Losing all hope here. Dandruff fiasco

[Summer]

Yes, as long as your diet is good. Internal health is like 60%, 20% is topicals, 20% is mental health (actively lower anxiety and stress via things like ; mediation, EFT tapping, CBT therapy, cold showers, exercise like walking, shifting your mindset to a more hopeful, less pessimistic view on life, herbal teas that lower anxiety- look into TCM).

MCT oil, squalene oil, BioM8 conditioning oil- this has a combination of seb derm safe oils, it also has caprylic in it which is antifungal similar to MCT oil, it also has vit e in it, works well and isn't too oily like MCT, it still is oily don't get me wrong but not as much. I have a method I'll mention below that reduces the oiliness of the oil.

This is what I recommend. Japanese skincare has this method called double cleansing... it sounds like it means you cleanse twice with harsh soaps but its quite the opposite. They rub oil based cleansers (you can just use the oils listed above) and they rub it in. It is very moisturizing and also cleansing at the same time. Look into oil double cleansing. You essentially do that to your scalp... before shampooing, apply a generous amount of oil all over your scalp, let it sit for 5-15 minutes then shampoo (ideally only 2-3 times a week with a gentle shampoo) and then follow up with a couple drops of oil as a conditioner. I find that if I apply the oil again after shampooing and let it sit for a minute or 2 then wash it off, I still get the moisturizing effects of the oil without it being so greasy afterwards. Shampooing strips the oils, and if you have dandruff you probably don't use a conditioner because it tends to make you flare. This keeps you in a loop because your skin can never heal because you keep stripping it of it's natural oils.

You can use anti fungals, but limit it a lot. Typical anti fungals say use it like 2 times a week which is way too much in my opinion. Use it more like 2x a month, being sure to moisturize heavily before and a little afterwards. Try to get a shampoo that also disrupts the biofilm on the scalp if you have seb derm like a shampoo with selenium sulfide.

If your diet is good, which means a low inflammation diet... not a peaty diet......... some people can be intolerant to something like dairy for example. You need to figure out your food sensitivities which is a headache to try to figure out... you most likely need to get on some form of an elimination diet for maybe a month and then reintro keeping a very keen eye on your biomarkers like bowel movements, how your stomach feels, sleep quality, mood etc....

Also I think a good probiotic is a must. Not anything like pills, think more along on the lines of like kefir, or sauerkraut. This goes under internal causes which I think accounts for roughly 60-70%. A healthy gut bacteria population allows you to tolerate starches and carbs more easily, which means less inflammation. It will help digest your safe carbs like potatoes and rice better, further lowering inflammation in the body.

Hope these tips help. Please keep me updated.

Hey thanks for such an informative post! I'm gonna look into getting some of that BioM8 oil and try out the double cleansing method. I'm half way there as I've been apply a mix of rosemary oil combined with black seed oil to my scalp 30 minutes before every wash, but I haven't been using anything afterwards (except for this Living Proof product I just got this week).

Overall, great recommendations.

 

[peter88]

Why would red meat give me big dandruff flakes but eggs and seafood don’t? Zion? Iron? Histamine?

 

[dervmai]

How ar

Why would red meat give me big dandruff flakes but eggs and seafood don’t? Zion? Iron? Histamine?

How are your bowel movements? Could be a gut dysbiosis of some sort, meat slows down bowels. Could be that the red meat is harder to digest than the eggs and seafood. It could also histamine. Meat is high in zinc, your zinc to copper ratio might leaning too much towards zinc and you don't have copper. Copper is needed to lower histamine. Focus on your liver health more. How do you react to starches and carbs?

 

[peter88]

How ar

How are your bowel movements? Could be a gut dysbiosis of some sort, meat slows down bowels. Could be that the red meat is harder to digest than the eggs and seafood. It could also histamine. Meat is high in zinc, your zinc to copper ratio might leaning too much towards zinc and you don't have copper. Copper is needed to lower histamine. Focus on your liver health more. How do you react to starches and carbs?

I dont know if it’s bowel related because a milk only diet destroys my butt and stomach but my dandruff is pretty much gone. I recently too doxycycline hoping to see gut improvements but now I’m left with light colored pebble stools. My liver is definitely not in the best place.

 

[GorillaHead]

@GorillaHead are you positively certain you have dandruff as opposed to dry scalp? Like you, my issue is like a white dust. Dandruff is usually yellow flakes.

I've tried so many typical dandruff treatments for my condition (thinking it was dandruff), but none did the trick. You would think powerful anti-fungal products would be a silver bullet, but if they aren't working, then I think some reevaluation is necessary.

A simple little YouTube short opened my eyes to the possibility that what I have isn't even dandruff. It makes a ton of sense for me given that I have very dry skin. My face also gets "dusty" very easily.

I recently bought Living Proof's Dry Scalp Treatment and while I'm not a fan of the scent, it is certainly helping.

All i know is the areas that have this issue is my scalp. My eye brows and my beard. Rubbing my arm or body does not produce dust.

 

[dervmai]

Hey thanks for such an informative post! I'm gonna look into getting some of that BioM8 oil and try out the double cleansing method. I'm half way there as I've been apply a mix of rosemary oil combined with black seed oil to my scalp 30 minutes before every wash, but I haven't been using anything afterwards (except for this Living Proof product I just got this week).

Overall, great recommendations.

Yup, no problem. Also be a bit careful with the essential oils, they can be a bit irritating to sensitive skin if you don't dilute it properly. Also with your scalp serum, if you do have seb derm and not dry scalp, there is a problematic ingredient in it. If you don't know already, there is a site called sezia.co , you should always run your ingredients through this list. Seb derm is a bit different from dry scalp in my opinion, I think seb derm is more so an immune system issue resulting from a compromised immune system. Even if you suspect just dry scalp, I would recommend you still buy products that pass the sezia test.

I have also been looking into scalp serums as a way to restore skin barrier function via hydrating and skin repairing ingredients such as niacinamide, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, panthenol etc... hard to find good products that pass sezia but there are a couple out there.

Keep me updated on how things are going!

 

[GorillaHead]

Have any of you tried mct oil. Numerous reports online report its the one thing that worked for them.


When i first used it. It tottaly helped. Eventually i started get an allergic reaction and I just read that it over stimulates the immune system. Considering 90% of hiv patients have seb derm. Perhaps this issue is entirely an immune weakness problem.

Your skin sheds everyday but if it sheds too much to quickly u get dandruff and redness.

 

[dervmai]

Have any of you tried mct oil. Numerous reports online report its the one thing that worked for them.


When i first used it. It tottaly helped. Eventually i started get an allergic reaction and I just read that it over stimulates the immune system. Considering 50% of hiv patients have seb derm. Perhaps this issue is entirely an immune weakness problem.

Your skin sheds everyday but if it sheds too much to quickly u get dandruff and redness.

Hey, yes I use it. It has greatly helped the itching. I used to have bad flare ups but even with the worsening of my health. My scalp is doing decent. I find putting it on a dry scalp can cause some issues like irritation. MCT oil does not hydrate, it only locks in moisture. Putting it on a dry scalp doesn’t do much really. You need the scalp to be wet and then you apply it to lock in the water into your scalp.

I find if I just apply it on a dry scalp, it can cause some itching.

 

[GorillaHead]

Hey, yes I use it. It has greatly helped the itching. I used to have bad flare ups but even with the worsening of my health. My scalp is doing decent. I find putting it on a dry scalp can cause some issues like irritation. MCT oil does not hydrate, it only locks in moisture. Putting it on a dry scalp doesn’t do much really. You need the scalp to be wet and then you apply it to lock in the water into your scalp.

I find if I just apply it on a dry scalp, it can cause some itching.

It was found in studies to cause allergen sensitization. So it makes me think its method is not locking hydration but rather locally increasing immune system it directly increases th2 response

 

[dervmai]

It was found in studies to cause allergen sensitization. So it makes me think its method is not locking hydration but rather locally increasing immune system it directly increases th2 response

Hmmm, not sure about that, never have read anything like that. Could you link it?

Would squalene do the same thing or is it different?

 

[GorillaHead]

Hmmm, not sure about that, never have read anything like that. Could you link it?

Would squalene do the same thing or is it different?

Just search mct oil and allergy immune system.


But trust me if the issue was hydration it wouldnt be localized to certain areas.

 

[Charais]

I just starting using emu oil as a carrier because it supposedly goes deeper into the skin dermis and will carry with it whatever you're trying to get into the skin. Seems to work well since I've used it the last few weeks on my turkey neck and super dry feet. Def works best when mixing it with other products instead of just plain emu oil. Maybe try that on your scalp with the MCT? (Got mine on AMZ)

 

[GorillaHead]

I just starting using emu oil as a carrier because it supposedly goes deeper into the skin dermis and will carry with it whatever you're trying to get into the skin. Seems to work well since I've used it the last few weeks on my turkey neck and super dry feet. Def works best when mixing it with other products instead of just plain emu oil. Maybe try that on your scalp with the MCT? (Got mine on AMZ)

Ive tried emu oil on my scalp for a week no improvement at all. The only oil to ever help my scalp was mct. This seems to be the case for numerous people on reddit.

 

[Mr Joe]

Haidut wroke something :

"There are studies on PubMed showing that at least 100,000 IU of oral vitamin A were needed to cure dandruff in some people. You may wan to ask foru member (and admin) Charlie about his experience with vitamin A and dandruff."

How up did you go for vit A ?

 

[GorillaHead]

Haidut wroke something :

"There are studies on PubMed showing that at least 100,000 IU of oral vitamin A were needed to cure dandruff in some people. You may wan to ask foru member (and admin) Charlie about his experience with vitamin A and dandruff."

How up did you go for vit A ?

I am starting to think this may actually he the case. Thing is we all see an increase of dandruff on A. But maybe its temporary. Cd4 and retinol was one of the highly correlated things i found in my research. And hiv patients have very low cd4 with a90-95 seb derm prevalence rate

 

[Snicky]

FWIW, my cat just started to have dandruff. Only recent change? -> Freeze dried salmon treats and bonito flakes for kitty from a visiting grandma. Guessing it’s to do w/ PUFA…

 

[peter88]

Whether you believe him or not, Aajonus claimed that animals who ate frozen meat developed skin diseases.

 

[Snicky]

Whether you believe him or not, Aajonus claimed that animals who ate frozen meat developed skin diseases.

Are you saying freeze dried would do the same?

 

[peter88]

Are you saying freeze dried would do the same?

Could be, yes. But then again I don’t know what he bases that claim off of.

 

[GorillaHead]

Update: vitamin A. Whatever is happening around that. It’s the center of it all. I started a 1500mcg daily vitamin A stack with k2 and vitamin D. Zinc copper every few days and vitamin C. I used the nizoral on my problem areas and it seems as if we are seeing a serious reduction of dandruff 90% reduction. Going to stick to this. I think I figured out how this all happened to me.

Niacin. I took so much niacin over the past few years. Guess what it does. It depletes ur liver of retinol stores. And I think I reached a low low level of retinol overall.

I think it’s important not to over dose or u could get no effect. I am going to continue with this. But to the guys who said vitamin A was the solution thank you