How I Accidentally Cured My Seborrheic Dermatitis

Please check with your physician before attempting my accidental cure for Adult Cradle Cap. My cure was happenstance, and should not be attempted until approved by your physician. **Never** attempt this cure on a child, for goodness sake!

When I was in my early 30’s, I began to develop itchy, scaly patches on the top back of my head out of nowhere. I’d never had anything like this before in my life. I waited patiently for it to go away, but it only got worse.

Before long, my scalp was overrun with flakes and scabs. In fact, the area on my head expanded and grew, positioning itself exactly as if I were wearing a cap. My doctor called it Adult Cradle Cap, technical name - Seborrheic Dermatitis. Then, the affected area began to migrate to the edges of my hairline.

I was miserable — the itching was maddening. I used anything I could to scratch at the scabs (pens, paper clips, my fingers, scissors, etc.). I could hardly sleep.

Horrified, I noticed that, whenever a scab came off, so did several long strands of my hair. I could see the actual follicles of the hair embedded in the scab — pulled from the root. Thankfully, though, I didn’t experience major hair loss. In any case, the condition was both annoying and extremely embarrassing. Flakes fell onto my clothes as though I had sneezed into a bowl of bread flour.

I worked hard to find a solution. I took my doctor’s advice, I researched, and I asked questions of others. I tried every recommendation put in my path.

I bought shampoos and soaps containing coal tar, selenium, and zinc pyrithione, leaving them on for hours to soak into my scalp. I tried the recommended antifungal shampoos and creams. I applied prescribed corticosteroids, both ointment and oral. I exposed my head to the sun as much as possible. I was not offered phototherapy, and I did not know about it at the time, so I can’t speak to its efficacy. The point is: nothing worked. Nothing. The condition didn’t improve and was maybe even a little worse.

My Accidental Cure

My hair is naturally dark chocolate brown. I have super rich, strong hair that shines and looks incredibly healthy. I rarely have split ends, and I’ve always gotten compliments on its healthy appearance. If your hair is fragile, thin, or damaged, please think long and hard about attempting the cure. Seek a doctor’s professional opinion.

The dark brown color of my hair made flakes easy to see. Two years had gone by, and I was so tired of trying to brush off flakes. It was a never-ending battle. Therefore, I decided to buy a hair highlights kit in an effort to try to camoflauge what I could of the constant flakes hanging in my hair and resting on my scalp.

It was Sunday morning when I went to Walmart to buy a highlighting kit for people with dark hair. I had never colored my hair before in my entire life, so this was something new for me. I followed the directions and did the best I could. Here's what happened:

• I slathered the hair treatment on so that I would have heavy highlights, especially next to my scalp. However, when it was all over, my hair was no longer dark chocolate brown — it was tiny bits of dark chocolate, the majority desecrated with large streaks of orange where I had expected there would be light brown/blonde highlights. It looked terrible — uneven, unattractive, and unprofessional.
• I went back to Walmart and bought another hair coloring kit. This kit was blonde color. My thinking was that, if I put on the blonde, the brown wouldn’t be affected, but the orange might turn blonde. Nope. The orange got even less natural-looking, and the brown had a red tint to it. I resembled a clown.
• Back to Walmart. This time, I decided that I would have to bleach my hair of all color. Therefore, I bought the bleach blonde kit and decided on an ash brown as the re-color because it looked lighter than my natural shade with some highlights. Perfect.
• When I got home, I used the bleach blonde kit to bleach my hair completely white. Then, I used the ash brown kit to color my entire head of hair. I hated it. It looked like a mousy brown with strands of gray, and I thought it made me look ten years older.
• Defeated, I went back to Walmart, purchased a hair coloring kit in dark chocolate (my original color, sigh), and hurried home to fix the mess once again. Dark chocolate worked perfectly, and my hair color was the same as it was before I started the fiasco. I ended up looking as though I had not even touched my hair with any coloring product.

When it was all said and done, I had been coloring my hair for over six hours. Each time I colored my hair, the chemicals would make the areas where I had Adult Cradle Cap burn like fire.

By my third coloring attempt (bleach blonde), in order to withstand the burning sensation and leave the product on for the amount of time required, I had to jump back and forth on my feet. The burning was awful and hard to bear.

By the time I got to my last coloring kit of dark chocolate, I actually had to run around the house to create whatever wind I could to soothe my scalp. It felt like the chemicals were burning into my skin, but only where I had the rash. The rest of my scalp was fine. If I had fine hair, damaged hair, or a sensitive scalp, I never could have done this.

The next day, I noticed scabs began to fall off of my scalp in clumps. After one week, almost every single scab was gone. My head felt like someone had rubbed menthol on it. The itching was gone. Eventually, when I ran my fingers through my hair, I could not feel a single scab or see a single flake.

It's been over 25 years, and my Adult Cradle Cap has never returned. Ever.

I used five coloring kits from the shelves of Walmart in my early 30’s to accidentally burn off my Adult Cradle Cap, and it has never come back.

Please be aware that it was very uncomfortable, I do not have sensitive skin, my hair was in great shape, and it was a complete fluke — I had no idea doing this would affect my Adult Cradle Cap. Luckily, I’ve never had to try it again because it has never come back since I burned it off.

Honestly, I struggled about whether or not I should write this story because I know some of you will try it. I worry that you won’t check with your doctor, that you have sensitive skin, or that your hair is not as healthy as mine. However, I also remember my misery during that 2+ year period — those were two years of extreme unhappiness, all due to a scalp condition that was both ever-present and overwhelming. In fact, I would do it all again (even though it was quite painful, especially during the last three coloring kits).

If you are interested in trying this method to get rid of your Adult Cradle Cap, I beg you to ***please*** be sure to discuss the treatment with your physician first. If you have sensitive skin or fragile hair, this probably would NOT be something you should try. You could end up bald or with burns.

In any case, best wishes to you, and I pray that your Adult Cradle Cap can be a distant distasteful memory. I truly do.

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