Dry skin and dandruff

[BlondieD]

I am experiencing extremely dry skin lately. Its awful.

I suppose, I always experienced dandruff since I was young and I went through periods where the dandruff cleared and it came back again.

The shampoo that I was using for a long time was a coal tar shampoo and it stopped working for me. Earlier this year I changed shampoo to a different brand and I was able to get it under control.

Over the past few weeks the conditions in my scalp and skin has changed for the worst. The scalp is so bad with dryness and dandruff. I can wash my hair and rinse it and within minutes of finishing the wash I have my hair wrapped in a towel and then I feel my scalp tightening. When feel my scalp with my fingers or look closely in the mirror, there's layers of dryness and flakes. Layers of the stuff in my scalp. I am rinsing properly so that's not the problem.

This morning I woke up and there was a layer of flakes all around my forehead and face. It was awful. I also feel my scalp and I know it's in an awful way. Unfortunately I am in work for the day and I don't even have time to look after it.

My last hair wash was mid week and I found I had to rush it due to time pressure from work. I applied aloe Vera gel to my scalp while I had conditioner on my ends. I would have loved to leave it in my hair and scalp for 15 to 20 minutes but I was stuck for time and it was 5 minutes. I though the aloe vera would help but there was no change to the conditions of my scalp.

My nutrition is good. I am low in bad carb foods like pastas and pizzas and biscuits. A lot of my diet consists of eggs and cheese and some veg and soups. I would love to include more veg but often I am so busy. I buy vegetables but they sometimes go off easily or quickly before I get a chance to eat them. I take supplements too like vitamin c, iron, folic acid, calcium, k2, magnesium, cod liver oil. There's vitamin D and a and vitamin e in the cod liver oil. I take collagen peptides too.

What can I do about my my scalp and skin. Is there any sort of serum? Would hydrochloric acid work, I wonder? That is often claimed for dry skin.

It sounds like it might be either sebhorreic dermatitis or psoriasis?

For seb derm, which is what I deal with, you can try something like Nizoral. It's very drying to the hair, but can treat the fungus. When I don't need the Nizoral, the Aveeno shampoo and conditioner line works really well. I've had good results with the blue and green bottles.

If it's psoriasis, you might need something like a steroid, because that's autoimmune IIRC.

Your GP should be able to tell which is which or refer you to a skin specialist.

I never got a medical diagnosis so I don't know what it is.

I did try nizoral before and it made my scalp worse. It never worked for me.

Psoriasis does run in my family. My granny had it. She had it very bad all over her body. It was dry scaly patches and red skin.

Whatever I have is so far only relocated to my scalp. There's no red scaly patches on my face.

Out of interest do you have your nails done? I had exactly what you describe and it was always made worse when I had my acrylics done. Eventually found out I have an allergy to the acrylic and it comes out by my head flaking x

Picture

I was trying to post that picture for a while but it refused to post.

That's some red at the back of my neck. There's no flakes or dryness there. That's not the problem area of flakes or dry skin. The dryness and flaking is happening above my ears and the front of my scalp.

I know red is common with psoriasis.

I'm up to my eyeballs with stress that's flung at me from every single angle.

• work - overworked and underpaid
• family - sibling with mental health issues, another sibling with a drug addiction, aging parent,
• partner - he has poor oral hygiene

So I know stress can throw so many things off balance.

I drink loads of water every day. It's the main drink I have every day by the way.

I don't get my nails done

I am not sure this is dandruff, it might be eczema or conditions suggested above. Dandruff shampoo won’t help if so.

Make an appt with GP (send photos and then do a phoner) they will prescribe a steroid wash or ask you to come in if they need to look at it.

In the meantime ask pharmacist for non irritating shampoo - it can take a few days to find the right thing.

You need to see a GP about that, I dont think it's something you can deal with yourself. It looks like it could be a skin condition like psoriasis which needs proper management.

I had a similar problem, assuming it was just dry skin/dandruff and the doctor said it was infected eczema. I was given a lotion to apply to my scalp and a cream for my face and neck and it was gone within a few days.

I managed to get a clear scalp about 4 or 5 weeks ago by accident when I confused conditioner for shampoo. I was washing my hair with what I thought was shampoo but it was conditioner and the scalp turned out very well after that wash. I wasn't able to achieve those results since then because I was using shampoo and not conditioner for the scalp. I use conditioner on the hair.

I don't have time to go to the doctor. I am someone who compiles a list and go to the doctor only when I have to about once or twice a year. So next time I go to the doctor I will mention the scalp issue.

I have scalp psoriasis and find most medicated shampoos irritate it: too harsh and drying. I recognised your description of the scalp tightening immediately after washing! Best results for me have been with gentle, unperfumed shampoos for dry scalp/dry hair, then treat the psoriasis patches with steroids when needed. Boots do an excellent shampoo for dry scalp conditions, I think they also have a leave in scalp moisturising liquid in the same range - worth a try til you can get to the GP?

www.boots.com/boots-expert-sensitive-shampoo-200ml-10247059 Boots shampoo. Heard good things about Aveeno and Eucerin as well but not tried those.

It looks quite painful and needs treating. Why are you too busy to see a GP? These days you can do video/phone consultations at all times of day so it's not like the 'old days' when having a GP appt took up half your day. I use a private GP (paid for by my employer) but there are free GP services that offer same day video appts etc, such as this one:

virtually.healthcare/gp-online/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA-eeMBhCpARIsAAZfxZCRpvpRj7j4v2KWyW5-KhttAhd6tYDXcSamGilbN4QX6atJhr1yCN0aAlvjEALw_wcB

After going to the doctor and getting that treated, have you tried: washing less often and using shampoo with no fragrance/silicones? Your post about not having issues with conditioner made me think that, maybe it's the detergents in the shampoo? You could try for one with a less harsh detergent in it or one made for sensitive scalps(I've seen a brand called MooGoo advertised for people with reactions like this).

I have a sensitive scalp and now I wash about every 5 days(hair adjusts) and use a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse after the shampoo.

@GoGoPowerScooter

www.boots.com/boots-expert-sensitive-shampoo-200ml-10247059 Boots shampoo. Heard good things about Aveeno and Eucerin as well but not tried those.

I get on well with the Aveeno. Was the key to finally healing my last seb derm flare up. But it does have scent. Maybe essential oil based, but if you're sensitive to any scent, I don't think they have an unscented line for adults yet.