Seborrheic dermatits and shaving

[Archer]

Hi everyone!

If you don't mind, I'd like to tell my story before getting to my actual question. So I'm 21 years old and I've been thinning since I was 17 or 18. I'm thinning everywhere, but it's definitely most noticeable on the crown. At this pace, there will be almost no hair left there by next summer. Now that's not so horrible when you're older or you have the right look for it, but I'm a relatively short guy with very pale skin, round face, somewhat eggy head shape and the bumpiest head ever. I've never shaved it before, but I can feel it and it's visible on one spot even when I cut my hair to 4. I can only imagine how I'd look if I completely shaved it. But all of that is apparently not enough. I also have two pretty big scars on my head and a severe case of seborrheic dermatitis.

Imagining how horrible it will look has been driving me crazy for a long time, so I finally decided to shave it off and see exactly how it looks. Also, I'm interested to see if it'll fix my Seb. Not too hopeful about it, since I also ocassionally have it on my face, chest and back - areas with no hair.

Now I'd like to shave it to 0, but with a machine so it's not completely smooth. But I'm worried since because of my Seb I have pretty large scales that are firmly glued to my scalp, so I'm afraid of damaging the skin with the blades. So here's my question. Any advice on how to go about this? How do I shave it without risking damage?

And one more question. My doctor prescribed me Rogaine to slow down hair loss. And from what I've read on the internet, it does help but they also say it aggravates seb dem because of alcohol in it. Does anyone here have any experience with this?

[AJ Q-Ball]

I had a bad case of seb derm before I shaved. When I first decided to go bald, the red places from where the seb derm was present disappeared in a matter of days. Regularly shaving helps it a lot. There have been multiple people on this site including me that have benefitted from shaving our heads when it comes to seb derm. You will not hurt the skin by shaving over the seb derm places. From experience, if you choose to shave your head regularly with a razor, your seb derm problems will be behind you.

[Archer]

Did you have big scales too? Because I once tried to remove one with my nail and it started to bleed. I'm worried shaving could have the same effect.

[Sir Harry]

Welcome friend

I too suffered from seb derm. It cleared up once I shaved and I've had no problems since. The key is to keep your head moisturized. Good luck

[AJ Q-Ball]

Did you have big scales too? Because I once tried to remove one with my nail and it started to bleed. I'm worried shaving could have the same effect.

Sorry for the delayed response. I hadn't been on in a couple of days. I did indeed. Just be careful and if you feel pain like that, just hold off. Fortunately I didn't feel pain when I shaved and the yellow scaling material came off.

[Archer]

Thanks, that's good to know.

[reddog]

I have a version of folliculitis on the back and sides of my head. It cleared up right away when I shaved my head. If I don't shave, it comes back within about 5 days, no matter what I do. I talked to my doctor, and he said we could try ongoing antibiotics, which I didn't want to do.

So my doctor said just keep shaving my head daily, it looks good on me. I like that doctor!

[InProgress]

I absolutely agree that shaving clears up dermatitis, but I have not had the experience that the key is to keep it moisturized. When I first had SD on my face I used a moisturizer a lot, and it did nothing. Shaving will help, and so will using a dandruff shampoo (with pyrithione zinc, like head and shoulders), regularly removing oil from the area with a scrubby wash (I use a face wash with little plastic beads), and azole medication like ketoconazole (often found in medicated shampoo, I use a 2% topical cream).