Dandruff Overload

[lampofred]

Dandruff is usually due to a poorly-functioning immune system. A common cause of that is a lack of zinc relative to copper. That's why Head and Shoulders shampoo works in many instances (it is rich in zinc).

Too much sugar can cause dandruff. Sugar does raise the metabolic rate, but at the same time, you are draining vitamins and minerals at a faster rate, so consuming a lot of sugar as Peat says will lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies unless you're eating a good amount of liver. But liver has more copper than liver, so it's not good for the zinc/copper situation.

 

[tomisonbottom]

I'm a 28 year old woman and have recently gotten much more careful to eat more strictly "Peatarian" but even before that it seemed like my dandruff was getting much worse. I started taking Estroban to cure my acne about a year ago, but the dandruff of this severity is fairly recent. I have switched to using dr bronners (as shampoo) and vinegar rinses to help, but it seems to only get worse!

I don't eat liver but I eat plenty of organic eggs and dairy.

I take:
B-100 supplements 2x a day
I use the estroban (A 5,000/D3 1,000/E 65mg/K 2 mg) 1x a day
1250 Magnesium 2x a day
A once daily vitamin (without iron)
A D3 500 iud in addition
Progest-E

Any thoughts? Thanks!

Try a clean plant based enzyme supplement. I just read Dr Lita lee's site and starting enzyme supplements and am noticing positive changes. She says that it doesn't matter how perfect your diet is if you're not absorbing and digesting food properly, which makes so much sense to me. So literally, anything that isn't digested perfectly can cause an immune reaction and your white blood cell count to go up. I have some dandruff and my digestion isn't perfect. It seems that almost everyone with some type of issue is not digesting food perfectly. You should never have gas, bloating, runs or constipation and you should go every day, and your stomach should always be flat and never hurt and you should never feel "stuffed"

 

[raypeatclips]

I found that taking aloe vera gel, working it into my hair and letting it sit overnight, then washing out, kills dandruff for many weeks or months.

Do you have hair loss? Have you noticed any changes other than dandruff by doing this, I've wondered if hair loss would stop once dandruff does.

 

[PeatInspired]

I haven't noticed any changes in my dandruff with the use of Aloe.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Do you have hair loss? Have you noticed any changes other than dandruff by doing this, I've wondered if hair loss would stop once dandruff does.

Not fast hair loss. I'm in my mid fifties and have a bald mpb spot but not noticeable loss beyond that.

 

[PeatInspired]

Estro ban or liver never did anything for my dandruff or acne. My acne is persistent no matter what I do. I think from a low fat diet my face is too dry hence the vitamin A making it even drier. I need to figure out how to create a moisture barrier again for my skin.

UPDATE: I've done a 4 day round of tetracycline (https://www.alldaychemist.com/hostacycline.html) 250mg morning and evening on an empty stomach. It cleared up my acne within just a couple days. It did not clear up my scalp right away, but I realized I had been taking aspirin (which some people say increases their dandruff). So about one day into taking the antibiotic I quit aspirin. And I must say, my scalp is looking great today! This is the end day #4 of the antibiotic experiment.

I'm now going to take 2 days off (I think I read on a thread somewhere that ray peat recommends 4 day cycles of antibiotics). I'll repeat the cycle once or twice more and then see how long I can go without it.

Woo!! Will return with more info as the experiment continues. :)

 

[beta pandemic]

does anyone know if tetracycclin also has antifungal activity?

 

[DaveFoster]

@beta pandemic Lowering bacteria populations can allow your immune system to conquer other infections, including fungal infections.

When my thyroid function is good, fungus goes away. Antibiotics dramatically improve thyroid function.

 

[Emstar1892]

@beta pandemic Lowering bacteria populations can allow your immune system to conquer other infections, including fungal infections.

When my thyroid function is good, fungus goes away. Antibiotics dramatically improve thyroid function.

@DaveFoster how long do you maintain good thyroid function following antibiotics before it becomes compromised again?

 

[keith]

I have had some good luck with using sulfur soap as shampoo. I developed some significant dandruff that I had trouble getting rid of. I was taking very high amounts of A at the time, and fairly high amounts of zinc too, so neither of those helped. I thought maybe it was too much of one or the other of those, but stopping supplementation didn't help either. I've been just using the bar soap in my hair, and it has basically stopped the dandruff altogether in a couple of weeks of daily use. I plan to add some sublimed sulfur to some better ingredient shampoo, but haven't had time to work out the ratios yet.

 

[PeatInspired]

I have had some good luck with using sulfur soap as shampoo. I developed some significant dandruff that I had trouble getting rid of. I was taking very high amounts of A at the time, and fairly high amounts of zinc too, so neither of those helped. I thought maybe it was too much of one or the other of those, but stopping supplementation didn't help either. I've been just using the bar soap in my hair, and it has basically stopped the dandruff altogether in a couple of weeks of daily use. I plan to add some sublimed sulfur to some better ingredient shampoo, but haven't had time to work out the ratios yet.

Oh, good idea! Are there any risks with using sulfur? I might try that too

 

[raypeatclips]

@keith I thought about using sulfur soap for dandruff recently myself. I successfully used it for jock itch and fungal issues on my feet. How did you get the smell of sulfur out of your hair?

@Hollybea Unless you're allergic to one of the ingredients, using a bar soap with sulfur is probably pretty safe. Peat has talked about it a few times if you want to research further.

 

[keith]

@keith I thought about using sulfur soap for dandruff recently myself. I successfully used it for jock itch and fungal issues on my feet. How did you get the smell of sulfur out of your hair?

@Hollybea Unless you're allergic to one of the ingredients, using a bar soap with sulfur is probably pretty safe. Peat has talked about it a few times if you want to research further.

I really haven't noticed a significant lingering sulfur smell from the soap. Sulfur cream is another topic; I definitely notice a lingering odor from that, but the soap smell seems to wash away with the soap for me.

 

[keith]

Oh, good idea! Are there any risks with using sulfur? I might try that too

Ray wrote in an email that he thinks sulfur soap is safe. I'm not competent to answer myself other than from experience. It can be a little drying, but I don't think significantly more so than other soap. Of course if you are allergic or otherwise sensitive to sulfur, sulfides, etc., probably best to avoid.

 

[DaveFoster]

@DaveFoster how long do you maintain good thyroid function following antibiotics before it becomes compromised again?

It's come and go. You can turn things around in a few days by changing your diet, adding supplements, etc.

With the gut, only SIBO or an infection will wreck things up for the long-term and require a round of antibiotics.

If one maintains a quick transit with laxatives (cascara sagrada) and coffee, gut issues tend to go away. Also avoiding starch is important, getting enough protein to keep estrogen low, adequate vitamin A and caffeine will help. Adequate thyroid function will keep the bowel moving and prevent re-infection.

Here's an excerpt from my book: Aspirin: More Than Just a Pankiller:

Caffeine lowers serum thyrotropin (TSH) and growth hormone (GH);[1] it raises the basal metabolic rate and acts like a thermogenic, which leads to weight loss, particularly in the obese.[2] Like caffeine, aspirin exerts many pro-thyroid effects in the body; aspirin (and indomethacin) significantly inhibits the response to TRH, which signals the hypothalamus to release TSH and inhibit thyroid function. [3] It does so through an initial increase in conversion of the biologically inactive T4 into the active form, T3.[4]

[1]
Spindel E, Arnold M, Cusack B, Wurtman RJ. Effects of caffeine on anterior pituitary and thyroid function in the rat. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1980 Jul;214(1):58–62.
[2]
Yoshida T, Sakane N, Umekawa T, Kondo M. Relationship between basal metabolic rate, thermogenic response to caffeine, and body weight loss following combined low calorie and exercise treatment in obese women. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1994 May;18(5):345–50.
[3]
Ramey JN, Burrow GN, Spaulding SW, Donabedian RK, Speroff L, Frantz AG. The effect of aspirin and indomethacin on the TRH response in man. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1976 Jul;43(1):107–14.
[4]
Yamamoto M, Saito S, Kaise K, Kaise N, Yoshida K, Yoshinaga K. Changes in thyroid hormones by treatment with aspirin and prednisolone in subacute thyroiditis with hyperthyroidism. Tohoku J Exp Med. 1979 Jan;127(1):85–95.

 

[JCastro]

I see you tried vinegar rinses but I found that a mixture of coconut oil, apple cider vinegar and baking soda massaged into the scalp helps dandruff.

I'm taking niacinamide at the same time so I don't know which is working more but it can't hurt to try both. Another user on here said niacinamide cured their dandruff.

 

[Giraffe]

Urea and topical vitamin a work very well for me.

Urea worked for me, too.

 

[PeatInspired]

UPDATE: tetracyline seemed to reduce dandruff for a couple of days, but it seems like it's back to normal now. :/ Also, my acid reflux is acting up again, which I had hoped would be helped by taking an antibiotic. :/

Will keep searching.

I'm taking niacinamide at the same time so I don't know which is working more but it can't hurt to try both. Another user on here said niacinamide cured their dandruff.

I'm taking 300mg of niacinamide 3-4x per day. No improvement!

Try a clean plant based enzyme supplement. I just read Dr Lita lee's site and starting enzyme supplements and am noticing positive changes. She says that it doesn't matter how perfect your diet is if you're not absorbing and digesting food properly, which makes so much sense to me. So literally, anything that isn't digested perfectly can cause an immune reaction and your white blood cell count to go up. I have some dandruff and my digestion isn't perfect. It seems that almost everyone with some type of issue is not digesting food perfectly. You should never have gas, bloating, runs or constipation and you should go every day, and your stomach should always be flat and never hurt and you should never feel "stuffed"

I've tried several highly recommended enzymes this year. I didn't notice anything improve... and they were expensive, so I eventually stopped.

 

[Pet Peeve]

Put niacinamide, aspirin and caffeine in your shampoo at the same strength as solban. If it doesn't help then I don't know what will

 

[rooz7939]

UPDATE: tetracyline seemed to reduce dandruff for a couple of days, but it seems like it's back to normal now. :/ Also, my acid reflux is acting up again, which I had hoped would be helped by taking an antibiotic. :/

Will keep searching.



I'm taking 300mg of niacinamide 3-4x per day. No improvement!



I've tried several highly recommended enzymes this year. I didn't notice anything improve... and they were expensive, so I eventually stopped.

Right, so I'm back with an update. I usually like to wait a couple of months to see how things work. So it seems like I was really underestimating my vit A needs so I went from about 5000 IU to 25000 IU a day and my dandruff has gotten significantly better, not gone, but much better. It's interesting that you talked about your gut issues because I think that's the main cause of dandruff for me anyway and unfortunately I am a little short on ideas of how to tackle it (I don't have access to non-organic antibiotics otherwise I would take penicillin). It sounds to me like you might have a bit of an overgrowth and that's why the antibiotics helped, but two days might be too short, plus you need good thyroid function and diet to keep it from recurring. I had some good results with some herbal anti bacterial (coupled with thyroid supplements), but I stopped taking them since I found out they are estrogenic.

I think increasing vitamin A would help though I wonder if most of the supplements go to feeding bacteria in case of a bacterial overgrowth (hmmm).