 Hi, beautiful. Today, we're talking about some really fun stuff, which is all kinds of scalp issues. Sculpt care has been very trendy right now. Every hair care brand is coming out with scalp stuff and things to hydrate your scalp, things to exfoliate your scalp, and everything in between. If you have any scalp issues, today is your day. We're going through them all. We're breaking them down, and by a we, I mean Dr. Mike and I. I don't wanna give you guys medical advice on something I don't know about. So, I invited Dr. Mike over to better explain these things and just uncover some truths and some lies about each topic. We're gonna go over some naturopathic things. What am I saying? Naturopathic treatments, guys. That's what it is. And some things you can buy in the store to help treat your scalp issues. I'm gonna grab Dr. Mike. Let's do it. I'm gonna watch. Hey, beautiful. I mean, Dr. Mike, welcome to the channel. Today, we'll be talking about dandruff, dry scalp, and psoriasis. You're gonna help the common peoples understand these three things, and we're gonna decipher what is the differences between them all, and how do you treat them? Yeah, there's so much overlap. There's so much confusion. I'm suffering with some dry scalp, dandruff myself, so we are the common people. All right, let's do it. We're gonna start with going over the differences between dry scalp, dandruff, and psoriasis. What's interesting of all three of them, the symptoms are quite similar. We're gonna see flaking, although they're gonna be different sized flakes for different conditions. Itchiness, redness of the scalp. So it's really important to distinguish which one of these three conditions it is, because the treatments are somewhat different. When it comes to dry scalp, we're simply talking about dryness of that skin layer. That's it, there's nothing else going on. When we're talking about dandruff, we're actually talking about a medical condition called suboriatic dermatitis. That's a big name. I know. Suboriatic dermatitis. That's good. Look at that. I'm about to give an honorary doctor degree right now. We only have theories as to why dandruff happens. Either too much oil production by your scalp, because there are hair follicles and there's oil glands that naturally occur there, but if you have too much, it can become a problem. There's a lot of turnover, so you're flaking. Another thing that can happen, there's actually fungi that live on our scalps and our skin. That's normal. Not the fungi. The fungi happen to be there. I'm a fungi, but I've used that to do that. I'm a fungi, I don't really know. And these fungi, the specific one is Malazazia furfur. And these fungi actually live naturally and it's fine, but when we have an overgrowth of them, they actually release this compound, this acid, that creates irritation of the scalp. And what's interesting, it actually ties into that oil thing that we talked about earlier, because if you have a lot of oil, that fungi actually eat that oil and that's why they create that product. So perhaps both are true. And then the final one, as you said, is psoriasis. That's an autoimmune condition where your own body is actually creating inflammation and you get plaques. You get the same flaking, both a lot of redness. And the thing to keep in mind with psoriasis is it's not limited to the scalp. If it's happening, it potentially can be happening in other areas of your body. And internally as well. It's possible that this high inflammatory state can be going on in your blood vessels, in your joints. You have to monitor it, basically. And you have to have a doctor on board for that. I brought some goodies. First we have an oldie, but I guess a goodie. Head and shoulders, clinically proven to help restore scalp's natural moisture, infused with almond oil. Pyrethion zinc? That was good. It has two functions. One, it has some antifungal activity for that Malazazia, that yeast. But it also helps with the decreasing of flaking. It makes sense why this specific product has been so successful over the years. And this one you could use more often than with some of the other treatments that when we talk about dandruff or psoriasis, you don't wanna be using them too often, too many times a week. Whereas this you could use as your sort of daily or every other day shampoo. This would be like really targeted towards dandruff. It also help with some dry scalp as well, especially like this one has an oil in it. I think when you're using any kind of these natural oils, whether it's almond oil, coconut oil, tea tree oil, it's really important to know that it works well for dry scalp and some cases of dandruff. You have dandruff caused by too much oil production and then you're putting more oil that can make the problem worse. So my recommendation to my patients is if they have moderate to severe dandruff is to not use any kind of oil. Get it checked out first. Just because your scalp looks dry doesn't mean you have a lack of oil on your scalp. It's so counterintuitive, right? Like how the body works. Oh! We have salsin blue. Selenium sulfide, 1%. Helps prevent and eliminate itchy scalp and visible flakes. Works well for dandruff specifically because you have anti-fungal activity, antibacterial activity, as well as that decreasing of skin turnover. For a salsin blue product, if we read the instructions, I'm almost positive that it'll say to not use it daily. For best results, use at least twice a week or as directed by a doctor. So twice a week. You're the doctor. That one can be a little bit more harsh and if you overuse these products, you could actually create another problem. So like you don't want to be overusing these specific ones. Ooh, the fancy one. Is it fancy? They did fancy. Because wait until I tell you the ingredient, you're going to be like, there's no way that's the ingredient. It controls redness, intense itching, and flaking of severe scalp conditions. Dandruff psoriasis, cyboric dermatitis, which cyboric dermatitis is very similar to dandruff, if not the same thing. Ready for the main ingredient? Yes. Coal tar. And what is that? Right, you would think like coal tar. Do I want that on my scalp? Is it actual coal? It's actual coal tar. Mixed with tar? Well, I don't know like how they mix it chemically speaking. But this is a product that I wouldn't use for just simple dry scalp. This is something that I would use for psoriasis or cyboric dermatitis. Also, you don't want to use this daily. But again, similar mechanism of action, some antifungal activity, some cytostatic activity, which means again, decreased cell turnover. You like using fancy terms because it makes this feel special. Yeah, and you went to medical school, so you have to use fancy terms. I used, like I learned that I spent time learning, I'm like, I'm just gonna fix. I find it interesting that all the ones we just went over have different active ingredients. I didn't know there was different levels to it. Well, just like when you go look for a pain reliever, let's say an overly counter pain reliever, you have so many options. You have ibuprofen, naproxen, they're different. But in reality, they all accomplish the same goal. So this is doing the same thing. Some of them are better for other purposes, like the head and shoulders is the daily one, to sell some blues, the one you have to use twice a week for dandruff. This is really like the go-to for psoriasis treatment. Does a good job for mild psoriasis cases. Because unfortunately, we have no cure for psoriasis or dandruff. We only have treatments, so symptom control. I have no idea what this is. Everclean, this is salicylic acid. It says anti-dandruff shampoo for relief of itching and scalp flaking associated with dandruff, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis. And the main ingredient is salicylic acid, like I just said, 1.8%. I've battled with acne when I was growing up and I would use some of those, you know, the pads that you could use. I forgot they were called. Yes. One of their main ingredients was salicylic acid as well. Because it basically breaks down that superficial layer of skin. The medical term is keratolidic. Keratolidic is the skin layer. Lidic means it's breaking through. When you have psoriasis and you have a buildup of this dead skin cells, this can help break through it. In fact, when dermatologists like make their own products and they compound different formulas, they put this plus some of the other ingredients in the other ones. Salicylic acid is actually found in a bark of a tree and some leaves. So technically, I mean, I don't know how they made this specific product, but if you're extracting it, you can get salicylic acid naturally. I love a good natural treatment. A lot of folks will look at a label and sometimes get worried because there's long names. And a lot of those are like perfectly safe and we should not be scared of all chemicals because chemical carries like a bad connotation or like even toxin. They're like, people are like, oh, it's a toxin. If we're being honest, like water can be a toxin. Right. So it's the dose that makes the toxin. And you're moving on to naturopathic treatments. Really important for everyone at home to know, natural does not always equate to safe. First up, we have tea tree oil. Tea tree oil. Tea tree oil has a common treatment. Tea tree oil has really good evidence for it, like decent evidence for mild damage. Really? Yeah. Wow. It is antifungal. I always thought it was like an irritant though. Salicylic acid is an irritant, but it also helps shed off that layer of skin that's unhealthy. So it helps remove some of that flakes, allows the healthy scalp to come up. So tea tree oil has some of the same benefits. And it's the one that actually has some clinical research behind it. It also helps with itchiness. Because the last thing you wanna do when you have any of these conditions is scratch. Because you could actually do more damage and then it takes longer for it to heal. And tea tree oil can help relieve some of that itchiness. Up next, we have something that I talk about a lot on my channel, which is coconut oil. I hate coconut oil. People put coconut oil to everything. And people that love it refuse to believe that it's not good for you. What do you think about it? Yeah, so coconut oil is a great moisturizer. Out of the three conditions we have, coconut oil can potentially work and it can help moisturize. However, for the dandruff where we said too much oil production, you throw coconut oil in there, now you could be making your condition worse. It really depends on what's going on and what your diagnosis is. In general, have the claims surrounding coconut oil been overblown? Yeah, I would say so. I also heard that it kind of puts a film on your skin and doesn't allow more moisture to come in. Is that true? For some people, yes. It really depends on the natural state of your skin. If your skin senses that it's already well hydrated, it could potentially shut down some of its moisture-producing properties. If you try and overdo something, your body will just decrease the amount that it produces. So you can't really trick your body into overperforming. Moving on to aloe vera, one of my favorites. Not only for scalp health, I also love it for sunburns. That, along with tea tree oil, probably has the best evidence behind working for dandruff because it is moisturizing. It is having antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory properties. It's a good choice for a lot of people, so this is like where natural product shines. Apple cider vinegar. This is my arch nemesis. Oh no! This is my arch nemesis because my patients think that apple cider vinegar treats every... It's not a miracle, like, I want it to be, but like, I didn't go to medical school for 10 years and just prescribe apple cider vinegar. It's everybody. Like, I wish it was that simple. There's very little proof. In fact, a lot of people like to toad apple cider vinegar as being anti-inflammatory. There's no evidence for that. It's unbelievable that people can just... It's marshy. It's marketing. And it becomes a big thing. Well look, like I say sometimes complicated words like cytostatic, right? If you start throwing in those words along with apple cider vinegar, people are gonna be like, I don't really understand it, but this person sounds smart. They're using complex language and people unfortunately get tricked by these marketers. That's actually why I even wanted to start my YouTube channel. It was because I wanted to educate people so that they don't get tricked into false theories like this. And it doesn't mean apple cider vinegar is evil or bad. It just means that the claims that come with it that people say that it cures all these things. It's just not realistic. Okay, so I wrote down a treatment plan that I thought of before you came today. That I would do if I had one of these issues. The first thing would be a healthy diet. Everything starts with a healthy diet. And a healthy diet means something different for everybody. There's no one magical solution that works well for everyone. I wrote down veganism in particular. Are you vegan? Yes. I don't know how much it's helped because I've done a lot of other things also. Before you were... Vegan, what kind of diet were you feeling? It was a lot of alcohol, a lot of partying, which also I'm sure contributed to the skin issues. Then I would go home and eat a bag of chips and chocolate and ice cream and chicken. So it was just a lot of shit. That would not contribute to a healthy scalp. No scalp. What you switch from is just as important as what you switch to. Let's say you were eating a healthy, plant-based diet, like a Mediterranean-style diet where you had some chicken or some fish and then you switched to veganism. Would you have seen all those positive effects? That's true. But switching from the lifestyle you were going there, because veganism really is a lifestyle. It's not just the types of foods you eat. So the fact that you changed up your lifestyle completely, that makes veganism really powerful. And for some people, that works really well and I never force it upon patients because it's very specific lifestyle. In general, trying to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables plants in your diet is really important because we're under-eating those. From a fiber standpoint, from a vitamin standpoint, that will all help the scalp. You feel better in general. Whether or not you have to eliminate certain foods, that's really individual. So my next thing is easy. I think drink water. I think that's compatible with life. No, because if you're truly dehydrated, that alone can cause dry scalp. Your body will literally take the hydration from areas that are not vital to your life. Your circulation is very vital. If you don't have enough blood flow and blood is made up of a lot of water, you will lose your blood pressure. You will not get vital circulation to your brain, your kidneys, your liver. Emma never drinks water. Emma, you gotta drink water. I literally do not drink water. Because your body's made up of pretty much water and you need it for your scalp and your health. You wonder why your scalp is dry sometimes, Emma? It's looking pretty good lately. What have you been doing? Water. It was just really dry that one time. It really was, like my scalp said, never dry. Well, you know what? Another thing that causes dry scalp sometimes, and this may or may not be what happened to you, is something known as contact dermatitis, where you use a product, a cream, you wore a hat or something that had a reaction to your skin, just like how it would happen on your regular skin, but it happens on your scalp and it can cause that flaking dryness. But as soon as you remove that product, it goes away. That's why I think one of your recommendations that I've heard you say in the past is to not use scented products. And scented products can cause that contact dermatitis. You hear that, guys? Then I have unscented shampoo that is well-balanced and does not provide too much moisture, but just enough because too much moisture can throw off the balance of your skin is what I wrote before he came here today, okay? And we talked about that, right? Because if you over-supplement your body, your body will be like, we're good, so we won't do our own thing. Yeah, completely. Wow, I'm impressed with myself. I said to use a board bristle brush to distribute oils and exfoliate scalp. Is that gonna be too harsh or is that okay? So you just need to be gentle when you do do it because some exfoliation is okay and in fact when you brush your scalp, you're actually increasing circulation to there, you're removing the dead skin cells, but if you do it too much or too rough, you can actually cause damage or make the problem worse. But the board bristle brush is good for distributing those oils because imagine if you have excess oil on the scalp and you distribute it evenly throughout your hair, now you're getting nice looking hair and you're removing it off your scalp so that fungi can't get to it. Do not pick at your scalp, which is pretty self-explanatory. Self-explanatory, but people do it a lot. And you can't blame them, like they feel something there or they wanna get it off, but the more you pick, the more it's gonna get worse. It's really like, it's almost like chicken pox. The more you scratch, the more it grows. Lastly, have patience. Healing takes time. Did you put that in because I treat patients? Yes. Okay, that's what I was gonna say. Yeah, absolutely. Healing takes time. Like even over-the-counter treatments, they take weeks to work. So people think like, I used this product and it didn't go away. It will never go away off a single time. So like dry scalp is probably the one that will go away quickest if it was caused by a product that you got rid of and now it's healing. Or if you just needed some moisturizing and you've solved that problem, it can go away as well. But dandruff, psoriasis, those are the ones that are gonna take some time to treat. So yeah, absolutely be patient. I love that. So like even if your diet change or your water intake doesn't affect your scalp the next day, it could happen months down the line. What do you think about that treatment plan of mine? I think it's amazing. I think you're focusing on the right things, the things that are within your control. A lot of times when we're sick, whether it's with your scalp or anything in our bodies, we lose control. So taking back control and using the things that we have at our everyday disposal is awesome. Would you add anything? If it's moderate to severe, get a doctor's opinion on what you should go with. That's just cause... We have to say that. Well no, I don't want a patient going through a month's worth of treatment when they have truly severe psoriasis. And also with psoriasis, you want to make sure their health in general as well. So unless it's mild to moderate that you can safely usually do at home, but anything to moderate to severe, you want to start getting an expert's opinion on. What grade would you give that? Oh, A. That's perfect. Yeah, that's about that. Do I pass medical school? Yeah, absolutely. Naturopathic medical school. Oh, okay, perfect. So Dr. Mike, thank you so much for coming on here and helping people that are suffering from dry scalp psoriasis and dandruff. Yeah, the most common one. They're not life-threatening. They're not pleasant and they're annoying, but they're dealable and you can have some options at your disposal because look at that list Brad just gave you. And if you guys want to subscribe to Dr. Mike, of course, it's right down below. He's very entertaining and he talks about a lot of issues on his channel, medical issues, even reacts to doctor things on TV. On Dr. Mike's channel, also I'll be reacting to his hair care routine and pictures of things he's done with his hair. So... I'm sorry, I'm apologizing and his eyes. I will be roasting him. So check that out and it's also linked below. Well, there you have it you guys. Those are all the ways to treat your scalp issues. Well, not all of them, but some major things that a lot of people do that I wanted to highlight. Hopefully that helps you out deciphering which treatment would be best for you and which maybe won't work at all. If you do have any scalp issues that are lasting and they will not go away, like Dr. Mike said, please see a physician and get that checked out. Make sure you guys subscribe right down below if you're not already. Click the bell icon and the like to stay notified when I post videos. And just to be nice, checking a like button is always cool, you know? This is my phone number. You guys can text. And yes, I really do get all your messages. And yes, I do respond to a few of you guys every day. So text away. Here are all my social media handles. Make sure you guys follow me everywhere else. Here they all are. Check it out. Check out xmodohair at xmodohair.com. We just released four brand new products. They're shampoo and conditioners and they are stunning and thank you guys for purchasing. It's been incredible. I really appreciate it. Link below. Also, you can check us out at xmodohair on Instagram to learn more. Today's Instagram shout out goes to Alexia. She says, hey, I have a question. I have light brown hair and for about two years I've had a blonde and faded tips and I'm honestly so bored of it. I came to ask you some tips about how I should dye it or how I should cut it. But I need something that is appropriate for school because I have a strict school. I think that you should keep the color or just brighten it up. Just the tad bit was some Balayush highlights but cut it short. I think that'll be the change you're looking for and I think it'll be very school appropriate. So try it out. That's all for today guys. Thank you so much for watching. Don't forget to live your extra life and I'll see you next time. Bye guys.