Psoriasis of the scalp
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free skin care · Sun Apr 08, 2007 1:25 am

I've had psoriasis on my scalp since I was 7 years old. I have no idea how it formed but I've struggled with it since. My scalp is covered in a crusty white layer and it often flakes off (looking like dandruff..) and it's sooooo Embarassed

embarrassing. Plus the fact that it allllways itches and so I have to constantly scratch. My derm gave me a steroid called Temovate which worked pretty well..except that it's a steroid. Once I stop using it..everything comes back worse. I need something natural. I've heard of Grandpa's Pine Tar shampoo which is supposed to work..has anyone heard it of it? I'm open to anyyy suggestions. I started to apply apple cider vinegar to the areas..but it hasn't been helping. Sad

free skin care · Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:25 am

I really sympathise with you. I used to have severe seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp, aswell as my eyebrows and other areas of face and body. I used to sit down at a desk and half a ton of skin would flake off onto the desk. It was very embarrassing aswell as painful. I stopped using steriod creams as they were so harsh on my skin. The thing that really helped my scalp was using a coal tar based cream nightly which was prescribed by my dermatologist called Cocois. Which you had to apply nightly, sleep in a shower cap as the solution does smell and stains everything, then in the morning you have to wash it off and all the flakes of skin would wash out. He did give me another alcohol based solution but that stung unbearably so I had to stop using that. I'd really recommend used a coal tar based product though.

free skin care · Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:26 am

I too have struggled with scalp psoriasis most my life. It's horrible. Mine seems to come in stints and stages. For example it can worsen with climate changes, stress, change in diet, hormones, etc. What I find works for me is giving myself a deep conditioning hair mask and scalp treatment with natural oils. In fact I just gave myself one yesterday!

I blend a bunch of carrier oils together such as, neem, rosehip, evening primrose, jojoba, coconut, calendula, avocado, etc etc, basically a few of the oils I have around. I change the blend depending on what I have in stock and depending on my mood, but I usually keep the coconut, neem, jojoba, rosehip or evening primrose, and calendula oils as staples and add other oils like kukui, or almond, or hazelnut...

For essential oils I use oils that help treat hair and scalp such as, teatree, cedarwood, roman chamomile, rosemary, lavender, clary sage, lemon, etc. Just like the carrier oils I alternate the EOs as well. I always have my main antibacterial and antifungal oils like teatree, lavender and rosemary, and then add a balancing oil like cedarwood or lemon, and then a soft soothing oil like roman chamomile, clary sage or rose. I sometimes warm the oils by placing the bowl in a sink of hot water or a larger bowl of hot water. The warm oil helps open the pores of the scalp and feels so great when you pour it onto your head - so soothing. I massage the oil into my scalp (feels better if you can get someone else to give you a nice scalp massage) and then pull the oils through my hair. I then clip it back, leave it on for the day, and then rinse it off at night. I always see a huge improvement in the morning.

I also occasionally do the ACV rinses and find it does help me if I do it only every once in a while (once a month or so) and not a regular basis as it can dry out my scalp even more.

You may want to look at the hair products you are using as well. I tried one hair care line's conditioner and it was horrifying. It intesified the condition 10 times! I ended up giving the conditioner to my mom but she got a reaction from it too and she doesn't even have psoriasis. Moral is, try to find out if something is aggravating your scalp. Could be your shampoo, conditioner or styling product.

free skin care · Sun Apr 08, 2007 2:31 pm

Thank you for the the suggestions!!

Sel, I'll have to look into some tar based products..I'll ask my derm about the Cocois.

Wildflower, my grandmother massages this herbal oil from india (warms it up) into my hair as well. It really does help..I guess I should do it more often.

Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:36 pm

Wildflower, Do have a particular place where you buy your essential oils?

free skin care · Sun Apr 08, 2007 4:06 pm

skinfanatic wrote:

Wildflower, Do have a particular place where you buy your essential oils?

I have purchased my EOs from a few distibutors. Many of them come from local distributors such aswww.acqua-vita.com andwww.essentialbotanicals.com as well aswww.primaveralife.com I always make sure I am buying from ethical companies who sell superior organic essential oils and carrier oils and who work with direct distillers or farming cooperatives around the globe and in the best geographic areas.

Sun Apr 08, 2007 5:50 pm

Thanks so much for the info

free skin care · Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:47 am

Hi there. I also have itchy flaky scalp. I have used supplements which have helped with the itching but I still get flaking. I have been taking fish oil, b vitamins, zinc and magnesium.

I tried the all natural shampoo holy grail quest and was pretty disappointed. I caved in - my flakes were getting horrendous and bought the KMS anti-dandruff shampoo. It smells lovely and does the trick.

free skin care · Mon Apr 09, 2007 3:57 am

Have you tried Elemis skin nourishing milk bath.
I know your probably thinking why are you recommending a bath product for a problematic scalp. I'll tell you why, Elemis is on qvc uk and i watch it a lot and they have a elemis specialist on their who helps develope the products. The milk bath is not a foaming product, you can use it neat on the skin as a body lotion, as a moisturiser on the hair and the said that it can also be used neat on babies scalps to treat cradle cap and to treat the problem you are having.

free skin care · Mon Apr 09, 2007 8:00 am

I also have severe seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp. What helps me is Anti-Dandruff Shampoo by Vichy. I also think that the oil mask that I make helps, it includes: rosehip, jojoba, coconut, avocado, grape seed, lavender, rosemary, clary sage, tea tree, peppermint, cedarwood, thyme, chamomile, oregano and Beta Glucans.

http://www.vichy.com/EN-GB/htmlref/produits/STA00002.html

free skin care · Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:16 pm

why dont you go to see a dermatologist ask for advice?
my friend have this experience, her dermatologist give some liquid medicine, and she get rid of it.

free skin care · Mon Apr 09, 2007 1:37 pm

Melasmaisew wrote:

I've had psoriasis on my scalp since I was 7 years old. I have no idea how it formed but I've struggled with it since. My scalp is covered in a crusty white layer and it often flakes off (looking like dandruff..) and it's sooooo Embarassed

embarrassing. Plus the fact that it allllways itches and so I have to constantly scratch. My derm gave me a steroid called Temovate which worked pretty well..except that it's a steroid. Once I stop using it..everything comes back worse. I need something natural. I've heard of Grandpa's Pine Tar shampoo which is supposed to work..has anyone heard it of it? I'm open to anyyy suggestions. I started to apply apple cider vinegar to the areas..but it hasn't been helping. Sad

My uncle had this problem since he was young too. For him it was quite bad because he's balding on the top of his head, so you could see the psoriasis. Luckily he's very tall, so not many people were tall enough to see the top of his head unless he was sitting down.

Anyway, he tried everything - steroid creams, tar shampoo and even laser treatment, but nothing was working. Finally, his friend recommended that he try turmeric capsules - these are just pure turmeric in a capsule - I guess you could just use good quality pure powdered turmeric as well. He took two capsules a day for a couple months, and the psoriasis completely disappeared. Also, we all noticed that his skin overall is looking really great. He's nearly 50 years old and had bad acne as a kid, and his skin was never the best. However, it's really improved, and now has a really nice glow. In fact, he used to have a full beard to cover his acne scars, etc, but he's now shaved it into a goatee. He is really happy about it and is telling everyone he knows who has psoriasis to try turmeric.

One word of warning, though - I tried taking turmeric capsules myself even though I don't have psoriasis because I thought it might improve my skin. However, I think I had a reaction to it, and I ended up with eczema on my legs, which disappeared once I stopped the turmeric.

It's funny though, because we are east indian and normally eat quite a lot of turmeric in our food. Maybe the turmeric I buy from the indian stores is low quality or something and that's why it doesn't do anything (the capsules we both used are organic).

Anyway, I'd definitely try the turmeric, if I were you -- it made a huge difference in my uncle's skin. In fact, he didn't even tell us what he was doing at first when he visited our house - we all noticed how great his skin was looking and my mom finally commented on it.

free skin care · Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:59 pm

helenzwl wrote:

why dont you go to see a dermatologist ask for advice?
my friend have this experience, her dermatologist give some liquid medicine, and she get rid of it.

Derms typically prescribed strong sterioid treatments and are not big on natural products. The OP already consulted a derm and is looking for alternatives.

Psoriasis and SD are very hard to treat. I have personally tried most of the otc dandruff shampoo (including the vichy), 4 types of rx shampoo, steriod foam, steriod cream etc etc. It still comes and goes.

free skin care · Mon Apr 09, 2007 5:55 pm

Wow..so there is hope out there!! Thank you for all the shampoo suggestions. I've made a list as to what to try first.

Mur, the turmeric idea sounds lovely too. I'll definitely try that. We eat alot of turmeric too..sometimes I even mix it into milk and gulp it down. yuck. hehe.

free skin care · Mon Apr 09, 2007 11:42 pm

I have developed this problem since January and it drives me crazy. I like the Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo, but even that does not keep it totally under control. I have been using Avalon organics and mixed in jojoba oil and beta glucan. It helped for a little while, but my condition flared-up again. This is a very frustrating condition.

free skin care · Mon Apr 09, 2007 11:50 pm

mtview wrote:

helenzwl wrote:

why dont you go to see a dermatologist ask for advice?
my friend have this experience, her dermatologist give some liquid medicine, and she get rid of it.

Derms typically prescribed strong sterioid treatments and are not big on natural products. The OP already consulted a derm and is looking for alternatives.

Psoriasis and SD are very hard to treat. I have personally tried most of the otc dandruff shampoo (including the vichy), 4 types of rx shampoo, steriod foam, steriod cream etc etc. It still comes and goes.

Psoriasis and SD are very hard to treat.!

yes, i know this my friend treat this for a long time! bless you can find a useful product!

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