Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Hair Loss And Dandruff

crsgal98

By crsgal98
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

crsgal98 Newbie
crsgal98
Posted

Hello fellow Celiacs I am new at this and its been very difficult at times to deal with, my biggest worry and I hope there is someone who might help is my hair. I have lost 40% of my hair and I have pain in my scalp and lots of flakes. Has anyone else had this problem, or something close? By the way wishing everyone a Happy Easter.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


WheatChef Apprentice
WheatChef
Posted

The itching and dandruff will probably continue for a while after going gluten free. Have you noticed any change in shed hairs since dropping gluten? I know I noticed a severe drop in daily shed hairs after a week of gluten free.

boysmom Explorer
boysmom
Posted

I had lost a lot of hair before I went gluten-free, but I began to notice less daily shedding and, for the first time in YEARS, tiny new growth hair. I'm 10 mos gluten-free now and my hair is not only growing back in, and growing, but my receding hairline (and I'm female) is back to where it was when I was in high school.

The itchiness and flakiness has taken longer and some juggling of shampoo to figure out, but I think I finally have that under control too. I've known since high school that shampoos with sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate made me break out around my hairline, so I have to find a shampoo that has none of that (REALLY hard to find) AND has no wheat, barley, or oat as well. I do have a wheat allergy in addition to celiac, so you may want to look into whether you have additional allergies that may be playing into your scalp problems.

bluebonnet Explorer
bluebonnet
Posted

I had lost a lot of hair before I went gluten-free, but I began to notice less daily shedding and, for the first time in YEARS, tiny new growth hair. I'm 10 mos gluten-free now and my hair is not only growing back in, and growing, but my receding hairline (and I'm female) is back to where it was when I was in high school.

The itchiness and flakiness has taken longer and some juggling of shampoo to figure out, but I think I finally have that under control too. I've known since high school that shampoos with sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate made me break out around my hairline, so I have to find a shampoo that has none of that (REALLY hard to find) AND has no wheat, barley, or oat as well. I do have a wheat allergy in addition to celiac, so you may want to look into whether you have additional allergies that may be playing into your scalp problems.

you have given me some encouragement about my own hair growing back in! i have heard a few success stories but i have been gluten free for 3 1/2 months and my hair is still shedding. my friend is a hair dresser and she found a gluten free sodium lauryl/laureth sufate free line called SURFACE that i have recently started using. i believe its only sold in salons. google it to read about it ... you may like it too! :)

WheatChef Apprentice
WheatChef
Posted

You may have a good point with the sulfate warning. A few days ago I switched from an expensive shampoo/conditioner thing to just using plain Coast bar soap and my scalp might potentially itch a bit less. I'd imagine it would be harder to get away with just using bar soap with anything more than a short men's hair cut (such as mine) but the simpler ingredients seem to be doing some good.

lizzers Newbie
lizzers
Posted

I would recommend to use the gentlest soap possible on your hair - it might not be shampoo, maybe it is handsoap made w/ goat's milk and that's it -but thte goal is to clean the scalp off.. if you use a grater, add the soap to a cheese cloth & then rub that on your scalp it should help a bit. i ahve horrid large flakes on my scalp - the dermatitis they say - and supposedly it gets better the more gluten free you are. i've found that a medicated shampoo with salicylic acid works best for me - but my scalp isnt sensitive at all. also you could try olive oil to help loosen the flakes as well - then use soap to remove the oil.

I had lost a lot of hair before I went gluten-free, but I began to notice less daily shedding and, for the first time in YEARS, tiny new growth hair. I'm 10 mos gluten-free now and my hair is not only growing back in, and growing, but my receding hairline (and I'm female) is back to where it was when I was in high school.

The itchiness and flakiness has taken longer and some juggling of shampoo to figure out, but I think I finally have that under control too. I've known since high school that shampoos with sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate made me break out around my hairline, so I have to find a shampoo that has none of that (REALLY hard to find) AND has no wheat, barley, or oat as well. I do have a wheat allergy in addition to celiac, so you may want to look into whether you have additional allergies that may be playing into your scalp problems.

boysmom Explorer
boysmom
Posted

my friend is a hair dresser and she found a gluten free sodium lauryl/laureth sufate free line called SURFACE that i have recently started using. i believe its only sold in salons. google it to read about it ... you may like it too! :)

Thanks bluebonnet, that does look interesting. Unfortunately no salons came up in my area so I'll have to look farther afield and see if I can pick some up when we're out of state visiting family or something.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


crsgal98 Newbie
crsgal98
Posted
  • Author

This celiac thing is getting to be a real pain in the a**, I have to now watch what kind of lotion,face lotion,shampoo, makeup I mean come on now. I am trying to watch what foods I eat because of the pain on my scalp and hair loss, now I have to worry about all that other stuff. I just feel like throwing my hands in the air and forgetting all about this. But of course we cant to that this is something that I (we) will have to live with the rest of our lives. Im scared to take a shower, how are all of you dealing with this?

Bobbijo6681 Apprentice
Bobbijo6681
Posted

This celiac thing is getting to be a real pain in the a**, I have to now watch what kind of lotion,face lotion,shampoo, makeup I mean come on now. I am trying to watch what foods I eat because of the pain on my scalp and hair loss, now I have to worry about all that other stuff. I just feel like throwing my hands in the air and forgetting all about this. But of course we cant to that this is something that I (we) will have to live with the rest of our lives. Im scared to take a shower, how are all of you dealing with this?

crsgal,

Take it one day at a time. Try not to change everything overnight. Yes you need to get rid of all of the gluten, but try not to replace everything with all of the gluten free replacements. Some, if not all, of them will be hard to handle at first, and they are somewhat of an acquired taste. I was very overwhelmed at first, but then once I got the hang of this new lifestyle, it has made a huge differrence in my life. Not only do I feel better, but I have more energy, and I have gotten rid of those ugly dark circles under my eyes. Things will get better for you, just give it time!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,258
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Tdodge
    Newest Member
    Tdodge
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • suek54
      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      By suek54 · Posted

      Wow KK, thank you so much for all your attached info. I had a very quick scan but will read more in depth later.  The one concerning corticosteroid use is very interesting. That would relate to secondary adrenal insufficiency I think , ie AI caused by steroids such as taken long term for eg asthma. I have primary autoimmune AI, my adrenals are atrophied, no chance if recovery there. But I am in touch with some secondaries, so something to bear in mind. .  Niacin B3 Very interesting too. Must have a good read about that.  Im sure lots of questions will arise as I progress with dermatitis herpetiformis. In the mean time, thanks for your help.
    • knitty kitty
      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @suek54, I have Dermatitis Herpetiformis, too.  I found taking Niacin B3 very helpful in clearing my skin from blisters as well as improving the itchies-without-rash (peripheral neuropathy).  Niacin has been used since the 1950's to improve dermatitis herpetiformis.   I try to balance my iodine intake (which will cause flairs) with Selenium which improves thyroid function.   Interesting Reading: Dermatitis herpetiformis effectively treated with heparin, tetracycline and nicotinamide https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10844495/   Experience with selenium used to recover adrenocortical function in patients taking glucocorticosteroids long https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24437222/   Two Cases of Dermatitis Herpetiformis Successfully Treated with Tetracycline and Niacinamide https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30390734/   Steroid-Resistant Rash With Neuropsychiatric Deterioration and Weight Loss: A Modern-Day Case of Pellagra https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12532421/#:~:text=Figure 2.,(right panel) upper limbs.&text=The distribution of the rash,patient's substantial response to treatment.   Nicotinic acid therapy of dermatitis herpetiformis (1950) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15412276/
    • suek54
      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      By suek54 · Posted

      Thank you all for your advice and the dermatitis herpetiformis article. The latter made me realise I had stopped taking my antihistamine, which I will restart today. The Dapsone has cleared the rash entirely but I still get quite a bit itching, absolutely nothing to see though. I know its notoriously hard to clear and its still relatively early days for me.  The iodine issue is very interesting. I do eat quite a bit of salt because I have Addison's disease and sodium retention is an issue. I also have autoimmune hypothyroidism, not sure how a low iodine diet would play into that? Because of my Addison's I am totally steroid dependent, I take steroids 4 x daily and cannot mount any defence against inflammation. I need to increase my meds for that. Now that I know what is wrong I can do just that if Im having a bad day. Life is very sweet, just so damn complicated sometimes! Hey ho, onwards. Thank you again for your advice.  
    • trents
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By trents · Posted

      So, essentially all of the nutrition in the food we eat is absorbed through the villous lining of the small bowel. This is the section of the intestinal track that is damaged by celiac disease. This villous lining is composed of billions of finger-like projections that create a huge amount of surface area for absorbing nutrients. For the celiac person, when gluten is consumed, it triggers an autoimmune reaction in this area which, of course, generates inflammation. The antibodies connected with this inflammation is what the celiac blood tests are designed to detect but this inflammation, over time, wears down the finger-like projections of the villous lining. Of course, when this proceeds for an extended period of time, greatly reduces the absorption efficiency of the villous lining and often results in many and various nutrient deficiency-related health issues. Classic examples would be osteoporosis and iron deficiency. But there are many more. Low D3 levels is a well-known celiac-caused nutritional deficiency. So is low B12. All the B vitamins in fact. Magnesium, zinc, etc.  Celiac disease can also cause liver inflammation. You mention elevated ALP levels. Elevated liver enzymes over a period of 13 years was what led to my celiac diagnosis. Within three months of going gluten free my liver enzymes normalized. I had elevated AST and ALT. The development of sensitivities to other food proteins is very common in the celiac population. Most common cross reactive foods are dairy and oats but eggs, soy and corn are also relatively common offenders. Lactose intolerance is also common in the celiac population because of damage to the SB lining.  Eggs when they are scrambled or fried give me a gut ache. But when I poach them, they do not. The steam and heat of poaching causes a hydrolysis process that alters the protein in the egg. They don't bother me in baked goods either so I assume the same process is at work. I bought a plastic poacher on Amazon to make poaching very easy. All this to say that many of the issues you describe could be caused by celiac disease. 
    • catnapt
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By catnapt · Posted

      thank you so much for your detailed and extremely helpful reply!! I can say with absolute certainty that the less gluten containing products I've eaten over the past several years, the better I've felt.   I wasn't avoiding gluten, I was avoiding refined grains (and most processed foods) as well as anything that made me feel bad when I ate it. It's the same reason I gave up dairy and eggs- they make me feel ill.  I do have a bit of a sugar addiction lol so a lot of times I wasn't sure if it was the refined grains that I was eating - or the sugar. So from time to time I might have a cookie or something but I've learned how to make wonderful cookies and golden brownies with BEANS!! and no refined sugar - I use date paste instead. Pizza made me so ill- but I thought it was probably the cheese. I gave up pizza and haven't missed it. the one time I tried a slice I felt so bad I knew I'd never touch it again. I stopped eating wheat pasta at least 3 yrs ago- just didn't feel well after eating it. I tried chick pea pasta and a few others and discovered I like the brown rice pasta. I still don't eat a lot of pasta but it's nice for a change when I want something easy. TBH over the years I've wondered sometimes if I might be gluten intolerant but really believed it was not possible for me to have celiac disease. NOW I need to know for sure- because I'm in the middle of a long process of trying to find out why I have a high parathyroid level (NOT the thyroid- but rather the 4 glands that control the calcium balance in your body) I have had a hard time getting my vit D level up, my serum calcium has run on the low side of normal for many years... and now I am losing calcium from my bones and excreting it in my urine (some sort of renal calcium leak) Also have a high ALP since 2014. And now rapidly worsening bone density.  I still do not have a firm diagnosis. Could be secondary HPT (but secondary to what? we need to know) It could be early primary HPT. I am spilling calcium in my urine but is that caused by the high parathyroid hormone or is it the reason my PTH is high>? there are multiple feedback loops for this condition.    so I will keep eating the bread and some wheat germ that does not seem to bother me too much (it hasn't got enough gluten to use just wheat germ)    but I'm curious- if you don't have a strong reaction to a product- like me and wheat germ- does that mean it's ok to eat or is it still causing harm even if you don't have any obvious symptoms? I guess what you are saying about silent celiac makes it likely that you can have no symptoms and still have the harm... but geez! you'd think they'd come up with a way to test for this that didn't require you to consume something that makes you sick! I worry about the complications I've been reading about- different kinds of cancers etc. also wondering- are there degrees of celiac disease?  is there any correlation between symptoms and the amnt of damage to your intestines? I also need a firm diagnosis because I have an identical twin sister ... so if I have celiac, she has it too- or at least the genetic make up for having it. I did have a VERY major stress to my body in 2014-2016 time frame .. lost 50lbs in a short period of time and had severe symptoms from acute protracted withdrawal off an SSRI drug (that I'd been given an unethically high dose of, by a dr who has since lost his license)  Going off the drug was a good thing and in many ways my health improved dramatically- just losing 50lbs was helpful but I also went  off almost a dozen different medications, totally changed my diet and have been doing pretty well except for the past 3-4 yrs when the symptoms related to the parathyroid issue cropped up. It is likely that I had low vit D for some time and that caused me a lot of symptoms. The endo now tells me that low vit D can be caused by celiac disease so I need to know for sure! thank you for all that great and useful information!!! 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.