Natural Hair and Seborrheic Dermatitis
Is this it?
I've posted about this before, but let me just give you a brief recap before updating you guys on what’s new.
How it all began
i went natural may/June 2011, shortly after that i developed what i thought was dandruff, i used head and shoulders hoping it would go away, but nothing happened, it always came back, then i found out about scalp eczema/ seborrheic dermatitis and thought it was what i had, i was resigned to my fate...because many people said it was incurable (T.T), and then i found a youtube video saying that fragrance in hair products can cause contact dermatitis, so i thought “mm, i got this problem right around the time i started putting all this hair products in my hair” i really didn't care for my hair much before that, so it was highly likely that it was contact dermatitis, i went fragrance free for a year in 2013/2014 and in the beginning it looked like it was indeed the fragrance and possibly not seborrheic dermatitis at all, but that solution didn't last long and the scalp issues came back with a vengeance.
i couldn't do any long term protective styles, i put anything in my hair (synthetic braids or yarn) and my scalp would literally become white in three days), i just wore wigs everywhere, then broke my edges off because of an unfortunate case of braids, dermatitis and scratching (the eczema nicely covers my front hairline), so i gave up and just used my afro to cover it up (thank God for afros).
it was horrible and i was pi**d off! it was definitely seborrheic dermatitis, large hard flakes that wouldn't come off my scalp totally, and touching my hair resulted in a mini snowfall and for some odd reason after a while my scalp began to develop this random odd smell after two-three days, so i kept washing my hair 2-3 times a week.
Now
Beginning of this year, i went through an epiphany and just thought i’d change areas of my life, this included going to the freaking GP to finally tell them that i have some whack ass illness on my head, (as opposed to trying to fix it myself). as i tried to show her the symptoms by parting my hair ((¬¬), flakes were just falling to the floor! Anyway, the doctor didn’t even finish her recommendations, i was like “yh tried those already”, she was like “olive oil?” ..and i was like “....Not only olive oil”, so she finally subscribed me a shampoo with 2.5% selenium sulphide (ah aha! something i never tried before) and i delayed a bit because after 3.5 years of no solutions didn’t really think i should rush to buy another shampoo like it was going to be my saving grace... then went to get it at the pharmacist.
usually when i use a normal shampoo or shampoo with anti-dandruff ingredients that don’t really work for me, the flakes never actually come off my scalp, i used this Selsun shampoo (not selsun blue, but they have the same active ingredient) and the white flakes that clung to my scalp for dear life was pretty much gone. i didn't wan’t to start jumping for joy too fast, i banded my hair and then half a week later took it down to use the selsun shampoo again (twice a week for two weeks, then once a week afterwards) and lo and behold no flakes falling as i parted my hair!
i pray to God it continues working, i’m actually dreaming of having fun with my hair again!
How this can help you
So you may have this problem and may be barely managing having tried all and everything people have recommended, different anti-dandruff shampoos etc, well i’m here to say that :
1. Stop self-diagnosis and self-prescriptions, go to the doctor!
2. You may think you’re using different shampoos, but the active ingredients in all those different brands may have been exactly the same!
before i went to the doctor, i tried
1. Apple Cider Vinegar
2. Head and Shoulders (probably zinc pyrithione)
3. Neutrogena T-gel (coal tar)
4. Fragrance free
5. Raw active manuka honey (T.T) that cost me £10 for a tiny jar! and sea salt
6. massaging my scalp with a concoction of oils and tea tree oil and peppermint oil
7. Nizoral (Ketaconazole)
Anyways, all that was not MY solution, Zinc Pyrithione, Coal Tar and Ketaconazole were not My solution, Selenium Sulphide was, so next time you attempt to try a new shampoo, make sure you’re not looking at brand name but at the active ingredient.
i just had to make this post because seborrheic dermatitis is frustrating as hell, causes self-consciousness, probably low-self esteem, embarrassment (people thinking you got dirty hair because you don’t wash, when you wash you hair like once everyday....30 times more than they do in a freaking month) and i was hoping this could be a solution or 95% help to somebody.
i will also be eating well, and taking omega 3 and evening prim rose oil supplements, eating fish and veggies etc, i haven't really started all that yet, So really, its just the 2.5% selenium sulphide that's curbed this. in fact i couldn’t be bothered with the third shampoo session and left my hair for a week, i felt a very slight slight i mean sliiiight beginnings of an itch on a small part of my head,but even then there were no flakes on my head, it kind of felt like whatever was causing this issue was trying to raise its ugly head again because i skipped the dose, and even then as i parted my hair (a few hours before writing this post), no flakes fell from my scalp!
(T.T), thank you Jesus!
