Seborrheic
Dermatitis
Dandruff on your scalp, redness and flaking on your face and a
thick big toe nail, often indicate seborrheic dermatitis.
Most people change their skin every 28 days. A new cell starts at
the bottom of your skin, then another new cell grows under it,
gradually pushing the cells above towards the surface. The outer
layers flake off as dander and dandruff. The ring that remains on the
tub after you bathe is most likely old skin. It usually takes 28 days
for a skin cell to pass from the bottom to the top and be sloughed off
as dandruff. The skin of some people turn over twice as fast, or every
15 to 20 days and they have excessive dandruff on their faces and
scalp. Some people turn over their skin every 4 days or 7 times
normal. They have psoriasis. They also make more hair and nails so
they have to cut their hair and nails more often then most people do
and as they age, their toe nails thicken so they are often
misdiagnosed as having a fungus infection.
The usual treatment is to remove the scales by shampooing the face
and scalp as often as tolerable. Many dermatologists also prescribe
antibiotics, like ampicillin or doxycycline, because surface bacteria
increase the rate that the skin turns over.
A non-prescription method of removing scales is to massage a small
amount of the Dermal Therapy Extra Strength Body lotion into the scalp
after a bath or shower. This will reduce the amount of dry scaly skin
and improve the appearance of the hair. Be careful to only apply a
small amount to the scalp or the hair will become greasy.
