I figured that I would share a recent adventure of mine:
I have been dealing with moderate/severe dandruff since i was about 15 (am now 27). On bad days my scalp might be so irritated that it would bleed. If i used dandruff shampoo regularly it would keep it down to a manageable level, just a few flakes here and there.
Thinking there must be some way to cure it instead of dealing with it for the rest of my life (I have already been dealing with it 12 years), i scoured the internet for anything...
The only thing that offered a shot at curing dandruff was going on a "No-Shampoo" regimen.
Now I wasn't terribly thrilled about trying this... I knew how bad my dandruff could get and how greesy my hair would become if i didn't wash it. But I buckled down for about 2 and a half months and tried it.
Regimen:
1. Don't use shampoo in your hair
2. Vigorously wash your hair everyday with cold or luke warm water
3. If you're hair is really dirty for whatever reason and you need more than water: Let vinegar diluted to ~1:3 soak in your hair then rinse out. (This will also squelch a dandruff outbreak)
===== Some also recommend putting a few drops of tea tree oil in
4. Commit to doing this for at least a month and a half.
Reasoning / Theory:
- The fungus (Malassezia globosa) that causes dandruff lives off of the triglycerides in sebum produced in your scalp.
======= The diffence between having dandruff and not having dandruff is when you have 50%+ more Malassezia than normal (1)
- The sebum in your scalp is produced faster when we use shampoo. This is because shampoo is a detergent that removes oils and sebum production is regulated by how lubricated the skin is.(2)
- Overproduction of sebum results in too much Malassezia globosa
- From others experience (and now mine), it takes about a month for your scalp sebum glands to really slow production down
My experience:
- It took about 2.5 months for me to get 100% cured; I have zero flakes now. ZERO
- After about 1 week, my dandruff was back to my previously 'manageable' levels of when I used shampoo
- The real turning point was around month 2 when I got frustrated that I couldn't completely ditch my dandruff
==== Reading some other peoples comments, I tried taking only cold/ luke warm showers. The thought being that hot water pulled too much sebum out of your scalp. This last bit did the trick and sealed the deal.
If you've tried it, or want to try it, post!
The blog that I read that started it:
http://www.ridiculou...nd-itchy-scalp/
*Edit* Can a mod move this to skin & hair? It made it on supplements by accident *Edit*
Edited by lucid, 27 December 2011 - 07:02 PM.
