My scalp problem

 The Story of My Scalp

Pus filled bumps are everywhere on my scalp. It's painful and will get itchy when it is ready to pop. Not to mention the smells when it does.

If you are reading this, then you are too in the journey of looking for the right shampoo and have some problem with your scalp. I decided to write this post because I would like to share with you the problem that i am having that leads to my search.

Through this post, you will have better understanding towards my other posts where i share my experiences and my thoughts on the products that claimed to be able to solve my scalp problem.

I have suffered from scalp and hair problem ever since I moved to Sweden. I guess it is due to high level of stress, weather, food and maybe even water. Yes. These things play a huge role on our scalp health condition.

Since i arrived in Sweden, the first scalp problem i have is dandruff. It started very mild and appear on certain areas (above my ears and neck). It is my first ever experience with dandruff problem. You can imagine my panic. To solve this, I have tried quite a lot of dandruff shampoos. Both from the one you can get from the groceries stores to the pharmacy pharmacy strength. To name a few: Head and Shoulders, Pantene, Dove, Sevorex ects. I read that these shampoos work great on many especially Head and Shoulders. But for some reason, it works fine (but not great) for the beginning of the usage. I can see the dandruff reduces. It's not that it is gone. They are still present, and scalp is still itchy. Then after couple of weeks, the dandruff gets worsen (bigger flakes and bigger spots) and so does the itchiness. I remember my shoulder look like i have been sprinkle with a powdered sugar.

I did some online research and joined some forum to find my solution. Many recommended me to give organic and no sulfates shampoos a try. So i did. Those just making things worse. It just does not clean my hair and scalp very well. My scalp became more itchy, flaky (even thicker than normal), oily scalp and limp hair.

This is how my hair look like the day after and
notice the white bids on my hair strand?

Home remedies? Yes, I did give some a try. I have tried coconut oil, lemon, olive oil, tea tree oil, mashed avocado, mashed banana and apple cider vinegar to name a few. The oil base has only make my scalp oilier and lemon make it drier. For avocado, banana and apple cider vinegar has worked to reduce the dandruff flakes on my shoulder. But they still present on my scalp. Itchiness remains very annoying.

But then, I found Body Shop Ginger shampoo. Bought it. Gave it a go. Love it! It made my dandruff goes away. I have never change to another shampoo since. I keep coming back for the same one when the one I have is emptied. Why should I change to another one if the one I have works so perfect? It became my shampoo for many years. But then, things started to change. It sure does made my dandruff goes away, but I started having hair fall problem and excess sebum.

(click here to read on my review for Body Shop Ginger Shampoo)

I don’t exactly remember for how long after i started using this Ginger Shampoo for the new problem to start. Because of this, i have wash my hair in daily basis. Otherwise, I will have a very oily (wet looking hair) the day after. I do know it is not healthy for your scalp to be wash every single day. So, I avoid washing my hair in the weekend. But I admit, some weekends when I cannot stand the wet looks and oily hair i will wash my hair anyway.

My hair gets oily the day after. See the small white thing?
I think it is either white head or my dried-out hair roots.
From afar, it looks like lice eggs.
No idea what that is. But i have lots of it.

I did try to switch my shampoo for oily hair. But i had to switch back because it is causing my dandruff to resurface. In the end, i don't mind washing my hair often to remove the excess oil instead of having dandruff and itchy scalp.

From having dandruff to oily scalp, my scalp problem has not come to an end just yet

After all these while of trying to solve the dandruff (which i considered as problem solved by the ginger shampoo) and then continue to oily scalp. At this moment, my scalp is infected by seborrhoea dermatitis and Folliculitis.

These two most recent problems are the one that came with a red flag and caused alot of stress and worry to me. These are the problem that cause pain on my scalp and disgusting smells.
When it first came up, i thought it was just another form of pimple that appears on the scalp. Until they keep on coming back and i have difficulties to wash and comb my hair. It usually come in a group of atleast 5.


Last august, i finally decided to visit a hair and scalp specialist in Malmö. She did a scan on my scalp and that is how i found out about these two problems besides my already existed both wet and dry version of dandruff problem (of which i thought is solved by the ginger shampoo). She has also told me that if i did not solve these problems quickly, it will eventually contribute to significant hair loss (and it already does since i have had these problem for atleast couple of years). Up to this point, I have lost atleast half of my hair thickness. There is no hairstyle that will look good because of sparse that I have due to the hair fall problem. Mainly on the top of my head.

I remember i asked her if i did not wash my hair enough. I told her my shower and hair wash routine. Mind you, i did not wear any dry shampoo or any hair styling products. Her replies were, it has nothing to do with one's hygiene. 
She explained a little about Seborhea and folliculitis and recommended me with a tricology system treatment by Simone Trichology. But i had to decline because of the price tag. Just the
at-home Treatment Shampoo System Kit will cost me atleast 2300 sek. On top of that, i have to go through series of hair treatment at her clinic and this will cause me atleast 5000 sek. The price will increase as the treatment continue and depending on what treatment will be needed in the future. There is no guarantee that the treatment will works. But she did tell me about the success stories of her clients.

With the little information she has provided me, i began my research. Seborhea dermatitis is a skin condition that occurs mostly where the oil production glands area like upper back, nose and scalp. But mostly scalp. It looks like dry flakes (dandruff), yellow crust and redness. (Click here and here for more information on seborrhea). Folliculitis on the other hand is what you can see on the picture above (one with the yellow pus). This condition is an inflammation in hair follicles and is cause by either bacteria, yeast or fungus. (click here to read more on Folliculitis).

I found out that i can order the at-home treatment shampoo kit online for cheaper price. Before i did make the order, I contacted Simone Trichology in Spain via email last august to ask for second guidance on what is best for my problem, now it is december and i have not get any reply from them yet. So i take it on my hand and continue my research.

At the end of august, i found out Nioxin has something similar. I gave it a good 3 months trial. I have mixed review on this one. For me not to mixed up everything in one bowl, i separated the review.

If there is the other treatment shampoo that i put to test, i will give it a good 3 months' time to give it a fair review. Just incase it only works for few weeks and the problem resurface.

Let me know if there what is your treatment shampoo if you have similar problem with mine. I would love to know. Just incase what i have does not help to solve my problem.

Thanks in advance!

xoxo