New Member: QUESTION??? Seboreah dermatitis

[wildcat224]

First of all I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and wisdom dished out to not only myself, but others(young and old) who are losing their hair.  I turned to this forum when I first began to lose my hair about a year ago, just to read the positive stories and to learn about others experiences. 
    I just turned 20, and I have kept my head  trimmed( no guard) or shaved for about a year now, and I look damn good with it. 
    At the end of high school, i had a widows peak hairline,  but it wasn't terribly noticeable.  I then went off to college, and about halfway through the semester, the appocalypse unfolded upon me. Not only was I losing hair at what seemed like a drastic pace, but It itched like nothing i could have imagined.  I then grew my hair out to try to semi-cover the receding hairline( the hairloss and most of the itching was mainly in the temporal area).  Then I went home for Christmas break and my father asked me how my hair was doing on the way home from the airport.  Thats when I realized that it was noticeable.  My father has a receding hairline, and about a 1 inch in diameter bald spot in the back of his head.  He had a full head of hair up until about 5 years ago.  My Mom's side of the family has straight hairlines w/ no balding, and my dad's side might have a couple sly guys, but no immediate family members that I can think of.
    So When I got back to school I trimmed my hair to a #8 buzz, but then figured I would just take it down to a #2 about a day later in frustration with the itch.  I could see pretty significant inflammation, redness, and flaking after doing so.  I became obsessed with my condition, hoping that the hairloss was being caused by a disease that was curable.  I went to a dermatologist, and was told there was indeed inflammation, but he said he wasn't sure what was the cause.  So I began researching and looking through medical forums for months, and came upon seboreah dermatitis.  There are thousands of people who have this condition, and many also experience hairloss.  I soon went to another dermatologist and was given mulitple shampoos, topicals, and steroids which really didn't help too much.
  About 5 months later, my scalp no longer itches, and is alot less flakier, but my scalp is still plagued by excessive oil production, and I am now losing hair slowly all around my scalp, not just in the front.
    SO...my question is has anyone experienced this along with their hairloss?  I feel like my hair is unable to breath because of my sebum-rich scalp.  HAs anyone had significant itching, inflammation, and flaking when they first began to lose their hair?  I can get over the hairloss part, but what worries me is that many people say seboreah dermatitis is a live long condition, for which I have to constantly attend to.  I have had some success with diluted apple cider vinegar, but now that the winter months are coming I think it is going to get worse.  Any suggestions are more then appreciated.

[Mikekoz13]

Welcome to the Forum Wildcat!

Our resident SD expert SCHRO will probably read this and will be able to offer advice.

[xnewyawka]

Welcome to SBG's wildcat, you've come to the right place.

Schroman can help you best with this condition, as he has dealt with it also. Good luck!   

[schro]

The boys are right Wildcat. I've dealt with it but got complete relief from the itching by going sly and yes, it is a life long condition. I see you tried the diluted vinegar treatment. That does help, but does not cure the problem. I look at shaving the dome like exfolliating the skin. It gets all the hair, dead skin, and other crud off there. One thing, you must use a moisturizer after shaving the dome, especially in the winter months.
I still get the occasional itch, especially if I skip a day, but it's not nearly as bad as when I had hair.

If you're going bald anyway, why not give sly a try?

[ozzie]

Welcome to the forum, Wildcat. As Schro wisely suggests, you should slide on over to the Sly side and try it out. 
 

[wpruitt]

Welcome Wildcat!  Schro is the man to talk with about your condition.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Did you or the doctor consider psoriasis of the scalp???  It's often confused w/ seboreah dermatitis because they share many of the same clinical symptoms.  Does anyone in your family have psoriasis, there is an inherited component in some cases. 

[wildcat224]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. And thanks for the welcome.
Saint, I did at once believe it was psorasis when i was doing my research.  They have pretty much the same symptoms, like you said.  It's very interesting you mention this, as I had once written it Off.  I think my grandfather has minor psorasis on his ears...Yet it looks noticably different then the scales( when I had longer hair) did.  I do believe it is S.D. because the flakes are pretty much nonexistant at this point, and it is noticeably oily when it is at its worse.  I believe an overproduction of sebum is the cause of my problems. I will definitely send some photos and see what you guys think.  And schro, I aprrectiate the advice as well.   Do you have any specific shampoos, or mosturizers you prefer?  After i get out of the shower, my forehead is incredibly dry and I break out for about 30 minutes  and I have to use a extra dry skin moisturizer to relief the drying.  Any thoughts?

[OzPete]

Welcome to SBG!

[schro]

And schro, I aprrectiate the advice as well.   Do you have any specific shampoos, or mosturizers you prefer? 

Shampoos???  OK, I know that was a joke. 
Post Shave, I have tried quite a few (HeadLube, L'Oreal Comfort Max to name a few), but I really like Bald Guyz Moisture Gel as a daily post shave moisturizer. Also, I sometimes use Walgreen's Brand Aloe Vera After Sun Body Lotion right before I go to bed if my scalp is bothering me. It's inexpensive, spreads well, and does the trick.

My skin isn't overly dry, only my scalp. If your body has dryness, I'd look into a soap / body wash with some type of moisturizer already in it.

Good luck.

[Arnie]

Welcome to SBGs...you've found the right place fore advice!!!