Hello, and a warm welcome to Jacob D Lucas from me, glad you have found this thread. As you well know, dandruff is amazig stuff, i take photos of the dandruff snowfall in a dark room and the images this produces is unreal, try it!! Dark surfaces to shed my dandruff on are good, glass tables if you can find one.( just running my finger through a dandruff covering is so good) Everyone on here should share their favourite places/objects to shake on. Once again welcome!
Don't worry I also have the same situation where I love to explore my head and dig the dandruff flakes of my head it seems so interesting to me I think that it is amazing you are not alone and are not the only person to feel this way. It's perfectly normal to what you feel I have also done that and I'm sure there are many other people who feel this way. If you feel your dandruff problem persists you should consult your doctor immediatley
this is the wierdest and most randomest thing that i have ever searched in my life and i am 53 so yeah seek help immediatelately
In reply to guest yesterday, we "dandruff lovers" are not weird!! We may search our hair for dandruff and love to shed our fine flakes over different surfaces but what we do does NOT harm anyone, some people find smoking relaxing, they might enjoy a pint or 2, I don't smoke or do drugs, only drink in small amounts. I treat people how I like to be treated, with respect. So just let us get on with what gives us joy, from reading all the posts that go back to 2007 I can see there are some really nice people on this forum who are open and honest and i am proud to be part of this friendly forum.
It is as if I wrote this description! This is me! I also sniff it! Strange thing is that I stopped this years ago but it is coming back again!
i really think the only way is to stop scratching ! and that is also easier said than done ~
Whatever you do, NEVER, NEVER, scratch your scalp. By doing it you are making possible for bacteria to enter your inner layers of skin, and not to mention skin irritations which lead to more dandruff. Make a lotion out of C vitamin fruits.
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As a lot of you have said, I'm relieved to discover that I'm not the only one addicted to scratching the flakes. When I have acrylic nails on, I don't seem to bother with my scalp much, but as soon as they come off, I'm right back to scratching again. Also, I just quit smoking a few months ago. I think the scratching may be related to stress relief?
About a year ago, my kids kept coming home with lice and I couldn't get rid of them. I tried everything (mayo, various lice shampoos, gels,and so on) and then finally I got the lice as well. While in a local beauty store I found an anti-fungal shampoo containing tea tree oil. It was called Remi something and came in a reddish brown cylinder bottle. It cured my kids of their lice, and cured me of my pesky dandruff! Only problem now is, I've moved and can't find the shampoo anymore. :(
My beautician friend advised me to get a scalp brush and use that in the shower. It helps to exfoliate the scalp. I combine that with pure tea tree oil, which helps but tends to make the scalp a bit oily. However, it doesn't work as well as that wonderful shampoo.
If I am able to find it online I will post it here! Also I'm going to try the white vinegar and see how that works.
I find Listerine mouthwash works wonders ( original yellow liquid) seems to keep my dandruff at bay for a good week or slightly more, only downside is if you have any open scabs on your head from picking it stings like mad, as I sometimes have a couple of open scabs I first bathe the scab area with an ice cube, this numbs the area so I feel no sting, I then massage the mouthwash through my hair and leave in for 10 minutes then rinse out with warm water. I always have the ice cube handy if needed. I also suffer from piles from time to time and find that an ice cube numbs the pile and that Listerine clears up the outbreak within 3 to 5 days. Its not a cure as they can return a few weeks later.
Anyway, after I got rid of them, I kept on itching and searching my nails for them. The horrible part is my addictions escalated to a new level. Now it's got so bad, I'm picking spots and making my head bleed and cause scabs, itching and (this bits gross) eating any skin flakes under my nails. I've started to slightly pick at my face and I don't want it to get so bad that it comsumes my life. Please help me. :( I'm only 12 and I want to live a normal life..
I totally understand. I sometimes will look in the mirror and scratch my head to see the dandruff being scratched off my scalp
I am a 34 year old Indian male living in the US for 7 years.
I am not sure when exactly this habit of scratching my head for dandruff "recreationally" started. I started getting dandruff in my late teens and tried all possible brands out there (even saw a doctor). Never got rid of it completely. Even now, I go through phases when there is no dandruff in my head for a couple of weeks and then it returns.
Not sure when I started enjoying hunting for dandruff in my head, feeling delighted at finding big flakes, and yes, eating them. Been doing it for at least 7-8 years.
The thing is though, it's not exactly a "compulsion". It is not triggered by stress or anxiety or nervousness. It is more like a hobby. I don't HAVE TO do it but I enjoy doing it. I only do it when I am alone at home or in my office (am lucky to be in a job where I get my own walled office, not a cubicle). When I am in the company of people, I never feel the urge or the need to do it.
In my mind, I think of it as similar to masturbation. I do it because it makes me feel good, but I have never felt a strong urge to start jacking off in public. Nor have I ever felt a strong urge to scratch my scalp, hunt out dandruff flakes and eat them in public.
I'm a 17-year-old brazilian girl and my brother and I have lots of trichotillomania symptoms, now that I think about it (I also EAT my nails a lot). We both don't really have a dandruff problem, our hair scalps shed in a healthy fashion, our hair is straight-slightly-wavy and thick and we like cutting it short.
1. How old were you when the habit started? I probably was... 4? I'd pick my mom's hair (asiatic hair, black and thick) and bite it with gusto, with no real idea of what I was doing. I remember it was even worse as I grew. When I was 7, I'd look for for my thickest hairs and pull them from their root and eat those, bite on the hair itself and eat little portions of it. I got a bald spot on the top of my head in no time at all so my parents made me stop it. It just felt so good to listen that little crack my hair made when I bit it. When I started developing teenage hormones, it got a little worse: I scratched my head a lot, all the time, whenever I had a free hand I'd be scratching my head... Also, I'd pick whatever lump I'd find on my skin (I'm prone to bug bites on my legs and I pick a lot on my bug bites so I have an awful lot of scars). These symptoms continue to this day, the only thing that has soothed is my hair plucking, otherwise, it's all the same. Sometime ago, when I had shoulder length hair, I used to part it to the right and my hair scratching made my hair growth weaken on the area above my eyebrow, so I started parting it to the left, but I still scratch all the same.
2. Did you move around a lot as a kid/teenager? No, the only time I ever got out of my parents' house was to move to another city so I could go to sophomore high school year, it's been 2 years since.
3. Do you experience anxiety/depression? I'm a fairly anxious person, since childhood I bite my nails without actual sign of stopping. Frequently I have Seasonal Anxiety Disorder (S.A.D.) but not as a kid. My behaviour came naturally, I don't really know how it started... it just did. Actually, it might be genetic: my brother has had the same behaviour since he was a kid and lots of my cousins (from both sides of the family) have skin & hair picking problems.
4. Do you feel that picking the dandruff relieves stress? Yes, a lot. It relaxes my muscles, it eases my mind and helps me sleep.
5. Do you do it even when your head isn't itching? Yes, but I do it mostly when my hair is a little oilier than the usual (after using a hair product such as spray or mousse). I usually just pick on other skin... or just my scalp. There's very few times I'm not actually picking on some part of my body.
6. Do you feel sad when you can't find any dandruff? Not really, I like scratching and picking on my scalp a lot but doesn't really matter. I like picking on the sebaceous cysts find over whole body (zits, inflammated pores, etc) so I'm never exactly out of stuff to pick. I have a fairly heathly diet, bathe everyday, wear clean clothes and underclothes. It's really mostly a psychological thing.
I also love picking head scabs, I shaved all my hair off last year and loved it when my electric razor sliced through the 3 head scabs I had at the time.