Treatment of Seborrheic Dermatitis

Ashton N.W. /AN
My Method dealing with this, New York.

Published: Thursday, March 21, 2013 – 8:00am

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Please note: Im not a Dr. however always try to get the most natural treatment possible, this is what worked for me and may not work for you, some information was pulled from online articles to bring a understanding of what seborrheic dermatitis is and it’s effect on parts of the body.
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Seborrheic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting areas of the head and trunk where sebaceous glands are most prominent. Lipophilic yeasts of the Malassezia genus, as well as genetic, environmental and general health factors, contribute to this disorder. Scalp seborrhea varies from mild dandruff to dense, diffuse, adherent scale. Facial and trunk seborrhea is characterized by powdery or greasy scale in skin folds and along hair margins. Treatment options include application of selenium sulfide, pyrithione zinc or ketoconazole-containing shampoos, topical ketoconazole cream or terbinafine solution, topical sodium sulfacetamide and topical corticosteroids.

The etiology of seborrheic dermatitis remains unknown, although many factors, including hormonal, have been implicated. This chronic inflammatory skin disorder is generally confined to areas of the head and trunk where sebaceous glands are most prominent. When seborrheic dermatitis occurs in the neonatal period, it usually disappears by six to 12 months of age, suggesting that it may be a response to maternal hormone stimulation.1

Seborrheic dermatitis frequently affects persons in postpuberty. Additional evidence of hormonal influence is provided by research demonstrating that the human sebocyte responds to androgen stimulation.2

Seborrheic dermatitis can occur on many different body areas. Usually it forms where the skin is oily or greasy. Commonly affected areas include the scalp, eyebrows, eyelids, creases of the nose, lips, behind the ears, in the outer ear, and middle of the chest.

Seborrheic dermatitis in infants, also called cradle cap, is a harmless, temporary condition. It appears as thick, crusty, yellow or brown scales over the child’s scalp. Similar scales may also be found on the eyelids, ear, around the nose, and in the groin. Cradle cap may be seen in newborns and small children up to age 3 .

Cradle cap is not contagious, nor is it caused by poor hygiene. It is not an allergy, and it is not dangerous. Cradle cap may or may not itch. If it itches, excessive scratching of the area may cause additional inflammation, and breaks in skin may cause mild infections or bleeding.

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In general, symptoms of seborrheic dermatitis include:

1. Skin lesions.
2. Plaques over large area.
3. Greasy, oily areas of skin.
4. Skin scales — white and flaking, or yellowish, oily, and adherent — “dandruff”.
5. Itching — may become more itchy if infected.
6. Mild redness.
7. Hair loss.
8. Pimple like bumps in the scalp.

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Detecting what it is:
For the time when I notice flakes in the scalp is actually between 7-10yrs prior to moving into cold climate conditions my scalp began to change. I would normally apply light gel to my hair and brush as I would normally for years, I notice itching after 7yrs being in the cold, so I thought it was dandruff so I would shampoo my hair with head and shoulders, I would use this as my prime shampoo for months and would wash anytime I shower, (with no knowledge of the dangers of sulfates) so as I continue to use head and shoulders I would notice it will go away for a while and then a few weeks latter come back.

I just couldn’t understand what was causing this so I continued to wash my hair again with the same shampoo, then I wanted something stronger so I tried selsun blue and used that for a while but I really don’t like how selsun blue smelled this is of course before today with the different options in the fragrance they put into it now. My hair felt tacky and smelled nasty so I stopped using it. I went back to head and shoulders until I really got tired of dealing with this. I tried putting extra gel or grease to keep my scalp moist. Again I notice it would seem to calm down but then return, I totally gave up on trying stuff for this so for the next 5yrs I would wash my hair normally and use head and shoulders if I think I needed it.

Over the course of those years, what I notice was that temperature, water moisture and the activity on your scalp played a very important role on this thing. I find when I cut my hair and constantly brush it would go away under natural water not in the United States that my hair and scalp will regain it’s texture and natural moistness. But once I return it will either get worse or just act up. So I do know for sure that water is very important in how it behaves, I notice that what this is isn’t dandruff and if it is it’s something I never seen before so I began to do some research on what this really is about.

My Research:

After I decided to take this thing by the horns I headed to the dermatologist to get some answers and a real solution to this madness, I love my hair and it has bin years since I have seen it the way I know it to look and was in demand to bring it back health and up to it’s peak. Now after speaking to him I was giving a solution liquid to put into my scalp to get rid of it, however I was told that people everyone has some kind of flakes from the scalp this didn’t sound normal to me at all since I have never seen this sort of thing, I didn’t mention that I also notice this a week coming from the barber from getting my hair cut, so my thoughts at first was I had a hair or scalp infection, I know how to cut my own hair but this cut I just wanted to feel the feel of getting my hair cut by the barber, (never me again) latter that week  when this happened I was more than upset.

I used the solution for about 3 months in and I notices drying of my hair follicle’s and scalp so I began to mix it with argon oil,  gradually I saw the change and kept on using it, while using it I let my hair grow out for 9 months without cutting and still kept it at a long length, I combed every time and saw the flakes fall out and washed my hair with head and shoulders also with selsun blue (the sweet fragrance one available today) doing the process that will bring back my hair to it’s peek.

As the weeks went on I saw the change and then I decided to wave my hair again the way I always did for years, so I cut my hear for the new year and began to brush again from a comb #2. Still combing and brushing things kept in control. So as I began to look up the ingredients in the shampoos and from the web I read how sulfates are not a good thing for the hair follicle, it contains toxins and poisons that can indeed damage your scalp degrading the quality of your hair, so over the years of using such products could have done more bad than good.

So I picked up some natural shampoos that doesn’t contain any sulfates or toxins in them, these things also leads to frizzed hair as well which I was suffering from, as I stopped using the head and shoulders as I found this information and began to use that to was my hair, for the first 3 days my scalp began to itch, from using it, but I know that my hair will take some time to get use to no depending on the other shampoos that I have bin using. As I continued to use the natural shampoo my hair began to transform, the itch slowly went away after 2 weeks of using it, my scalp felt much better and my hair couldn’t of looked any better.

I began to add natural products to my daily hair routine to keep it in healthy condition such as vitamins minerals for hair, and for all the while it has worked, I notice a few weeks ago some flakes came back but this is from not washing my hair as regular as I did before so I’m going to go back using the solution and washing my hair 2 times a week. The thing here to note is that there are many different things that can cause this and to get rid of it will not always be the same as what I did to anyone else. Everyone hair is different and will grow different as well. This is why I say to use natural products as you can, it will be easier for your hair to deal with and always but always research the ingredients in your shampoo’s and conditioner’s.
The hair is a organ and it needs to be treated like one, it need air to breath it need vitamins to stay strong and like other things we intake to out bodies hair has to deal with, sun, smoke, heat, weather conditions, water, air and all these other things we put in and over it, will result on how it behaves.

Although some things are gene related I do believe with the right steps and maintenance you can slow down hair loss and even stop it, age also do play a role on the quality of hair but with a good healthy diet and exercise will help dramatically in keeping your youth alive. Today I have my hair back with a healthy scalp and will continue to maintain it which will take care of a great deal of problems from happening latter down the road.

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What I Recommend:

1. A good diet (sleep well).
2. Use Natural Shampoo and conditioner without sulfates.
3. Wash your hair 2 times a week minimum.
4. Water with less toxins is better to wash your hair.
5. Keep your scalp clean and hair properly moisturized.
6. Do not use heavy grease in your scalp for longer than 2 days without washing it out.
7. Comb your hair and gently rub it with the comb (this massages the scalp and lifts and dead skin off of it such as scales).
8. Comb or brush your hair 3 times a day for a minimum of 30min total for the day.

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What My Dermatologist Recommend:

1. Continue using the oil with the solution.
2. Keep your scalp clean by washing your hair.
3. It may come back from time to time.
4. Continue using head and shoulders and selsun blue.
5. Use any shampoo you like after.