Growth being stunted by Gunk!

**Latin Tea** · December 30th, 2009, 08:08 AM

Okay, I hope I got your attention! Seriously, I have an issue that is somewhat embarrassing to talk about. Here it is:

It's my scalp. The hair is manageable, but my scalp has been a problem for at least 10 years now. It's almost embarrassing to write about, but I really want to fix this so I can concentrate on growing my hair.

I have this residue on my scalp. I saw a derm and he told me it was dandruff, but it seems stranger than that. I've NEVER run into anyone describing what I have on my scalp.

Okay, when I take my fingernail and (and this will sound gross!) scrape my scalp, I come away with what seems to be a thick, almost a soft cheesy (now that IS yucky) substance. I can take the yellow to white gunk and smoosh it between my fingers and it feels slightly oily, yet waxy....would this be sebum? I should have this figured out by now and that is why I went to the doctor, but still have no clue. I've seen dandruff on other people's heads and mine does not look like that. There is no obvious flaking seen on the scalp, but I feel it all the time. There's a dull itching going on.

I also have areas on my neck's hairline where my skin breaks out in reddish bumps, not many, just one or two, but it's like the shampoo is hurting my skin. They itch too and look nasty so forget buns on me. The only thing that helps is doing coal-tar shampoo once a week just in that area. Also, hydrocortisone will stop the itch for awhile.

I have used regular shampoo, clarifying shampoos, Head & Shoulders, and shampoo without sulfates all to no avail. They ALL eventually lead to irritation on my neckline and may be causing the other gunk on the rest of my head.

Will shampoo bars help me in any way with these two issues? I am about to order tea tree shampoo, but I distinctly remember that not helping either.

I shampoo 2xs a week with COing the lower area. I used to wash every other day (before coming here), but still had the same amount of residue. Maybe I should go WO? Any help with this would be appreciated.

**Anje** · December 30th, 2009, 08:12 AM

Sounds like seborrhoeic dermatitis to me. We've got a number of members who deal with it.

What works varies from person to person, but I think a lot of people get some relief from rinsing with diluted vinegar. I think I've also read that people have had good results using shampoo bars, but that generally requires vinegar rinses too.

ETA, rather late...
As others have said below, some sebum is totally normal, and to have an absence of any oily white-to-yellowish gunk under your fingernails after a day or two of not washing would be a bit unusual and would probably contribute to having dry hair. SD occurs when you have unusual amounts of it, irritation/itching, and perhaps some bug/fungus/whatever that's proliferating in the excessive sebum. Lots of the SD pictures look really nasty. Also look up "cradle cap" -- it's the same thing essentially, but tends to be the name in babies and small children.

**spidermom** · December 30th, 2009, 08:25 AM

It sounds like sebum to me, although seborrheic dermatitis is certainly something to consider. When I go a few days without washing, I can scratch up a thick waxy substance, too. I'm sure it's sebum. I think my scalp skin would get smothered if I went WO or - heaven forbid! - SO. A good wash gets rid of it, also combing/brushing to spread it down my hair helps a little bit, too. I only get itchy bumps if I wait too long to wash it.

**Latin Tea** · December 30th, 2009, 08:34 AM

Let's see. When I washed every other day, I still had the residue and the nasty bumps on my neck were there. It seems some shampoos actually make that area upset sooner than others so I do think that's a shampoo issue. I did try the vinegar rinse one time (yes, I was expecting a miracle) and it didn't take the gunk away so maybe I need to try that again and just give it time. Maybe let it soak? I used Hairever I Scalp Treatment yesterday and that did help to take alot of it off. I just looked at it again and I got the color wrong. There is NO yellow there, just whitish looking.

I don't think it's seb dermatitis as pictures of that look pretty nasty. I don't have redness like that or crusting anywhere.

Yes, now I'm thinking more washing, not less would be a good thing. Maybe every day. That is something I don't want to contemplate though. It would lead me to consider cutting this gob of hair.

**Dreams_in_Pink** · December 30th, 2009, 08:47 AM

eh, i'm sure this will sound quite "harsh" but, last time when i washed, i scratched my whole head lightly with my fingernails. It made my scalp feel better and both my dandruff and that gummy substance lessened considerably. Itchiness is gone too

I suppose shampoos, even the harsh ones, cannot take all the gunk away *shrug*

**ChloeDharma** · December 30th, 2009, 08:55 AM

My first thought was similar to Spidermom's, it very much sounds like sebum. Some people have quite dry sebum that can be scraped under a fingernail a bit like a wax.
It might be worth looking at your diet, especially at the type of fats you eat. A lack of essential fatty acids can contribute to drier sebum. Bartrams encyclopedia of medical herbalism suggests evening primrose oil to improve sebum quality. Oiling the scalp can lso help to dissolve it making it easier to wash off, jojoba would be especially helpfull for that as well as being antifungal in case that's contributing to the problem.
Lavender essential oil might help, diluted in the scalp oil for soothing the red irritated section and ylang ylang is used to balance sebum production.
In India shikakai is said to be particularly helpfull to wash hair with for removing "scurf" on the scalp, personally my scalp is always happiest when i herb wash and shikakai is the cleansing herb of choice for me.
Rosemary used as a final rinse is also excellent for scalp problems and i always keep some growing where i live as my scalp can have a tendancy to flare up now and again, usually a rinse of rosemary sorts it out though.
Apple cider vinegar would be especially helpfull against fungus and is helpfull for scalp health in general as it re-establishes an acid ph, though i find it most effective used as a final rinse as rinsing it off allows the water to raise the ph of the scalp again, skin ph ideally is about 5.5, water has a neutral ph of 7.
I hope some of that is helpfull, good luck

**lilish** · December 30th, 2009, 09:12 AM

Remember dandruff isn't the stuff a lot of shampoo commercials try to tell you it is. It is a real medical condition that a doctor can diagnose. Flakes are not the same thing as dandruff, so if his diagnosis seems strange to you, the shampoo commercials probably had a hand in that. Seborrheic dermatitis can manifest itself differently in different people. You can get it without redness. What did your doctor say to do about your dandruff?

**seethruugirl** · December 30th, 2009, 09:42 AM

I have that stuff on occasion also. I used to have it wayyyy worse. Henna has REALLY helped my scalp. In fact now I can tell when its time to henna again based on my scalp. If you don't want to use it for color you could let it dye release completely before you apply it and just rub it into your scalp real good. I've been hennaing for 2 years now and its done wonders for my hair and scalp! Good luck!

**DMARTINEZ** · December 30th, 2009, 09:49 AM

How about scritching? If you do a search you will find threads on it. I think....? Its
where you use a special comb to loosen up the sebum,etc then wash. Im sure
others would have more info on it. Good Luck!

Deb

**pepperedmoth** · December 30th, 2009, 10:09 AM

I have the same waxy-gunk-under-my-fingernails problem, and what really clears it out for me is to mix a handful of salt or sugar (just the plain table variety) into my shampoo and SCRUB my scalp with it. I don't do this every wash, just when it's bugging me (you may have to do it more frequently).