Next step poo-less, how to cure dandruff

I stoped washing my hair with soap when I lived in the tropics. I’d always had dandruff which I could manage with daily shampooing. Then I went poo-less and the dandruff disappeared. I kept my hair short and rinsed it when I showered. I only showered for a minute or two, but quite often more than once a day. Then I moved to New Jersey and the dandruff returned. I decided to go completely poo-less at the beginning of lockdown a year and a half ago - I figured with us all locked up together, if I smelt, my family would let me know! I thought maybe there was a connection with the soap I was using on the rest of my skin as it’s all one organ. The dandruff remained. I did a bit of research but it always ended up with putting more stuff on my head . . . Most of it sounded like expensive dirt despite and a bunch of  pseudoscience. (I’m very sceptical of anything that has a marketing department and VC backing . . .). One suggestion that came up a lot was removing chlorine from the piped water, which made sense. Didn’t work. Has anyone else had this problem and found a permie solution? It could just be the stress of living in NJ . . .

Edward,

Years ago I had a problem.  I had just gotten my hair cut and styled. While sitting in the stylist's chair I asked him what to do.

He told me to massage my scalp really well, even to use a brush to massage it while I was washing my hair.

The only time I have a problem nowadays is when I think it might be the water.

Thank you Anne - I’ll give that a try. I’m wondering how many other problems could be solved by not thinking about them . . .

Edward, I must confess I don't know the answer to your question. But I do have some questions that might help you get closer to an answer. You say that you didn't have this problem in the tropics. What else was different there than where you are now? What was the water source you were using when you didn't have dandruff? Might it have been cleaner and/or of different pH, hardness, etc.? How about your diet and habits, anything different from one place to another? Those sound like very different climates. I wonder if one's microbiome could be affected by such a shift? Also, could it be there are more pollutants in the air where you are now and they're affecting your skin?
You could very well be right that it's just stress, as that can throw so many things out of whack. Either way, supporting your body through that stress couldn't hurt. Scalp massage is one great way to reduce stress and could help your dandruff issue too.

Edward, have you tried an apple cider vinegar rinse? I'd start with a 10% solution, using raw, organic acv, and if possible, filtered water. Bragg's is a popular, fairly easy to find brand, though one of the more expensive ones. Many stores now sell their own, perfectly good brands, too - but, the cheap stuff with the caramel coloring added won't help. Good luck!

Hi Edward,
dandruff is typically a sign of a backed-up lymphatic system, in your case in the head area. Often people with dandruff also experience a lot of wax and/or clogged ears, among other signs of a backed up lymph system.  I think Heather is onto something when asking if your diet changed when coming back to NJ. Did you eat more fruit in the tropics?  Fruit is a wonderful astringent and very cleansing for the body, as well as a wonderful lymph mover. If you ate more fruit in the tropics but went back to a less "fruity" type of diet when moving back to NJ, that just may be the answer you are looking for. If that is the case, eat more fruit, less inflammatory foods, and watch what happens! I know someone who cleared all kinds of issues around his head area, including dandruff, by going on a 50%+ fruit diet, and cutting out meats, eggs, and dairy. It was actually rather amazing the changes he saw, including his skin looking much clearer, and all around healthier. Maybe something to think about.

For me, it is when my scalp gets too dry.  That usually comes from my showers being too hot, they strip oil.
Allergic reaction (usually mold) also dries my scalp.

I use a brush to massage my scalp, and when it gets bad I do an oil treatment.

Okay, this might not be super helpful. I have a distinctive hairstyle that could identify me to people in my area more than my name ever would, so I don't want to get too specific. When I have this hairstyle, no dandruff. As soon as I change it, dandruff. It happens within a few days, with no other changes to water, diet, grooming, etc. So is your hairstyle different? Longer, shorter? Might make a difference.

Thank you all so much, some great questions and advice.

1) My hair is pretty short. I use clippers and cut to grade 4 - half an inch. I cut it when it starts to get ‘big’ which in my case is just over an inch.

2) When I lived in the tropics our house was totally open, so relatively high humidity and temperature between 25’C and 33’C (77 - 91’F). In NJ, we live in a ‘sealed’ house - pretty much the same as everyone in this part of the world. We have an HVAC air cooling and steam radiators. We sleep with everything off, a fan and open window or more blankets and an open window in the winter.

3) My diet is totally different, alas not for the better. In Asia, I didn’t eat bread, I hardly ever had dairy. I bought most of my food at the local wet market, so fish, prawns, chicken, veg, and rice. Most meals had chilli, garlic and ginger. I ate lychees, jack fruit, rambutans, mangos, pineapples and other tropical fruit. I ate a lot at local hawkers (food stalls) - mostly Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Japaneses dishes.  . I was 10kg lighter than I am now! Since moving to the US, I eat a lot of bread - homemade sourdough. I eat dairy - homemade yoghurt and too much butter. I cook Mexican, stir fries, Sunday roasts, pasta dishes, bean dishes. We eat fish once a week and meat twice a week. A very varied and mostly seasonal diet. I love to cook and I love food. I still cook a lot of Asian food but the quality of imported goods isn’t great. I know my food choices and what I cook has lead to my ever expanding girth, but making the jump from cooking what I know I should cook and what I actually cook is massive. My monkey brain is strong . . . It’s a big incentive to get my own garden up and running but that’s a year away. I currently have a small yard / garden so mostly focus on herbs and lots of chilli plants. So fix my diet, fix my weight problem, fix my dandruff . . . I wish it wasn’t so hard!

I make my own ACV - is there anything it can’t cure!

my husband has something similar happen every so often when it's the hottest part of the year. He lately has been stealing my daughter's scalp massage brush (this weird silicone finger-looking thing) and it seems to be helping.

If you haven't tried one yet, a suggestion for produce/fish in NJ is H Marts. There are a bunch in NJ and it's entirely worth the Uber (I go whenever I'm visiting family in NJ).