Struggling With Sensitive Scalp Issues

Symptoms
#1

Finasteride and dutasteride gave me a bad scalp itch. one i did not have prior. so i stopped taking it and ever since my scalp has been so sensitive. i don’t know whats going on.i can’t use alot of shampoos because it irritates my scalp in areas where my scalp is thinning.

The only one i found that helps abit is Nioxin 2 shampoo and i don’t know why that one helps. as so many other don’t help. including nizoral, T-gel ect ect.

Maybe its because i spent such a long time using topicals with Finasteride and dutasteride that i messed my scalp up. has anyone experienced this? and does anyone have any advice?

I am gonna start taking 20 billion probiotics soon. maybe that could help. i feel like this is punishment for trying to stop the hairloss. now its progressing and i can’t do anything at all without making it worse. :frowning:

#2

Anyone thats seen a few of my recent posts probably knows where im going with this. This could be one of those compensatory mechanisms.
Right here im thinking histamine. Someone else said they associated this scalp itch with recovery.
I dont claim to have this figured out, but from what ive been looking at, no single molecule might be involved in more functions then histamine. Good or bad, this maybe should be kept in mind.

EFFECT OF A GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE ANALOGUE ON
TESTICULAR AND PERITONEUM HISTAMINE CONCENTRATION IN
PUBERTAL MALE RATS

Gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-A) at supraphysiological doses
and chronically administrated has been utilized for several clinical applications,
including the treatment of prostate cancer (PC) in men and central precocious puberty
(CPP) in boys (Wilson et al., 2007). In other male mammals species, a chronic
administration of GnRH-A has been tested, as in dogs (Vickery et al., 1985; Trigg et al.,
2001), cheetahs (Bertschinger et al., 2006), bulls (D’Occhio et al., 2000), ferrets
(Schoemaker et al., 2008) monkeys (Lunn et al., 1992) and wallabies (Herbert et al.,
2004) as an alternative for surgical castration

GnRH-A treatment associated with androgen
replacement produced a dramatic increase in testicular histamine concentration, which
was markedly greater than the increase produced by the treatment with GnRH-A only.
Peritoneum histamine concentration was not affected by GnRH-A treatment. These
results demonstrate that the effect of GnRH-A in increasing testicular histamine
concentration in pubertal male rats, is potentiated by testosterone. Since mast cells and
histamine seem to have an important role in the restoration of testis function, the
increase of testicular histamine concentration after GnRH-A treatment may be an
adaptive response of testis to the impairment of steroidogenesis.

As we have observed, the treatment with GnRH-A impairs testicular
steroidogenesis and results in a significantly lower production of testosterone. The
increase of testicular histamine concentration after treatment with GnRH-A may be an
adaptive response of testis to the impairment of steroidogenesis.

These data clearly indicate that mast cells and histamine can modulate Leydig
cell steroidogenesis and have an important role in the restoration of testis function.

In our results, we have observed that the treatment with GnRH-A only caused
low testicular testosterone concentrations and elevated testicular histamine levels. As we
discussed previously, the effect caused after GnRH-A treatment, increasing the testicular
histamine concentration may be a compensatory response of testis to the impairment of
steroidogenesis. In this case, the increase in the testicular histamine concentration would
be a secondary response to the reduction of the local testosterone production. Since the
inhibitory effect of GnRH-A on testis function (spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis) is
reversible with the suspension of therapy both in CP and CPP in humans it is possible to
postulate a participation of histamine in testicular function restoration. However, we also
observed that the treatment of GnRH-A associated with testosterone propionate led to a
dramatic increase in testicular histamine concentration associated with a higher testicular
testosterone concentration. This result raises the possibility that the increase of testicular
histamine concentration after GnRH-A treatment may not be simply a secondary
response to the impaired testicular steroidogenesis. It is possible that both GnRH-A and
testosterone directly stimulate testicular mast cells and histamine production

#3

I have the same issue, I’ve developed lichen simplex as a result.

#4

This has caused people here problems in the past. Best avoided.

#5

i never had a scalp itch prior to finasteride or it was turned up hugely after taking finasteride as i couldn’t believe how itchy my scalp became. so i switched to dutasteride and the itch remained and sadly hasn’t gone away since. even after stopping it. now my scalp is reactionary.

I have days where its much calmer but i ain’t sure what makes that happen. sometimes i think allergy tablets help and some days i don’t think they are helping. if i go without masturbating for a few days i think that helps abit but i ain’t sure. and i also think Nioxin 2 shampoo helps, even though its quite drying.

I been trying to figure out what the pattern is between itch and whats going on at the time… if its DHT why is my scalp sensitive to shampoos?, and even face creams at times. sometimes going without masturbation helps and there are times where the itch comes back anyway after a few days and masturbation actually helps relieve it.

I have had multiple theories like it could be gut-related or an autoimmune response since inflammation is linked to gut and immune system. i also had a theory it could be contact dermatitis, but there isn’t any sign of it on my scalp. my scalp looks healthy, its just reactive inflammation.

#6

Recently got some topical steriods from a doctor. applied it yesterday. the result. basically same thing. today my scalp feels abit irritated…

I notice when i apply it that i feel a tingling on the side of my head. i am gonna assume thats some contact allergy thing.

#7

I too get bad scalp itch, varies depending on shampoo, diet, hats etc.

I was put on topical steroid but it didn’t help much, but was a little soothing.

So @guitarman01 you saying an antihistamine might help scalp itch, Ive never tried them, will definitely look into this.

#8

Not sure,
This is an interesting article.

Do antihistamines make allergies worse?

Medicated mice react more to bee stings than non-medicated mates.
https://www.nature.com/news/2008/080111/full/news.2008.436.html

Taking antihistamines can be a great way to fight off an allergic attack. But new research suggests it also might also make the next attack come on stronger.

Allergies are immune reactions to foreign substances that normally pose no threat to the body, from peanuts to pollen, that can set in after repeated exposure. In theory, even if someone has a genetic predisposition to react to peanuts, they should not react to the first peanut they encounter: it’s the second one that they need worry about.

Antihistamines, with their ability to disrupt the immune response that leads to annoying reactions like runny noses and swelling tissues, have long been considered the ideal way to control allergies. But their long-term effects on the immune system are unknown.

To explore this, a team led by Pål Johansen at the University of Zurich, Switzerland studied 50 mice that were initially injected with bee venom, a substance that nearly all organisms develop an allergy to upon exposure. Half of the mice were also given 100 micrograms of the antihistamine Clemastine just before they were given venom and 100 micrograms on each of the two days afterwards.

Six weeks later Johansen and his team injected the mice with another dosage of bee venom and monitored the allergic reactions. They report in Clinical and Experimental Allergy1 that mice given antihistamines reacted more violently to the second venom injection.

#9

This study makes sense.

Retinoids inhibit histamine, so after treatment histamine may have gone up, therefore people needing anti histamine like myself, but other people are saying they have no histamine now? And they never get sick now???

I am allergic to almost every compound when tested.

#10

How do you deal with an allergy without using antihistamines?

I am fairly certain this whole scalp sensitivity isn’t healthy.

#11

Do you also get pimples/folliculitis in scalp like raised red bumps? This makes me scalp itch like crazy.

#12

Well today my hair is abit greasy and i can feel noticable irritated bumps on my scalp. il wash my hair with Nioxin shampoo and they will probably go. perhaps thats sebum build up, but i dunno.

I think using the topical steroids might have made it abit worse. the itch went up in a big way after using it and its only just starting to calm down abit again.

#13

I get this. Crazy how we can share the strangest symptoms.

I went with a natural shampoo. But, look out for ones with saw palmetto or ones that promote hair growth. Just ordered a new one called Free and Clear sensitive from Walmart.

#14

@bluejaysfan Is that why your doc prescribed you hydrocortisone? I noticed you looking for reviews in another post.

#15

I find huge improvement of scalp on antibiotics but it’s not a long term solution.

#16

I bought Free and Clear shampoo sometime ago thinking it might help. and it didn’t help. again it drove my scalp crazy for a day or 2 before it calmed down again. its amazing how many different shampoos i tried and the only one that helps abit of Nioxin 2. and i still do not know what it is in Nioxin that is different to other shampoos.

I sorta think i might have an overactive and confused immune system issue where my body is basically attacking anything it feels might be a threat that has contact with my scalp. but if thats the case i have no idea how i can sort that out :frowning:. they say Inflammation is an immune system response after all

#17

@Calcified I haven’t had it prescribed yet, but, was thinking about it. Mainly for fatigue.

#18

@neddy2016 I may give up early on the free and clear by the sounds of it and try the nioxin 2.

Do you use all 3 parts or just the shampoo?

#19

@bluejaysfan Its complicated. i only use the shampoo. i tried the conditioner but for some reason the conditioner also made my scalp itch. its just apparently the shampoo by itself that reduces the itch abit. and i do not know why that is. it is quite a drying shampoo so i try and only use it every other day.

If i was you id try Nioxin 2 and id also try free and clear. just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it might not help you. i just wish i knew how to fix this issue because it doesn’t seem healthy for my scalp at all…

#20

I’ve been using Oneka Cedar Plus Sage Shampoo for about 4 months and its helped reduce the bumps a little. Its drying too though and now that winter is here, I’d figure I try something else.

I get my bumps mostly on the back of my head and sides.