Good afternoon, everyone!!!
I wasn't sure I would post about this topic and by doing so I just may be jinxing myself, (hoping not), but over a four-year period I have become quite the self-proclaimed expert on this topic.
About 4 years ago, give or take, I decided to stop coloring my hair. It was becoming quite the hassle as the hair color wasn't covering all the gray and I didn't want to go to the extra cost and time it would take to get highlights quite often and such. So, I decided to go all natural. Let those grays do their thing and just be happy with it :)
Well, one thing that seemingly came with going gray for me was scalp psoriasis. They say it happens sometimes as you get older, and boy did it happen to me. Or so I thought...
After about a year and a half of fighting this myself, using dandruff shampoos and eczema and psoriasis products, trying to find anything that would help, which some did to an extent, I finally asked my doctor what she thought. She of course prescribed a shampoo which seemingly helped a great deal more than the other things I was trying, but nothing ever quite cleared it up completely.
It wasn't until about three weeks ago that I was on yet another research binge on the topic that I found what I believe to be my answer.
In my family, several of the women suffer from allergies. Now mind you, I've never been one of those women, but my mother and sisters are highly allergic to many things. So, allergies never even crossed my mind because it just wasn't something that I ever had to worry about.
However, as I was reading comments on a particular psoriasis page someone talked about my specific issue. Where it would clear to a certain point but would never go completely away. She discussed the blister like areas that would pop up randomly, along with the dry skin issues, and such. She then proceeded to discuss how going sulfate free helped her.
It was like a lightbulb went off and I immediately wondered if my problem wasn't more of an allergic reaction versus completely a psoriasis ordeal.
So, three weeks ago I went completely sulfate free to test this theory. Now, from here I will go into the new steps I've taken to help in this healing process along with the steps that led up to trying to figure this ordeal out. The things I've learned and the things I've tried. Why??? Because if you have this issue then you know the answer to that question already. I will also talk about the mental health of this ordeal and how it affected me.
When I decided to go sulfate free, I had a few things in mind: 1. the shampoo and conditioner needed to have Keratin and Hyaluronic Acid in it. Keratin because I had switched to a shampoo and conditioner with this in it and loved the way it helped my initial look and feel of my hair. In researching, I found as we age Hyaluronic Acid is something we produce naturally in the body but slows down the older we get. So, with the dry aspect of my scalp I decided that would be beneficial.
Next, I came up with a new regime of hair washing day (every other day). 1. Hot oil treatment. I have always been a fan of hot oil treatments, whether it was once a week or once a month. It's just something I've always been a fan of so, I decided to get back to doing that. So, now on wash day, because I call this a scalp emergency, I wet my hair with warm to hot water, then use either Coconut oil or Sweet Almond Oil, wrap my head in plastic wrap and a warm towel and leave on for an hour to two hours before washing.
2. Shampoo with Naturavis Keratin and Hyaluronic Acid shampoo. This is the sulfate free shampoo and conditioner I chose for myself. I was my hair twice.
3. I rinse my head with an apple cider vinegar and water (1 part apple cider vinegar, 2 parts water). This stays on the scalp for 5 minutes. Apple cider vinegar is like an antibiotic for the scalp. It helps with buildup, but it also helps with healing the skin. After 5 minutes I rinse my hair and scalp.
4. I use the Naturavis Keratin and Hyaluronic Acid conditioner combing this through my hair while the conditioner sets on my hair for a few minutes. Then I rinse with as cold as I can stand it water.
5. I put in a good leave in conditioner and anti-frizz serumJust because that is good for aging hair.
6. I use a fine-tooth comb to comb out my hair and the effected scalp area.
This has helped a great deal. I still have a few areas that are still healing, but I remind myself it took 4 years to get in the shape it was, and today, it is way better than it was. They say it can take up to 4 weeks to really notice a difference, but I am already noticing a HUGE improvement, so I call that a win win.
Now, before I started this regimen, I had tried the hot oils, a wide variety of shampoos and conditioners, along with the prescription shampoo, Clobetasol Propionate. All which would help to a certain degree but never completely stopping my issues. I used just about every cream on the market, from hydrocortisone creams to eczema and psoriasis creams, which helped some, but never completely.
My scalp would burn, itch, blister, and drive me completely insane. That last part is definitely not exaggerated. After years of dealing with this, it not only becomes an obsession, but a major distraction in your life.
I began to notice the burning, itching, and blistering would become worse after shampooing. Making me dread hair wash day. Which really made the comment on the psoriasis page stand out to me on going sulfate free.
Mentally, it was starting to really take its toll on me. I was becoming obsessed with picking at my head. Something you should NOT do, but it was becoming a habit I couldn't kick. I was constantly distracted by this issue, never seemingly able to truly focus on other things.
Now mind you, when this issue first started, I was under a great deal of stress, which I found out, made this condition a lot worse. After I left the stress of the other job behind, my condition did get a lot better, it just wouldn't clear completely. So, I knew there had to be more than I realized and continued research was the key.
This affected my entire existence. The constant feeling of needing to scratch, pick, and do anything to make it stop, was a daily part of my life. I would get hopeful, then feel shot down when it would flair up again. It was enough to drive me insane at times. The constant feeling of infection like areas where it would feel like it was on fire was maddening.
I will say since going sulfate free, that burning has stopped all together. I haven't had that since the first week. The sting of the apple cider vinegar solution has gone from 'ouch' to soothing since that infection type feeling has vanished.
I still have a few spots of dry skin or drying blisters. That's to be expected because like I said, it has been 4 years of this going on and it is going to take a minute or two to completely dry the blisters up all the while trying to keep the hair, scalp, and hair follicles from drying out. No new areas of irritation have presented themselves, which I call a win as well. All in all, it's a process.
Hopefully, this blog will help anyone else suffering from this issue. Sometimes what may start off as one problem can turn into another issue without us even realizing it. I fully believe mine did start out as psoriasis but later turned into an allergic reaction.
Learning to deal with stress in different ways is also very important when dealing with things that can trigger stress. Recognizing and remedying stressful situations quickly are very helpful. Maybe another day in the near future I will blog about this topic, :)
I hope this helps...
Everyone have a lovely day!!!
Blessings to all!!!
I wasn't sure I would post about this topic and by doing so I just may be jinxing myself, (hoping not), but over a four-year period I have become quite the self-proclaimed expert on this topic.
About 4 years ago, give or take, I decided to stop coloring my hair. It was becoming quite the hassle as the hair color wasn't covering all the gray and I didn't want to go to the extra cost and time it would take to get highlights quite often and such. So, I decided to go all natural. Let those grays do their thing and just be happy with it :)
Well, one thing that seemingly came with going gray for me was scalp psoriasis. They say it happens sometimes as you get older, and boy did it happen to me. Or so I thought...
After about a year and a half of fighting this myself, using dandruff shampoos and eczema and psoriasis products, trying to find anything that would help, which some did to an extent, I finally asked my doctor what she thought. She of course prescribed a shampoo which seemingly helped a great deal more than the other things I was trying, but nothing ever quite cleared it up completely.
It wasn't until about three weeks ago that I was on yet another research binge on the topic that I found what I believe to be my answer.
In my family, several of the women suffer from allergies. Now mind you, I've never been one of those women, but my mother and sisters are highly allergic to many things. So, allergies never even crossed my mind because it just wasn't something that I ever had to worry about.
However, as I was reading comments on a particular psoriasis page someone talked about my specific issue. Where it would clear to a certain point but would never go completely away. She discussed the blister like areas that would pop up randomly, along with the dry skin issues, and such. She then proceeded to discuss how going sulfate free helped her.
It was like a lightbulb went off and I immediately wondered if my problem wasn't more of an allergic reaction versus completely a psoriasis ordeal.
So, three weeks ago I went completely sulfate free to test this theory. Now, from here I will go into the new steps I've taken to help in this healing process along with the steps that led up to trying to figure this ordeal out. The things I've learned and the things I've tried. Why??? Because if you have this issue then you know the answer to that question already. I will also talk about the mental health of this ordeal and how it affected me.
When I decided to go sulfate free, I had a few things in mind: 1. the shampoo and conditioner needed to have Keratin and Hyaluronic Acid in it. Keratin because I had switched to a shampoo and conditioner with this in it and loved the way it helped my initial look and feel of my hair. In researching, I found as we age Hyaluronic Acid is something we produce naturally in the body but slows down the older we get. So, with the dry aspect of my scalp I decided that would be beneficial.
Next, I came up with a new regime of hair washing day (every other day). 1. Hot oil treatment. I have always been a fan of hot oil treatments, whether it was once a week or once a month. It's just something I've always been a fan of so, I decided to get back to doing that. So, now on wash day, because I call this a scalp emergency, I wet my hair with warm to hot water, then use either Coconut oil or Sweet Almond Oil, wrap my head in plastic wrap and a warm towel and leave on for an hour to two hours before washing.
2. Shampoo with Naturavis Keratin and Hyaluronic Acid shampoo. This is the sulfate free shampoo and conditioner I chose for myself. I was my hair twice.
3. I rinse my head with an apple cider vinegar and water (1 part apple cider vinegar, 2 parts water). This stays on the scalp for 5 minutes. Apple cider vinegar is like an antibiotic for the scalp. It helps with buildup, but it also helps with healing the skin. After 5 minutes I rinse my hair and scalp.
4. I use the Naturavis Keratin and Hyaluronic Acid conditioner combing this through my hair while the conditioner sets on my hair for a few minutes. Then I rinse with as cold as I can stand it water.
5. I put in a good leave in conditioner and anti-frizz serumJust because that is good for aging hair.
6. I use a fine-tooth comb to comb out my hair and the effected scalp area.
This has helped a great deal. I still have a few areas that are still healing, but I remind myself it took 4 years to get in the shape it was, and today, it is way better than it was. They say it can take up to 4 weeks to really notice a difference, but I am already noticing a HUGE improvement, so I call that a win win.
Now, before I started this regimen, I had tried the hot oils, a wide variety of shampoos and conditioners, along with the prescription shampoo, Clobetasol Propionate. All which would help to a certain degree but never completely stopping my issues. I used just about every cream on the market, from hydrocortisone creams to eczema and psoriasis creams, which helped some, but never completely.
My scalp would burn, itch, blister, and drive me completely insane. That last part is definitely not exaggerated. After years of dealing with this, it not only becomes an obsession, but a major distraction in your life.
I began to notice the burning, itching, and blistering would become worse after shampooing. Making me dread hair wash day. Which really made the comment on the psoriasis page stand out to me on going sulfate free.
Mentally, it was starting to really take its toll on me. I was becoming obsessed with picking at my head. Something you should NOT do, but it was becoming a habit I couldn't kick. I was constantly distracted by this issue, never seemingly able to truly focus on other things.
Now mind you, when this issue first started, I was under a great deal of stress, which I found out, made this condition a lot worse. After I left the stress of the other job behind, my condition did get a lot better, it just wouldn't clear completely. So, I knew there had to be more than I realized and continued research was the key.
This affected my entire existence. The constant feeling of needing to scratch, pick, and do anything to make it stop, was a daily part of my life. I would get hopeful, then feel shot down when it would flair up again. It was enough to drive me insane at times. The constant feeling of infection like areas where it would feel like it was on fire was maddening.
I will say since going sulfate free, that burning has stopped all together. I haven't had that since the first week. The sting of the apple cider vinegar solution has gone from 'ouch' to soothing since that infection type feeling has vanished.
I still have a few spots of dry skin or drying blisters. That's to be expected because like I said, it has been 4 years of this going on and it is going to take a minute or two to completely dry the blisters up all the while trying to keep the hair, scalp, and hair follicles from drying out. No new areas of irritation have presented themselves, which I call a win as well. All in all, it's a process.
Hopefully, this blog will help anyone else suffering from this issue. Sometimes what may start off as one problem can turn into another issue without us even realizing it. I fully believe mine did start out as psoriasis but later turned into an allergic reaction.
Learning to deal with stress in different ways is also very important when dealing with things that can trigger stress. Recognizing and remedying stressful situations quickly are very helpful. Maybe another day in the near future I will blog about this topic, :)
I hope this helps...
Everyone have a lovely day!!!
Blessings to all!!!
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