Shampoo problem+hair regain question

[Curly2bald]

I used nizoral 2% 2-3 times a week for maybe 3 months and my scalp was looking better than ever...now for no reason my scalp is super dry and flaky and it gets worst when i use nizoral so I went down to once a week. (I don't use anything topical)

I tried 5 different shampoos(herbal essences, neutrogena, head&shoulders, nizoral, hair regain) in the last 6 weeks and I really can't seem to find the right solution for me.

The hair regain I got it free with an order of toppik and only tried it once today, is it any good?

Any advice?

P.S.: I saw my dermathologist today, he gave me a prescription for something but I can't read his handwritin..."stieplux" maybe? I don't really trust this guy so I want some info on it before I go buy it.

 

[seth9027]

The shampoo your derm prescribed is most likely Stieprox, which contains ciclopiroxolamine and is used to treat seborrheic dermatitis. I have the same problem and I've used Loprox for it, which has the same active ingredient as Stieprox, and that helped but was pretty expensive. It was much less harsh to my hair and scalp than nizoral. If your scalp problem is caused by a fungus, which is often the case, then Stieprox will probably work well, but if not it may not be as effective. As an added plus though, ciclopirox has anti-inflammatory properties.

The fungus that causes the scalp problems can sometimes become tolerant to treatment, which may have happened in your case with the Nizoral. Because of this doctors often recommend you rotate several different medicated shampoos with different active ingredients so the fungus doesn't get used to the treatment. So you could use Nizoral for a while, then switch to Loprox, then switch back to Nizoral or a shampoo with piroctone olamine or something else. I personally do this periodically, and it has helped me keep my problem under control.

I hope this information helps, I know how frustrating these problems can be.

 

[Curly2bald]

Wow thanks for the info. unk:

From the info I got online Stieprox is just the canadian version Loprox...how much do you pay for yours? I will probably go buy some next week, I've just gone back to school and the budget is kinda tight.

I've been looking for a shampoo with piroctone olamine for a little while but the T-gel sold in canada doesn't seem to have it, I think it's only the euro version. :dunno: I know head&shoulders is far from great for hairloss but it seems to help for now.

 

[seth9027]

I pay about $50 for the Loprox from my local pharmacy. To make it last longer I'll usuallly wash my hair first with something else and then apply a little bit of Loprox - that makes it lather up much better.

I live in the U.S. and have also ran into trouble finding piroctone olamine shampoos. The ingredient hasn't been approved yet by the FDA even though it's been used for awhile in Europe, and is quite possibly the safest anti-dandruff ingredient out there. The only easily availabe shampoo I have been able to find with PO as an ingredient is the Ginger Shampoo from the body shop, although it doesn't list how much is in there. I think someone on this site (forgot who) was able to determine through emails to the company that it has less than 1% but probably more than .5%, which means it probably has about the same amount as the European T-gel. Anyway, it works well for me as long as I rotate it periodically with other shampoos. Hope this helps.

 

[Curly2bald]

I got my stieprox for 24$ about 10 days ago and used it 3 times since then and it's working unk: ...good thing because this was the worst dandruff I've had ever.

Now when I'm back to 100% normal I think I'll start rotating with nizoral every month or something. Or maybe use nizoral 1-2x a week and stieprox 1-2x a week? :dunno: