chrissy9184
December 9th, 2018, 02:06 PM
HI!
I am a total newbie here, but I've been stalking forums for quite a while and finally decided to join. Everyone just seemed so supportive, helpful and smart, especially in the realms where I'm struggling right now, so I figured... why not. To start off, I don't know all the fancy hair terminology, so forgive me for describing my condition/hair in the wrong ways. I'll be totally honest and say that I seriously haven't paid much attention to my hair in the past - I'm a 25 year old girl, and I've been blessed with very easy, manageable hair. I've never colored it or treated it, it's pretty thin/fine (it always has been) and I wash it every day. It's pretty long right now - a little below my chest.
Before people start giving me flack for washing my hair every day, let me give some background. My scalp hates me - which sounds like a lot of other people on here, thank goodness. In September, I got this seemingly-random flare-up of SD all over my scalp, behind my ears and on my temples. The worst areas were along my hairline - it was just this red crust/border of flakey, scaley skin that was irritated by everything. I cannot think of ANYTHING that would've triggered it, but it really started to drive me insane (and anxious), so I visited my doctor, who pretty much immediately diagnosed it as psoriasis. Cue serious anxiety and frantic googling of psoriasis, which is probably the absolute worst thing you can do - some of the pictures, articles and forums I found were terrifying, and sometimes I was reduced to tears when I let myself think about what I was in for.
After reading, I decided I needed to get some Selsun Blue and start conditioning my hair - because, in fact, psoriasis is dry skin and moisture helps. Obviously, things just got worse after conditioning.
I then visited a dermatologist, who took one look at my scalp and just said, "this is absolutely not psoriasis - this is seborrheic dermatitis." He had psoriasis himself, which made me feel much better - and honestly the SD diagnosis made a lot of sense, considering I've always had very oily skin and greasy hair. NOW we can cue more frantic googling and purchasing of different products - T/Gel, T/Sal, Head and Shoulders, Nizoral, DHS... you name it, I bought it. I also started washing my hair every day, only conditioning the roots and using a medicated shampoo 1-2 times per week, and alternating with Aveda Scalp Benefits shampoo.
After about a month and a half of doing this, I've seen great results - the flaking is pretty much gone, the red "border" is gone and the itch is mostly at bay, but I will say that I still get it in recurring small spots, which is very frustrating. It will go away and then just pop up again, and I cannot figure out why. There are a few patches along my scalp and behind my ears right now, and I get this burning sensation along my scalp at certain times, and my scalp does feel sore ever so often. It is a bit itchy, but not "unbearable," and when I do have to itch, I make sure it's gentle. I have it in a few very small patches on my face, but I've had some mild acne for as long as I can remember, so these really don't bother me at all - I may have had this for a long time, and for some reason it just flared. Also, I should probably mention that I'm also convinced I have SD in the vaginal/vulvar region, which is super duper fun -- my doctor took a look and my gyno took a look, and I was tested for a yeast infection - but everything came back normal and whatever it is looks "topical," so they say... which of course leads me to believe that yes, I am that lucky girl who not only has skin issues on her scalp, her face, her chest and back, but she also has it in her nether regions. It's wonderful.
Anyway, all this to say... I would love some recommendations/insights/thoughts from anyone who has had a similar experience with SD, or just some words of encouragement if I'm going to be stuck with this for the rest of my adult life. Of course after reading a few of the posts on here, I have become convinced that I'm shedding more than usual, although I have never in my life paid attention to how many hairs I lose while I brush in the morning and at night... so I'm 90% sure the hair "loss" is all in my head, and I'm also still just very confused as to whether SD even causes hair loss to begin with. It's shocking how little is known about this condition when so many freaking people have it.
If it helps, I'll also mention that I've gotten a water filter for my shower (this all seemed to start around the same exact time that I moved to an urban apartment, so this seemed like a logical route to take) and I've changed detergents for the outbreaks... down there... and nothing has changed in the vaginal area. I have not tried any diet adjustments, but I have always eaten fairly healthy and drink plenty of water (on most days), and my diet did not change when this started, so I do not think that's the cause.
I know this is long. Sorry! I've never really typed this out so it's actually pretty refreshing to share it with peeps. I am such an anxious person, as you can probably tell, so this whole saga has really taken a toll on me - as ridiculous as it may be to worry this much about a mild skin issue. Life will go on, and there are MUCH worse things I could be dealing with, and my fiance claims he never even noticed the flare when it was at its worst, so life is good. And it always will be, no matter how much worse this gets. That's a pep talk I give to myself very often. :-)
Ok I'm done. Thanks to whoever made it through this whole thing! YAY!
I am a total newbie here, but I've been stalking forums for quite a while and finally decided to join. Everyone just seemed so supportive, helpful and smart, especially in the realms where I'm struggling right now, so I figured... why not. To start off, I don't know all the fancy hair terminology, so forgive me for describing my condition/hair in the wrong ways. I'll be totally honest and say that I seriously haven't paid much attention to my hair in the past - I'm a 25 year old girl, and I've been blessed with very easy, manageable hair. I've never colored it or treated it, it's pretty thin/fine (it always has been) and I wash it every day. It's pretty long right now - a little below my chest.
Before people start giving me flack for washing my hair every day, let me give some background. My scalp hates me - which sounds like a lot of other people on here, thank goodness. In September, I got this seemingly-random flare-up of SD all over my scalp, behind my ears and on my temples. The worst areas were along my hairline - it was just this red crust/border of flakey, scaley skin that was irritated by everything. I cannot think of ANYTHING that would've triggered it, but it really started to drive me insane (and anxious), so I visited my doctor, who pretty much immediately diagnosed it as psoriasis. Cue serious anxiety and frantic googling of psoriasis, which is probably the absolute worst thing you can do - some of the pictures, articles and forums I found were terrifying, and sometimes I was reduced to tears when I let myself think about what I was in for.
After reading, I decided I needed to get some Selsun Blue and start conditioning my hair - because, in fact, psoriasis is dry skin and moisture helps. Obviously, things just got worse after conditioning.
I then visited a dermatologist, who took one look at my scalp and just said, "this is absolutely not psoriasis - this is seborrheic dermatitis." He had psoriasis himself, which made me feel much better - and honestly the SD diagnosis made a lot of sense, considering I've always had very oily skin and greasy hair. NOW we can cue more frantic googling and purchasing of different products - T/Gel, T/Sal, Head and Shoulders, Nizoral, DHS... you name it, I bought it. I also started washing my hair every day, only conditioning the roots and using a medicated shampoo 1-2 times per week, and alternating with Aveda Scalp Benefits shampoo.
After about a month and a half of doing this, I've seen great results - the flaking is pretty much gone, the red "border" is gone and the itch is mostly at bay, but I will say that I still get it in recurring small spots, which is very frustrating. It will go away and then just pop up again, and I cannot figure out why. There are a few patches along my scalp and behind my ears right now, and I get this burning sensation along my scalp at certain times, and my scalp does feel sore ever so often. It is a bit itchy, but not "unbearable," and when I do have to itch, I make sure it's gentle. I have it in a few very small patches on my face, but I've had some mild acne for as long as I can remember, so these really don't bother me at all - I may have had this for a long time, and for some reason it just flared. Also, I should probably mention that I'm also convinced I have SD in the vaginal/vulvar region, which is super duper fun -- my doctor took a look and my gyno took a look, and I was tested for a yeast infection - but everything came back normal and whatever it is looks "topical," so they say... which of course leads me to believe that yes, I am that lucky girl who not only has skin issues on her scalp, her face, her chest and back, but she also has it in her nether regions. It's wonderful.
Anyway, all this to say... I would love some recommendations/insights/thoughts from anyone who has had a similar experience with SD, or just some words of encouragement if I'm going to be stuck with this for the rest of my adult life. Of course after reading a few of the posts on here, I have become convinced that I'm shedding more than usual, although I have never in my life paid attention to how many hairs I lose while I brush in the morning and at night... so I'm 90% sure the hair "loss" is all in my head, and I'm also still just very confused as to whether SD even causes hair loss to begin with. It's shocking how little is known about this condition when so many freaking people have it.
If it helps, I'll also mention that I've gotten a water filter for my shower (this all seemed to start around the same exact time that I moved to an urban apartment, so this seemed like a logical route to take) and I've changed detergents for the outbreaks... down there... and nothing has changed in the vaginal area. I have not tried any diet adjustments, but I have always eaten fairly healthy and drink plenty of water (on most days), and my diet did not change when this started, so I do not think that's the cause.
I know this is long. Sorry! I've never really typed this out so it's actually pretty refreshing to share it with peeps. I am such an anxious person, as you can probably tell, so this whole saga has really taken a toll on me - as ridiculous as it may be to worry this much about a mild skin issue. Life will go on, and there are MUCH worse things I could be dealing with, and my fiance claims he never even noticed the flare when it was at its worst, so life is good. And it always will be, no matter how much worse this gets. That's a pep talk I give to myself very often. :-)
Ok I'm done. Thanks to whoever made it through this whole thing! YAY!