dandruff

[ThundersCry]

hehehe, my one pregnancy nemesis. Happened last time too. When I am pregnant I get THE worst dandruff- mostly in the front. It almost looks like a peeling sunburn, you can see the flakes lifting off of my scalp.
Sorry if TMI, I just want to know if I can do anything this time around. shampoos don't help.

[Quaniliaz]

you know, my sister just pointed this out to me a few days ago. Hmmm....actually I haven't looked for myself yet. Be right back....

Ok, I'm back - it looks like my scalp is slightly dry - not too bad. It may have improved over the past few days.

So - I think that dry flakiness in the front is really more "dry skin" than "dandruff". That's why dandruff shampoos probably don't work. I'd look at it from a nutritional standpoint.

First would be to make sure you are drinking lots and lots of water. Do you think you are getting enough? I probably am not..

Second would be to get enough Vitamin A in your diet - which "strengthens and protects the skin tissue" (max of 10,000 IU daily, while pregnant) (Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Balch)

Food sources of vitamin A include:

Vitamin A can be obtained from animal livers, fish liver oils, and green and yellow fruits and vegetables. Foods that contain significant amounts include apricots, asparagus, beet greens, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, collards, dandelion greens, dulse, fish liver and fish liver oil, garlic, kale, mustard greens, papaya, peaches, pumpkin, red peppers, spinach, spirulina, sweet potatos, swiss chard.... It is also present in the following herbs: alfalfa...nettle...oat straw...raspberry leaf

More foods - Think leafy dark green veggies and bright fruits. And many more herbs - I only listed the ones that I am taking right now.

I've been drinking an infusion (brewed the Wise Woman way- which means an ounce of herbs in a quart jar, pour boiling water over the top, and let sit at room temp over night - sip through out the next day) of nettle, oatstraw, raspberry leaf, and alfalfa for the past few days. The ratio I've been using is 4:3:2:1. And I toss in a bag of strawberry zinger to make it taste a little fruity. I'll bump up the raspberry once I get to 2nd trimester, then again for 3rd trimester. There is a gigantic thread on this topic here.

Good luck, mama!

[ThundersCry]

thanks for your reply! I definitely don't drink enough water. it tapered downward since DD's first birthday. I am trying to stay away from drinking out of plastic, but that seems to be the only way I can remember anymore. I used to line up the plastic bottles.
I will read the rest in more detail when my eyes aren't crossed, lol!

[Quaniliaz]

You're welcome! It was a good refresher for me, since I tend to get itchy skin esp when preg/bf. (Although that could be something else...)

Maybe you could like up glass jars/bottles with your water - I just use quart jars most of the time....