new thread
Hi guys. I've visited this place for some time now and finally decided to post. I apologise if this topic has been discussed before, I've trawled the entire page and couldn't find what I wanted, so here goes...
When I was a kid I had mild eczema, and used some special soaps to deal with it. For about 10 years (I am 19 now) I've had no more problems, but I am worried that I have eczema on my scalp, which may be restricting re-growth of hair. Is that even possible? I read somewhere online that it was, but couldn't find much info on the matter.
The back of my head is always flaky and dry, even when washed, and recently I started to notice that the hair around my crown appears to be somewhat thin. I used to scratch it alot, which I later found out is more harmful than anything. I had always thought that that was due to the way I combed it, as well as my weird shaped head and low crown. I am considering consulting my GP about the eczema anyway, and may bring up the subject of hair loss. Only my uncle has a balding crown in my family.
What would you guys do? Sorry for the long post, and I appreciate any advice and replies. Since starting to grow my hair 13 months ago, I've become surprisingly sentimental about having long hair - I don't want anything to ruin it!
Thanks, Matt.
Hi Matt
Sorry to hear your concerns. As a child I too suffered from bad eczema on my head (I think they called it "cradle cap"). As far as I can remember it didn't have any effect on my hair although I wasn't very old when I had this problem and therefore perhaps did not notice if it did have an effect on my hair.
I would definitely visit your doctor - there is more than likely some type of topical treatment that can be used (I think I was issued with a special type of shampoo that had medicinal ingredients in it).
Alternatively, do you find that certain things in your diet cause your eczema to be worse? It may be worth trying to pinpoint if there is anything you have an allergic reaction to. I get mild eczema on my elbows sometimes and have attributed it to eating to much cheese.
I know you've probably already found out most of these things but I hope I have been of some help to you.
Mark.
Hi Matt
Its funny I started getting eczema on my scalp after about 12 months, and I was panicing about hairloss too.
There is a solution which your GP will probably recommend for scalp treatment, its a medicated shampoo called Nizarol. It doesn't lather particularly well, but it works.
Ask your GP about it, its available from Boots and most Highstreet drugstores.
Sorted
If its true eczema then nizoral wont do a darn thing as nizoral's active ingredient is ketokonazole which is an antifungal/yeast agent which is used to treat seborrhea and yeast related dandruff. If your 'eczema' is true eczema as in accelerated skin cell proliferation then an shampoo with glycolic compounds will probably be better as these chemically exfoliate to remove the buildup on your scalp - aquaglycolic is the only one I can think of. An added bonus with using this as a shampoo is that its has a low hydrogen potential and so it will seal the hair cuticle and strengthen he protiens in the hair which will leave it softer and shinier. You could also try something with salicylic acid such as neutrogenal t-gel for irritated scalp but salicylic acid is a beta-hydroxy acid and acts deeper than glycolics which are alpha-hydroxy acids and so it may worsten your condition by accelerating your cell turnover rate..... I'd go with the aquaglycolic, but try nizoral and see if it helps, it may be normal dandruff. Your gp will most likely give your betnovate which is topical hydrocortisone (steroid) when you visit if he thinks you have eczema, id be wary of this as topical steriods should only be used on very small time scales or it will lead to skin thinning.
Thanks Ste - your obviously more knowledgeable than me in this area - I'll leave the skin n scalp stuff to you. :-)
Thanks to everyone for your replies. I have an appointment with my GP set for Friday, so hopefully he will lead me in the best direction. I will bring up the topic of hair loss also - I hope I'm just being paranoid.
I have used T-Gel in the past and found it made my scalp even more irritable, which would fit in with what Ste said. At the moment I am actually using an ASDA shampoo, with Vitamin E and Tea Tree Oil (any thoughts on that?). It works better for me than T-Gel. Depending on what the GP suggests, I will try Nizoral, and Aquaglycolic if I can find a UK source.
Back onto hairloss:
1. I run my fingers through my hair sometimes to see how many hairs are coming out. In the past couple of days the majority have been very short compared with my overall hair length. Does this suggest that the re-growing hairs have a shorter anagen phase before telogen kicks in (leading to balding)?
2. If I were to show zero signs of hair loss would it be harmful to still use minoxidil and/or finasteride nonetheless?
My mum reminded me yesterday of some cousins and uncles of hers that have gone totally bald by their 30s - way to ease my mind!
Thanks again.
I'm not very familiar with eczema, but what I can offer up is some experience I've had with seborrhea and dry scalp. Neutrogena T-Gel worked the best of any over the counter shampoo I found, which I would need to use every week or two, but it is rather harsh. I started using vinegar rinse to remove build-up several months ago, but have also noticed that I have not had any scalp problems since doing that. Apparently the basic PH of most shampoos is bad for the scalp, and the acid in the vinegar helps balance it back out.
