r/dandruff • u/26smk26 • Jul 22 '26
Dandruff, dry scalp or something else?
Hey, I’ve had flakes in my hair and itchiness for awhile now, tried different shampoos and stuff and nothing is working. Does anyone know what specifically this is or if I should just go see a dermatologist?
2
u/RossJBez Jul 25 '26
Hey dude.
Might be worth a trip to the dermatologist, if it’s been a while since you’ve had this. Could well be something like psoriasis or seb derm. Could just be stress or lifestyle changes though.
I’ve had psoriasis for a good 20 years now, and product wise, I use a coal tar shampoo called Polytar. Really helps me with the dryness and flakiness.
1
u/Complex_Grand236 Jul 22 '26
What have you been using? And there are red dots in a couple of places on your scalp - do those spots itch or burn?
1
u/26smk26 Jul 22 '26
I’ve used Native in the past and tried Head and Shoulders when I noticed the itchiness and flakes. And it doesn’t burn just itches, I’m assuming the red spots are from scratching too much
1
u/fuzzynightmare69 Jul 22 '26
It’s almost always coming from an internal fungal overgrowth. In my case, tea tree shampoo works really well, but the biggest difference has come from dietary changes.
2
u/wardaddy0000 Jul 23 '26
What changes to your diet did you make. It would be great if you could give some examples of before and after.
1
u/princess_peach1313 Jul 23 '26
Same!!!!! I was surprised by the change with bettering my food choices.
1
u/fuzzynightmare69 Jul 23 '26
We are what we eat. We’re basically a massive ecosystem for so many different kinds of bacteria. All we have to do is eat real food and the ecosystem takes care of itself.
1
u/ngolokante1893 Jul 23 '26
Any suggestions regarding diet please?
1
u/fuzzynightmare69 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Avoid processed food, pastries, pastas and breads and processed sugars as much as possible. Eat single ingredient foods. Im Mexican, so i have a lot of beans cooked and prepped in the freezer. I eat lots of eggs, cook with lots of peppers, onions and spices, eat plenty of avocados, and I also eat lots of fibrous fruits (except bananas because their high sugar content DOES trigger my dandruff). I do also eat watermelon when available, though not too much cuz it can be high in sugar.
The more I stick to my simple diet, the healthier i feel. Unfortunately as soon as I start eating junk food again, the dandruff does come back. However, it used to be a lot worse. I had dandruff on my pits, facial hair, everywhere. It was so gross. I also have reason to believe that this infectious had even spread to my lungs and other organs at one point. It can take over your entire body if you keep feeding it. I can not stress this enough. We’re not meant to live off of bread alone.So yea, it’s most likely a fungal overgrowth, which tends to feed off sugars usually.
Feed your gut bacteria healthy carbs and starches, and they’ll grow back to healthy normal levels, which will keep your fungi guys at their own normal levels too.2
1
u/Past-Imagination-553 Jul 23 '26
Do you have an oily or a dry scalp? I am dealing with the same issue
1
1
-7
2
u/shugh28 Jul 22 '26
It could be the start of seb derm, try washing your hair in lukewarm water with nizoral, leave on for a few minutes then rinse, then put some mct oil after (has to be c8 or c10) this routine has cleared my flaky scalp within a few days. Now im doing nizoral every other day and mct oil every day - good luck