Wellness Wednesday #21: Dandruff Sucks!!!
I’ve been dealing with dandruff most of my life. During 4th grade, I remember showing my friends that I could “make it snow” by turning my head upside down and rubbing head really fast. Surprisingly, I don’t remember them being grossed out, but I do remember my teacher telling me to stop. How gross is that?!? I was a weird child.
I can also remember being in middle school and having another student point out that I had flakes in my hair and all over my shoulders. So embarrassing! I used to use a bad smelling shampoo called T-something. It was brown, but I can’t remember the name. I just looked it up online…it was called T/Gel. That stuff was pretty gross, and I still had dandruff.
Dandruff wasn’t always a problem, though. Sometimes it would be bad, and other times it gone altogether. Lately, though, it’s been a problem. It’s frustrating, because so many things have improved over the last two years with my lifestyle changes, but my dandruff hasn’t. It seems to have gotten worse. I didn’t realize it had become a problem again until about a year ago when my hair stylist kept commenting on my “poor scalp.” I’m not sure why it has gotten worse, but I do still have a lot of healing to do. I’ve made huge strides, but I’m still working on healing my gut.
A big part of a healthy gut is the gut microbiome – the community of microorganisms that live within us. We are all supposed to have the right balance of good bacteria to bad bacteria. It is normal to have some bad bacteria and some fungus in our bodies, but not too much. Our good bacteria are supposed to keep the harmful stuff in check. When we don’t have enough good guys, we end up with an overgrowth of bacteria and fungus that causes lots of problems.
I don’t have enough good guys, so the bad guys are having a party… and the fungus celebrates by throwing confetti all over my scalp. Yep, that’s right – my dandruff is caused by fungus. Gross, huh?
I already knew I had a fungus problem, but I didn’t realize that fungus was the cause of my dandruff until a few months ago. I have known that I have an overgrowth of a fungus called candida for about a year and half. I got a blood test, and it showed up there. I didn’t really need the blood test, though, because it was pretty obvious once I started learning about candida and the symptoms. I think I’ve had candida overgrowth for YEARS.
When I was young, (I’m guessing 5 or 6 or so), I used to get thrush pretty often. I hated it! I would get little white bumps all over my gums, like little mini-cankersores, and they hurt so badly. They were awful. Well, I’ve come to find out that thrush is an overgrowth of candida in the mouth. I had never heard of candida until 2014, so back then we had no idea what caused my thrush.
I wish I had recognized these issues I had when I was young so I could have changed what I was doing back then. There were signs. I’ve been sick a very long time, but I just didn’t know it.
After the hairdresser showed me that my dandruff was a problem again, I went to the doctor. They told me that this fungus (although a different type) is related to my candida overgrowth, and they gave me an antifungal shampoo. It helped a lot, but I stopped using it after I read the ingredients. It had lots of stuff in it that I didn’t want to put on my scalp. For the next several months, I just suffered through my dandruff.
I wear my hair in a little short ponytail/bun thing a lot. I do that partly because I’m trying to grow my hair out and it’s a weird length. I also wear it like that because when my hair is fixed in its ponytail/bun thing, I don’t have to worry about my flakes as much. There for a while, I really felt like I couldn’t wear it down because my dandruff was so bad.
Then I found something to fix it!
I started reading about using apple cider vinegar to control dandruff. ACV has antibacterial and antifungal properties, so it actually kills the fungus on your scalp. I tried it once, and it made a big difference just after one treatment. It wasn’t gone, but it was much better. After the second treatment a few days later, it was almost gone. If I do the ACV treatment about twice a week, I hardly have any dandruff. It does come back if I go too long with using ACV.
I think I will be able to get rid of it permanently once I get my microbiome in check. Bacteria and fungus feed on sugars, so I really need to cut down on my carb intake for a while, including fruits and natural sugars. Since I have diabetes, getting rid of fungal overgrowth is even more difficult. I take probiotics to add more good bacteria.
In the meantime, I’ll keep using my apple cider vinegar. This works for me, but that doesn’t mean it will definitely work for you. We are all different. It’s worth a try, though! I’ve also read that tea tree oil can be very helpful with dandruff.
Here is what I do a couple of times per week:
- Mix equal parts water and ACV in a spray bottle. I use ¼ cup of each, and that usually gives me two to three treatments.
- Shake up your mixture and spray it all over your scalp. My biggest problem is at the top of my head, so I focus there. I start at my part, spray, and massage it into the scalp. Then I move my part over by about ¼”, and I spray and massage there. I keep doing that until I feel like I’ve gotten all of the problem areas.
- Let the mixture sit on your hair. I leave mine on for one hour, but that may be too long for you. If you do this too often or for too long, you could run the risk of drying out your hair. You might start with 15 minutes and see how that works for you.
- Rinse your hair. Do not use shampoo; just rinse!
- Your hair will smell like vinegar when it’s wet. You won’t smell the ACV once your hair dries.
I’ve seen other variations where you could use a cotton ball to put ACV directly on your scalp, and I’ve seen other variations with different ratios of water to ACV. Do a little research online and try to figure out what works best for you.
Fungal overgrowth is not the only cause of dandruff. Fatty acid deficiency leads to dry skin, which can cause dandruff as well. Dandruff caused by dry skin is usually much milder, and you’ll see dry skin on other parts of your body, too.
Check out the ingredients in your hair products. You may be reacting to something in your shampoo or conditioner that is causing itching and flaking. I used to have to wash my hair every other day because the itching at the hairline at my neck would get so bad. I stopped using shampoo and I don’t have that problem anymore. Now I wash my hair much less often and use only natural shampoos or no shampoo. I may have some dandruff, but I don’t have an itchy scalp anymore.
Sorry I don’t have pictures for you – they’re just too embarrassing! No one wants to see my flaky scalp. I don’t think you want to see my flake-free scalp either! 🙂