Scalp Condition - Grainy Sand/Sugar

[Meme052]

I found this website through a google for "sand on scalp", and I found a journal entry from someone here at http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/12858/scalp-condition that I wanted to draw attention to on this forum.  Everyone on that journal suffers form the same issue I do.

For the past two years, I have what feel and appear to be like grains of sand on my scalp.  They seem to be "attached" to the base of the hair shafts, but when I massage my scalp gently with my fingertips, they come off.  My scalp has 100s of them.  If I scratch my head, the itching sensation is INTENSE, and I try never to scratch my scalp.  If I do give in, and scrape a few dozen of them off, I can get them out form under my fingernails (gross, I know), and they look like grains of sugar or sand.  They are hard like grains of sand.  You can not "squish" them.  

They are not lice...my husband is an RN, and he has looked at my scalp many times, and we are certain of this.  The dermatologists I have seen also tell me they are not lice, but seem to be unconcerned, and give me no suggestions of how to stop them or the itching, except to use dandruff shampoo - which does absolutely nothing.

You can see more details of exactly what all of us (over 70 posts at that link) are going through - very similar to exact same stories.  They are not flake-like at all.  Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks in advance.  We are all looking for answers to this mystery, and would love to hear some new ideas.  So far, suggestions have been Morgellons disease, White piedra, Demodex folliculorum, and the one I lean towards: seborrheic dermatitis.  However, not being FLAKES seems to rule the last one out!?  Help?

[Meme052]

ps. I hope I was not breaking the URL rule of posting since I did not post to another website, but rather another area of MedHelp.  This is my first post.

[Meme052]

In the original journal post I referenced at the top of this thread there is a post someone made about a balding treatment, and at their website I found this info:

"Q:   A lot of hard granules come out when I do treatment. They are like small grains of sand. Is this normal?
A:   The hard, sand like granules are DHT crystals. With many balding persons there are waxy granules and hard granules under the scalp. The hard granules vary in size and colour. They can be as large as 1mm wide (see image, click to enlarge) and vary in colour from clear to brown to black. Many balding persons have literally thousands of these hard granules under the scalp! The hard granules in the image were collected from one client in just two treatment sessions"

Great!  Now I am AFRAID I AM GOING BALD!!!  Has anyone heard of these?  A search for DHT crystals on MedHelp came up blank.

[Meme052]

ps. google shoows up NOTHING for DHT crystals on scalp so I am extremely suspicious of said Thailand treatment.

Sign me,
feeling better but still seeking answers

[Redfern]

the first link is talking about bile salts for a gall bladder issue.  something about the body not processing fats like it ought to and affecting your skin as a result.

[glimmerofhope617]

Everyone who suffers from itchy scalp, constant rummaging around on it with your fingernails searching for sandy grains to pluck them out, and losing a lot of hair in the shower, and during brushing, and combing, should use Johnson's BABY SHAMPOO. After one use, its like brand new scalp. Also, when conditioning, limit that to twice a week. I did not condition my scalp, just the ends of my hair, when using baby shampoo.
I have been to the doctors twice and they wanted to tell me I was allergic to something from suffering for 2 years from this condition.

[pickles94]

Well at least I finally see I am not the only person with this.  MY doctor told me to buy head and shoulders and put it on my head with my hair dry and let it soak in and then finally wash and rinse!  Don't ever do that!  I had one heck of a time getting the shampoo out.  But I did find a shampoo that is for Psoriasis even though this isn't that disease I thought I'd give it a whirl and it really helps !!!  I am out of it right now and I forget the name of it but you can get it in Kmart or Walmart.  They now have it with conditioner in it but I don't like that one. It is a little expensive but well worth it.  Good luck!!

[jen1979aka]

I used equal parts vinegar and water on my hair applying it with a squeeze bottle and let it sit in for 20 mins. I have long hair and strategically applied the liquid as evenly as i could everywhere. Seems like the build up on my scalp almost melted with the acidic mixture because at one point it almost felt like I had conditioner in my hair, it was so slick. The first time I did it, I found immediate results. The 2nd time I did it, my scalp dried out too much and became tight and itchy starting the cycle all over again. I'm not going to give up as the vinegar is the only treatment I found with quick results, plus it's vinegar. Does get any cheaper or available. Anyways, this is still a work in progress but wanted to share my experience this far for anyone wanted to try it out.
I have been sooo tempted to shave my head completely and slough off my scalp with a black towel just to get a visual on what's going on under my hair but my husband would most likely object. :)

[Binzer777]

I have a Sodium Laural Sulfate allergy. It's in most liquid soaps, or a derivative of sls..what everyone in this thread is saying sounds like how I was for almost 20 years, especially if they also thought they had psoriasis, or eczema. Nothing ever worked from the doctors, until I figured it out by accident when reading for college chemistry.. SLS was originally used to decrease garage floors. Now it's everywhere.. Reading labels is totally worth not wanting to peel your skin off with a potatoe peeler...give it a try and see if it works.. usually takes 3 or 4 weeks for it to completely vanish all my bumps and flakes..

[jessi7206]

I too have been suffering from this. It all started back in 2008/9  it first started happening or I notiticed it more when I used a really cheap shampoo. I tried biologe shampoos for dandrif but it did nothing. So I just dealt with it. It did get better after a will. It then came back. Usually comes at times of stress. I just read a comment above about it having something to do with gallbladder.  Last year I went to the hospital for a cold and they ended up finding that I had gal stones but nothing to worry the doctor said they were small. But NW I am wondering if. This has anything to do with it. I am somewhat over weight from having kids and have not been able to lose this weight. When this did start it was also the point in my life I was the heaviest. I have not been to the doctor about this. I did one time put baby oil in my hair and then washed it out with baby shampoo..this did help alitle but then it can back. Not sure what to do! Hope we all can resolve this!

[charlie2455]

It's something to do with mixing acids and bases. Shampoo is acidic, conditioner is basic and is supposed to neutralize it but your scalp is naturally acidic ( pH of 5) the granular build up is the by product of the neutralizing. Salt maybe? That's why you are only supposed to put conditioner on your ends. Try washing your hair in diluted apple cider vinegar to restore the pH and remove the buildup. Skip the conditioner entirely for a bit and it will clear up.

[guest624]

I'm not sure if its the same thing, but while searching the internet for what is going on with my scalp (same problem as everyone else here) I read about DHT.  I drink a daily protein drink so I was thinking maybe the "sand" was excess protein or some other vitamin, this is what I read "some non-organic shakes have ingredients like creatine, which increases muscle mass. Ingredients that increase muscle mass, like these, also raise testosterone levels. When there is high testosterone, there can be high levels of DHT which can contribute to hair loss".

[sumd123]

any one have oral anti fungal treatment 6 or more than one year.most of fungas inflation must have treat number of several month.treat regulary

[eduga]

I have this same problem, but i was able to "squish" the granules between 2 glass slides. I work in a diagnostic lab. When I looked at the "squished" granules under the microscope, it was nothing more than a large ball of squamous cell epithelials (normal skin cells).

[sumd123]

hi freind/
this is solution.
my sand like practce totaly gone away. i used keto plus shampoo.beclomin lotion.and one srilankan shampoo/bath every day.but hair is falling yet.my skin is dryness.this is some dandreff/dwndreff can flareup any day.so you use this regulary/ my e mail ***@****

[Dizzy110]

I couldn`t wait to get back to others w/this horrible itchy problem.  I couldn`t remember exactly what I had read, searching all over the internet about this. But, I was grocery shopping and remembered VINEGAR. Wasn`t sure but bought Apple Cider Vinegar. Was too anxious to look process up so washed my hair - shampooed twice - rinsed again,  then poued the vinegarr full strength from the bottle  over my head (duh, some got in eyes, had to grab a towel and splash water on my eyes). As I have aged, gray,dyed, tangled hair, I did put conditioner half-way to ends. Wrapped w/towel and let it do it`s job, then rinsed. SO GLAD TO BE ABLE TO TELL YOU - IT FREAKIN` WORKED!!!! I know I will have to do this for awhile to make sure but what a feeling to not SCRATCH!!! and itch out those horrifying white balls!  Since, I have read `Floris`s` article in `AMAZINGLY .com` magazine. I HIGHLY recommend it. It`s a fungus. He has done GREAT research and this article will set ya on a great, and more correct I imagine, regimen.  I am so HAPPY already.  Good Luck to all of you! I sure hope it works for you!

[SahibsMummy13718]

I has this condition only in one patch of my head and i started loosing hair in this section too my doctor (in india ) prescribed me Betnovate Scalp application and it worked like magic.

[Colleen131]

Where do I get that

[debbieboo75]

I WOULD love to see how its going my scalp and hair is just like that i have tried everything i hope you get back to me about how long to leave vinegar on and etc i hope it is still working my scalp is driving me crazy 3 yrs
                                                      thank you debbie

[lolstar]

Hi, I think I know what it is, and it's one of two things - as I get it, but it's not massively itchy...

It's either salt crystals that come out of my follicles (usually only after I use a shampoo with SLS - if you try a sulfate free shampoo you'll notice those crystals disappear!)

Or it's KERATINOSIS - which I also suffer from. If you read up on KP, you can see if affects people that suffer from Exczema, and very common. So those little grains are probably little plugs of keratin that come out from your hair follicle.

[Binzer777]

This!!! Also when I stopped all liquid soaps with SLS or one of it's many derivatives.I no longer have that weird mix of eczema and psoriasis, after 20 years of different Drs creams. Now I only use certain ones like Bronners, or dessert essence. SLS was originally used to decrease garage floors, now it's everywhere. I figured this out in college chemistry by accident, something just clicked when I was reading about it.. also watch out for it in cleaning products and every once in awhile in conditioners and lotions,and hand sanitizers... hope this brings anyone the relief I felt when figuring this out.

[blue1987]

GREAT NEWS!!! I THINK I I FIXED IT!!! have had this condition for several months now...where when you run your hands through your hair predominately at the base you get little whittish/clear grainy pieces in your finger nails.... In my case I would even feel some on my pillow case when I woke up in the morning. Kind of like if you've ever played softball, and put on a batting helmet that had been kicked around in the dirt a bit, and then after the game you felt "grit" in your hair...That is similar to what it felt like, only accompanied by an annoying dull itch. Also it seemed like my hair would get oily faster than it then it had previously. Well, I read somewhere that if you are experiencing ANY sort of scalp condition try using Johnsons's baby shampoo. So I figured "what's the worse that could happen? I would be wasting 5 bucks?" I made a trip to Walmart, picked up the shampoo while I was there I found a brand called " Clear Scalp & Hair Beauty Therapy" ( It's in a purple bottle) on the back it claimed " clinically proven to restore scalp's natural moisture balence" I though "what the heck...I really need some sort of conditioner...because my hair is too processed to go without conditioner" so I bought a bottle of that to. (PS it comes in many different options depending on your hair type...I chose "damage & color repair" because I bleach my hair often) I used  the Johnson's Baby Shampoo first, then followed that with the conditioner I bought ( it says on the back "to massage into scalp as well as hair") and the results where almost immediate! Normally, the grains come back within a few hours of washing my hair, this time they didn't, the itching was completely gone! The next morning, I checked my pillow case and hair...no grains! My scalp still had a slight itch...but no where near as intense as it had been, and that's just after one use! Also, my hair is back to not feeling oily, it feels clean and healthy once more. I'm completely confident that if keep up this routine, my symptom's will clear up entirely. I really really recommend trying this! It's an expensive no hassle approach, and it cost me a total of $10.17 at Wal-Mart. I hope this helps! And that you get the same relief that I did!

[Chrislopzz]

Hey I have a question: Do you think you fixed the problem with Johnson's baby shampoo or with Clear Scalp and Hair Beauty Therapy? Which product of the two that you mentioned do you think does the magic? Or do you think both are equally important?

[MookieB]

It's Demodex mites. They are terrible to get rid of. Tea tree and neem oil work the best. There are lotions and oral medications for scabies that work on them as well. They feed on sebum and hair follicles, depending on which type of mite. There are 2 that live on humans. That's why your hair falls out. The little grains are balls of skin the mites have bitten and pushed out of the way to bury in your skin. They come out to mate, usually at night, but anytime there is a lack of UV light they will come out. That's why you itch more at night. You need to change pillow cases and towels daily. Don't rewear clothes either. Use borax in your laundry. Good luck.

[meadowfox]

I have this problem too and I have found that washing my hair with baking soda works best. Shampoo dries the scalp out too much and then the scalp and hair get oily more quickly because they are racing to replace all the oils the shampoo stripped out. The baking soda doesn't strip oils; It only removes the excess. Combine baking soda with water in a small bowl. It doesn't take very much at all and the baking soda will only absorb a certain amount of water so you can't get it wrong. The excess water will "float" above the baking soda paste at the bottom. Massage the paste into your scalp like you would shampoo and rinse. It feels different from shampoo and your hair won't feel clean until it dries but don't give up halfway through and resort to 'poo. After washing with baking soda it is recommended to rinse with a solution of half apple cider vinegar half water. This is by far the best way to wash hair for any hair type, problems or no problems. It is cheap (large box of baking soda for fifty cents), healthy (no strange shampoo chemicals), and environmentally friendly (no strange shampoo chemicals and no plastic bottles). Baking soda also makes a great, gentle "body wash." Give it a try, you will love it. If not it only cost you 50 cents anyway. Best of luck.

[FurryCarlos]

Hello,
I know this thread is quite old, but have you yet to come up with a Dx? I also have this, but it isn't on my scalp. It happens around my eyes. Occasionally, I will wipe my brow and feel this grainy substance. When I see it in the mirror, it looks like a little round spot of sand on my eye. Years ago I came across a site that claimed it was from a yeast overgrowth. I decreased my sugar intake and did a yeast cleanse and it seemed to work but now it is back. Has anyone else ever heard this?

[onrdagin]

Def Dermodex mites, search neem oil on amazon and read the reviews.  especially one by Dale King Jan 9, 2017, he spells it out how he defected them buggers. I'm following his plan now and it is working.

[simonbirch]

I've had this for a year or two now and my hair is definitely thinning because of it. I was told by one doctor that it's demodex mites, but he sounded like a kook, so I don't know that I should believe him. I think the grains are just old hair follicles that harder and so I almost think it could be folliculitus.

The only thing I've noticed that helps the grains is tea tree oil, however it doesn't stop the hair fall unfortunately. It definitely helps stop the itching though. I just recently stopped using it to try other things and the itching is back like crazy.

[beachhead]

I have this, its been 5 months and have lost a lot of hair.  I have been removing them w my fingernails, no matter how many I take off there are just as many waiting to take their place.  Does anyone know if the hair will ever grow back when the scalp is thru shedding these grains?

[surfstuff]

Yes, VINEGAR for half an hour, then OLIVE OIL has worked well for me with both ITCHY and NON-ITCHY GRANULES at the roots of my hair ...(i thought i had a permanent beach on my head from too much surfing or swimming in water where the sand has been churned up (from the overfishing of bivalves), and  GPs have never shown concern).