Help finding a cure for dandruff/ seborrheic dermatitis on the scalp...

I have had a lifelong struggle. The itching is insane, no matter what method I have tried from shampooing every other day, not shampooing for a while, every day, every type of medicated shampoo out there.  Vinegar, clay, witch hazel, egg, lemon balm, tea tree oil, baking soda, salt.  Nothing works.  Except being at the beach, then it clears up after swimming in the ocean.  But salt water rinses do nothing.  I am thinking there must be an organic way to help solve this issue. Even if I cannot cure it, to keep it maintained. It has made my quality of life so very low. And even if I find a thing or two, that might work, if I miss even a day it goes right back to the misery.   Seeking help with a life long problem, any advice at all I will greatly appreciate.  I'm wanting a plant/ herbal/ or natural remedy.. do not want to spend the rest of my life going to a doctor or dermatologist to try to maintain.

Could it be your water? I've struggled with it before, though not as badly, and I notice that different water can affect me at different times. The water at my in laws always leaves me so itchy and sore. The water at home is usually OK, but when I'm having a flare up it's also irritating, so I use rainwater or distilled water from our dehumidifier until it's settled.

So it could be that some of the cures you've tried would be effective if combined with different water.

The only other suggestion is raw milk. I haven't actually tried it on my hair, but it does wonders on the dermatitis on my hands.

Sometimes dandruff is caused by dry skin on the scalp.  Are you sure it is dandruff and not dry skin?  and those treatments you used are not for dry skin.

As Ali suggested it could be your water.

My water is alkaline and causes dry skin.

Or it might be the brand of shampoo.  Try one for dry skin or try going pooless (without shampoo) and using bottled water.

For me, a 96% solutions was to go poo-less.  

Next step - while on a different health journey it was suggested that dandruff is caused by what you eat.  

And the last bit, again, for a different thing, it was suggested that I needed to have more minerals through the skin.  Castor oil topically was suggested.  The idea was that i would absorb minerals and the like at night.  But man that stuff is sticky.  So - no way.  .... until i got this little cotton sleep hat.  https://amzn.to/3QlCZL8  - i put the oil on my noggin, cover with the hat and wake up with horrible bed head.    It does seem like the oil is 90% gone in the morning.  And a poo-less shower seems to take a bit more away.      Da oil https://amzn.to/3QlCZL8     I might do this every week or two.  My guess is that at some point i will stop completely.

Zero danders.

Mostly, I enjoy not smearing the dandruff shampoo goo on my head - even the highest quality stuff struck me as toxic.  It has been more than 15 years now.  I feel like it is one of the smartest things i have ever done.  

I also like that my daily shower is about a minute long rather than ten minutes long.  

The idea of ever using shampoo feels brutally unhealthy.  My current path feels extremely healthy.  I am so glad i made the change.  

I will even go so far to say:   i wonder if the anti-dandruff shampoos actually CAUSE dandruff!

paul wheaton wrote:For me, a 96% solutions was to go poo-less.  

Next step - while on a different health journey it was suggested that dandruff is caused by what you eat.  

Same here.  Up to age 23 I used soap and shampoo regularly and usually had bad dandruff and stinky hair.  Then I quit shampoo and soap completely, and also improved my diet, and I have barely had any dandruff at all in the 12 years since then, and my hair smells OK according to my family who are not inclined to flatter me in this respect.

I do wash my hair with just water, and brush it, every week to few weeks.

Philip McGarvey wrote:

paul wheaton wrote:For me, a 96% solutions was to go poo-less.  

Next step - while on a different health journey it was suggested that dandruff is caused by what you eat.  

Same here.  Up to age 23 I used soap and shampoo regularly and usually had bad dandruff and stinky hair.  Then I quit shampoo and soap completely, and also improved my diet, and I have barely had any dandruff at all in the 12 years since then, and my hair smells OK according to my family who are not inclined to flatter me in this respect.

I do wash my hair with just water, and brush it, every week to few weeks.

our silly ad for this

paul wheaton wrote:For me, a 96% solutions was to go poo-less.  

Next step - while on a different health journey it was suggested that dandruff is caused by what you eat.  

And the last bit, again, for a different thing, it was suggested that I needed to have more minerals through the skin.  Castor oil topically was suggested.  The idea was that i would absorb minerals and the like at night.  But man that stuff is sticky.  So - no way.  .... until i got this little cotton sleep hat.  https://amzn.to/3QlCZL8  - i put the oil on my noggin, cover with the hat and wake up with horrible bed head.    It does seem like the oil is 90% gone in the morning.  And a poo-less shower seems to take a bit more away.      Da oil https://amzn.to/3QlCZL8     I might do this every week or two.  My guess is that at some point i will stop completely.

Zero danders.

Mostly, I enjoy not smearing the dandruff shampoo goo on my head - even the highest quality stuff struck me as toxic.  It has been more than 15 years now.  I feel like it is one of the smartest things i have ever done.  

I also like that my daily shower is about a minute long rather than ten minutes long.  

The idea of ever using shampoo feels brutally unhealthy.  My current path feels extremely healthy.  I am so glad i made the change.  

I will even go so far to say:   i wonder if the anti-dandruff shampoos actually CAUSE dandruff!

Wow, and now I'm gonna go deep into a research rabbit hole on food and dandruff. Thank you Paul. Hmm, I am currious what "Da oil" is. The link for is a beanie which I could actually use too. It's encouraging to hear that the poo-less journey is going great for you so far.

Philip McGarvey wrote:

paul wheaton wrote:For me, a 96% solutions was to go poo-less.  

Next step - while on a different health journey it was suggested that dandruff is caused by what you eat.  

Same here.  Up to age 23 I used soap and shampoo regularly and usually had bad dandruff and stinky hair.  Then I quit shampoo and soap completely, and also improved my diet, and I have barely had any dandruff at all in the 12 years since then, and my hair smells OK according to my family who are not inclined to flatter me in this respect.

I do wash my hair with just water, and brush it, every week to few weeks.

Hmm, Philip 12 years is a long time. And smells OK? would you please describe Ok? I've heard that eventually there is a pleasant scent of either grapefruit or celery. Good to hear your poo-less jorney is working out so far.

Molly Sue wrote:I have had a lifelong struggle. The itching is insane, no matter what method I have tried from shampooing every other day, not shampooing for a while, every day, every type of medicated shampoo out there.  Vinegar, clay, witch hazel, egg, lemon balm, tea tree oil, baking soda, salt.  Nothing works.  Except being at the beach, then it clears up after swimming in the ocean.  But salt water rinses do nothing.  I am thinking there must be an organic way to help solve this issue. Even if I cannot cure it, to keep it maintained. It has made my quality of life so very low. And even if I find a thing or two, that might work, if I miss even a day it goes right back to the misery.   Seeking help with a life long problem, any advice at all I will greatly appreciate.  I'm wanting a plant/ herbal/ or natural remedy.. do not want to spend the rest of my life going to a doctor or dermatologist to try to maintain.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this, Molly. I can't imagine living with that kind of relentless itching for so long. I truly hope you find something that brings you some relief. I don't have the same lifelong experience, but I do struggle with an itchy scalp every summer. I’ve noticed my scalp does better when I can keep more of its natural oils, and this summer what has helped the most so far is switching to a very gentle shampoo, diluting it heavily (about 90% water and 10% shampoo), avoiding heavily scented products, and using purified water. It hasn’t completely gone away, but the itching has been much better.
I know this is different from what you’ve been experiencing, but I wanted to share in case any part of it is useful.

With herbal remedies, which can work outstanding, i've noticed that the ones which are truely next level are the ones that consist of a lot of differing ingredients that all do something. Like one ingredient could moisturise another could get your skin to calm an allergic reaction another can sooth cells multiplying like mad. We have become so used to this robot like approach, modern science, this one thing cures this, but life is much more complex than that and on top of that what might work great for me, doesn't work on the next man at all or female even more likely. So combine things i'd say and yes of course it is easier if it only takes one minute to spray it into your hair or something.

I am not a dermatologist. Malassezia yeast thrives in warm, moist environments. If you don't already dry your scalp immediately, definitely don't leave a towel on top of your head for a long time. Realistically, there is not a "cure" yet, but longterm management.

It often improves at the beach due to UV light which is antifungal and anti-inflammatory (in this context) and saltwater does have some antimicrobial properties and helps break up the scale. Saltwater also has other minerals compared to store salt (depending on the kind). De-stressing also helps. The condition often flares up during periods of stress. They do use UV therapy as a treatment option (usually for more extensive involvement not just scalp).

For a medicated shampoo (antifungal) to work, it is best to first loosen the scales with coconut (not olive) oil, salicylic acid, or tar shampoo. Dermatologists can prescribe a higher strength shampoo. Natural remedies that seem to have the most "proof" are coconut oil, tea tree shampoo, apple cider vinegar, diluted raw honey, aloe vera gel, antifungal essential oils like rosemary.

Not sure if getting a difficult case checked out (once) professionally would be worthwhile. I do understand the reluctance, especially with needing to renew prescription over and over.