Darn you Seborrheic Dermatitis!

I find the issue of Seborrheic Dermatitis a little embarrassing to talk about although like me I searched the web to read about others experiences and decided I should share mine as well for those who did as I did. So here it is... Sometime in May I noticed this thick, dry, flaky patch on my scalp. It was a little more than my usual dry scalp. I tried kicking up my wash routine using a dandruff shampoo etc...no change. I then did a search on the internet, reading blogs and watching Youtube videos because by the time I had self diagnosed myself as having scalp seborrheic dermatitis (SD). I called to make an appointment with a dermotologist and guess what, the best appointment I could get was more than a month away. Until my appointment I tried different home remedies that worked for others like an apple cider vinegar rinse (which works for regular dandruff by the way), virgin olive oil treatments, virgin coconut oil treatments... nothing was working. By the time I was able to see a dermatologist, the dry flaky patch covered my entire scalp and about half of my hair had fallen out. :( Yes, no matter how gentle I was with my hair it came out. When I washed my hair, while rinsing in the shower strands were coming out just as water ran over my hair. Please know this was very traumatizing. Not to mention I had already lost some hair a few months prior due to having a baby which at the time I knew was going to happen.

Back to the topic at hand... during my visit to the dermatologist, as I expected she told me I have... Seborrheic Dermatitis and that my hair loss was due to my inflamed skin on my scalp. I was prescribed 2 items: a (2%) Ketoconazole shampoo and "Betamethasone Dipropionate" which is a thin lotion/topical ointment. OMG I noticed a HUGE difference after just one use. Before, the thick flakes were so bad I found myself washing my hair every other day which I hated because my hair is natural and occassionally I like to wear my hair straight which I couldn't do because of the SD and the constant washing. I almost cried the next day after using my new prescribed products because usually the thick flakes returned as if I never washed my hair; but this time, there were no flakes. The relief I felt was incredible because I was afraid that the products would be like everything else, something else that didn't work. Now about 4-5 days later I saw the flakes begin to return. I washed again and then about a week past before I saw any evidence of the flakes. I'm so happy about this now. I will say that I think my cure was in that bottle of ointment. Thankfully, with my insurance it was pretty cheap ($5).

So my routine with my prescriptions is to wash my hair with a regular shampoo, scraping up the flakes with a comb and rinse. Then apply the med shampoo, scrub my scalp and then let it sit for about 10 minutes. Rinse and then condition my hair using my favorite Joico Moisture Recovery conditioner because the shampoo is very drying like a dandruff shampoo would be. I comb through my hair while it's soaked with conditioner which makes combing super easy for me. I let that sit and then rinse. Next I section my hair and apply the prescribed ointment (liquid) very thoroughly. It smells like it contains alcohol which proved to be true upon application because it burned like fire on the raw areas, especially if I scratched too much. Neither product has much of a smell at all which is great.

Next item on my agenda... FIND WAYS TO GROW MY HAIR BACK. My edges are thin and patchy. My SD caused me to lose quite a bit of hair. If I were able to get in to see a dermatologist sooner I could've stopped this from occurring. At this point, it is what it is. Thankfully, my hair has always been thick so even after losing about half of my hair I can still wear my hair in its natural state and still look normal. I know that it's not as full as it use to be although onlookers don't know the difference. I think I want to invest in a nice lace wig of some kind. Currently I've been making my own wigs using Duby hair which looks pretty natural but I want something that will last a while. This way I can tuck my hair away while it grows and still look nice. Feel free to offer your suggestions. I'm currently doing my research on this to find what's best for me.

... UPDATE 10/22/2013...

I just wanted to fill you in on how things are going with my SD. So after I used my prescribed products my hair continued to fall out. I had a follow up appointment about a couple of weeks after my initial appointment and told my doc about my continued hair loss. She told me that was a result of the SD. The damage had been done and I would continue losing hair for about a month or so before I could see my hair growing back. This was pretty disheartening because I was ready to get back to my old self. In the end I lost about 50-60% of my hair. Thankfully I have thick hair and the hairloss was throughout and not concentrated in one spot so to the average person, they couldn't tell I lost any hair. Now, I've reverted to wearing a wig until enough of my hair has grown back. At my follow up appointment my doc suggested that I try taking Biotin as it is the only thing that is proven to help regrow hair. She said if I wanted I could take a hair/nail vitamin although she said I'm pretty sure any of them contain Biotin and it's probably the only ingredient that has research to back up the claims of hair growth. So I purchased a bottle the same day from a drug store. My hair fell out for a little more than a month after my visit all the while taking the Biotin. After I stopped seeing balls of hair in my comb after every hair washing I could see the previously fallen out hair growing back. It's about an inch long now although the rest of my hair is a little longer than shoulder length. Since my hair is natural any ponytail I wear is SUPER fuzzy looking if I don't slick down the short hairs using some type of gel or pomade. It looks kinda crazy but I'm just glad my hair is growing back. If my head wasn't shaped so funny I would've just started over and cut my hair off. I'll stick with wearing a wig for now. Also, I don't use the shampoo or ointment nearly as much if at all. Also, my lifetime relationship I had with dandruff is no more. No more itchy, dry dandruff-y scalp. I've always had a dry scalp and to not even have that any more gives me a feeling of freedom!