dandruff?

[BrianC]

i am high raw - in the sense that i will 3-4 days raw and then maybe a couple days 50%. i havent made the effort to make the full transition but i do love the concept.

i have been having a problem with dandruff. some days it is worse than others, but its pretty bad on the bad days. i eat a lot of nuts, lot of fruit, and not so many green vegetables. i also use coconut oil and avocado, so my fat % is probably high.

any suggestions? thanks

[Stina]

I've read apple cider vinegar on an empty stomach. Do you have Raw honey? Can you dissolve it in tepid water and work it into your scalp and let it sit there for awhile while you sit in the tub? I'm wondering if it's detox. Did you use products on your head before? Even if not, we get individual detoxes in strange outlets. :)

[Revvell]

My husband (not even close to raw) has this problem. He uses Tea Tree Oil directly on his scalp. Puts it on, shaves, then showers. After two days of doing this his scalp was crusted (Yeah, I know, iiiiiiick!) with stuff. Suggested he take the nail brush and do a thorough brushing of his scalp. Did that, no problem since. Still using the oil on his scalp before showering ~ daily.

Revvell

[juliebove]

Might you have any allergies?

My daughter had what we thought was dandruff but it turns out it was related to her allergies to wheat and soy. She was using shampoos or conditioners that had these things in them. Alas, many of the organic shampoos are made of this stuff. What we did that helped was to buy a bar of soap that can be used on the hair as well. It is made of coconut oil and lavender, but there are other scents. We bought the first bar at a boutique type place. It's handmade. Bought the second bar at a health food store. Also handmade.

Before she shampoos her hair, she sprinkles the scalp with baking soda then massages it in. This removes the excess oil. She then wets down her hair and scalp and uses a bit of the soap on it. Once or twice a week she also uses a scalp brush. A cheap one with sharpish teeth on it. She sort of rakes this through her hair and it helps to remove any loose flakes that might be there. And lastly she rinses well. This step is very important. Any product left on the hair will form flakes when it dries or will leave a greasy coating.

[Sunshine9]

I would agree with Julieabove's post, or that perhaps the issue is yeast related. Have you taken a lot of antibiotics in the past?? That could be it...

[RowanC]

The BEST thing I've ever used for dandruff is a simple tea made from fresh or dried stinging nettle.

Just put 1/4 cup dried or 1 cup fresh nettles in a pan.
Cover with water.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Then cover and let it cool down.\
Strain.

After you wash your hair, pour the liquid over your head, rubbing it into the scalp a bit.

DO NOT RINSE.

Often, this only has to be done once.
But if you need to, you can repeat it until the dandruff clears up.

I've used this on my husband and two of my sons.
Never failed.

[trinity082482]

I hear eggs makes hair soft. maybe it will put moisture onto the scalp.
I have some barely noticeable dandruff too but its because I dye my hair blonde, so it dries out my scalp

[Rawkinlocs]

BrianC,

Technically, dandruff is said to be associated with a type of fungus, Pityrosporum ovale or Malassezia furfur, but sometimes it can be misdiagnosed and could actually be either a "normal" shedding of dead skin cells of the scalp as the body sloughs off old dead cells all over anyway OR it is sometimes mistaken for dandruff when it's actually product build-up or dried shampoo that wasn't rinsed from the scalp thoroughly.

Not sure what you consume on those "bad days" but dairy is said to trigger dandruff but B vitamins, particularly B6 (nuts, flax seed, nutritional yeast - not raw, though - are said to be good sources of Vit. B6) and also garlic and oil of oregano pills or capsules are said to be good to combat dandruff.

Some external things to try are (if you want the natural route): apple cider vinegar rinses, tea tree oil, neem oil (stinks to high heaven, but said to be really good)... just to name a few (Rowan's tea rinse sounds good too!)

If you want the non-natural route, then you can always get a dandruff shampoo such as Selsen Blue or Neutrogena or Head and Shoulders. But perhaps a good tea tree-based shampoo and conditioner would do the trick as well (either the less-than-natural Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree Shampoo or perhaps the more natural Aubrey Organics or Jason brands) or just get some tea tree oil and put some drops into your favorite shampoo or into a jar, etc. of water for a final rinse after shampooing.