. This whole time the more I treated the dandruff I didn't have, using stronger and stronger agents, the worse it got. So its still itches a little in certain sections where it gets the driest, but it's no longer an oil slick and my hair is actually starting to feel like hair again instead of a janitors mop after cleaning up a margarine spill...

Ophidian
May 4th, 2016, 07:20 PM
I'm so happy that you were able to find out what was causing the problem and get some relief :group hug:

Silverbrumby
May 5th, 2016, 01:35 AM
I'm so happy for you and that doctor was a sanity and hair saver for you.