I have severe acne on my scalp. I've had it my whole life (i'm 24). I remember as a small child a hairdresser saying something to my mom about bumps and scabs. as an adult, i have fluctuating outbreaks. right now, i would estimate i have 30 sores of varying degrees, in clusters. it's mostly on my hair line, but also dispersed everywhere. I've tried using expensive salon shampoo, t-gel, natural shampoos, unscented with no dyes or sulphates, etc. I have tried air drying my hair, and blowdrying. no hair product and putting product in.
My current routine is to use dove unscented bar soap as shampoo, and then blow dry it. no conditioner and no other products. it was worse when i let my hair air dry, i think maybe because of the excess moisture on my scalp?
I have black hair so i can't use bp or any other products containing a bleaching agent. I am at my wits end. help me please. i can't afford a doctor visit or a derm.
Giovanni triple treat you would get some place like a natural food store but Nioxin you can get at most hair salons. There are better ones than Nioxin but that is the most popular one. I know they reformulated it in 2011 and it's not anywhere as good but I'd look around for good DHT removing shampoos on amazon. A lot of the dht shampoo are going to be hair loss shampoos because dht buildup can clog the scalp and block it from growing. Idk. Here is one I just found that is probably much better than Nioxin but I'd look around and read the reviews.
https://www.amazon.com/Amplixin-Stimulating-Shampoo-Caffeine-Clover/dp/B00OPB297W/
Also, there are other tea tree oil shampoos other than Giovanni. I actually like Desert Essences' replenishing one better but forgot about it. If you do get a tea tree one I'd get it at a natural store because those ones would have a much higher tea tree concentrate. If tea tree is at the very end of a long list of ingredients it's probablt not going to do much. That's why the Desert Esence one is so good.
https://www.amazon.com/Desert-Essence-Daily-Replenishing-Shampoo/dp/B000YG1INI/
On 3/5/2015 at 11:21 PM, makethevangogh said:I have severe acne on my scalp. I've had it my whole life (i'm 24). I remember as a small child a hairdresser saying something to my mom about bumps and scabs. as an adult, i have fluctuating outbreaks. right now, i would estimate i have 30 sores of varying degrees, in clusters. it's mostly on my hair line, but also dispersed everywhere. I've tried using expensive salon shampoo, t-gel, natural shampoos, unscented with no dyes or sulphates, etc. I have tried air drying my hair, and blowdrying. no hair product and putting product in.
My current routine is to use dove unscented bar soap as shampoo, and then blow dry it. no conditioner and no other products. it was worse when i let my hair air dry, i think maybe because of the excess moisture on my scalp?
I have black hair so i can't use bp or any other products containing a bleaching agent. I am at my wits end. help me please. i can't afford a doctor visit or a derm.
Hi. I had this problem for 15-20 yrs. During this period I took 3 full rounds of accutane and countless prescription meds (antibiotics and antifungals). Non of them worked for the long run.
After years of research and experimentation, I found that scalp acne, and possibly acne itself is a gut and skin microbiome issue. The microbiome is composed by the thousands of microbes that inhabit our bodies. This microbes when they get to imbalance, they create serious chronic issues. You can research this for yourself if you want to in countless scientific papers. Just google "microbiome".
To make this short, this is what I did to fix it forever (3yrs pimple free):
-Stop and avoid all antibiotics unless you catch a really serious bacterial illness. Same with antivirals drugs and antifungals.
-Change your diet to a plant base whole food vegan diet, and low in sugars in an initial state (6 months at leats). No animal products.
-Stop alcohol.
-Do sports.
-Stop consuming refined sugars, gluten and dairy. Lower your salt intake also and keep away from cooking oils or polyunsaturated oils.
-After about 2 months of the above changes you have to do this:
You have to go for a 7 day water only fasting. This is vital, in fact so vital that if you don't do anything that I posted here, you maybe have a chance to beat this problem If you only do an extended water fasting (20 days or more...yes 20).
Then you change your eating patterns to an intermittent fasting type of eating. (read about it please).
I know this sounds like a lot, but in a year your scalp...and body will change for the better and forever.
This is all the internal changes needed to change your gut microbiome, no extra supplements required. Just cheap plant based whole foods... Rice, potatos, legumes, vegetables and fruits (not so much fruit though).
On the external side is more tricky. Depending on what stage you're in of this chronic illness, you have to make some serious changes..
Forget all you have read about bacterial skin infections, acne and fungus. During the 20yrs period I had scalp acne I think I tried all prescription and natural shampoos and ointments the world has to offer, so I'll not get into that here. In short, non of them worked.
I did culture tests, skin biopsies and every test there is with mixed results. Some were negative and some were positive for all the guys that the old science considered to be the cause of acne. From staphylococcus aureus to pitirosporum ovale to gram negative and positive bacterias to various types fungus. The fact is that this guys live in our bodies most of the time, bringing no problems to the host. It is when our bodies become full of nutrients for these guys and the environment becomes so friendly, that these guys start to make trouble.
Anyway, to fix your skin and scalp:
-Stop using medicated shampoos and go for the least harsh ones, with no chemical or natural anti anything.I recommend free and clear shampoo or a neutral soap bar...the simpler or less ingredients the better.
-Shampoo or wash every other day or less.
-In between washes, wash your scalp with water only and a scalp (or back) brush device (keep it clean after use). Massage your scalp with the brush.
-Try to lower your shampoo or soap washes to once every 5 days.
-Use a water filter in your shower and try to wash with colder water...cold is better because when the water passes through the heater, it get heavy metal particles, that mess up your skin flora also.
I know all this maybe sound like a lot, but it is not when you think about a person that had this problem for 20 years.
After 1 year of doing this, you could start eating more freely, and animal products also. I actually eat meat and dairy now with no problem whatsoever. I just never eat refined sugar or alcohol anymore. I use stevia as a sweetener. I don't go heavy on gluten cointaing foods either (talking about bread or pasta here). And the dairy I consume is whole fat, non of that lactose free and skimmed.
That's it. I've been completely clear for 3 years now.
Ohhh....at the start of the regimen things will get worse for about 2 months, but then, they will slowly get better and better.
Let me know how you're doing please and if you need any tip or have any question hesitate to send it.