How to Use Dandruff/ Fungal Acne treatments effectively ("Double Cleanse Method")

A lot of people seem to have trouble with dandruff and fungal acne that don't improve significantly even with treatment, and I find (like with a lot of skin-related issues) TECHNIQUE counts for a lot more than we realize. So, this is the method that showed results for me, regardless of whether I used Head & Shoulders or Ketoconazole shampoo or whatever. It's the TECHNIQUE 😤

Simply washing your scalp or face once with the shampoo will show almost zero improvement in most cases. A "double cleanse" is NECESSARY, because the fungus creates a coating, or "biofilm", to protect itself and stay on the skin. We have to chemically dissolve that biofilm first, for the active ingredient to actually penetrate and treat the infected skin 🧐

The "method" is simple, and I call it a double cleanse, because it's the same principle as a double cleanse for your face. The first wash is to remove dirt, oils, buildup, sweat, etc. The first step is cleaning. The second wash is to LEAVE ON, so the skin is saturated with the active antifungal ingredient. This is the actual treatment.

• FIRST STEP - CLEANING - Wash your scalp thoroughly. You can use ANYTHING for this. Any shampoo will do. Even soap works, arguably better, because the alkalinity really breaks up the biofilm of the fungus. I used a tiny bit of soap for my fungal acne initially, just to make sure my skin was "stripped".

This is sort if like when dermatologists "degrease" your face with alcohol or acetone before a chemical peel. It removes any oils that can block the treatment, and dehydrates the skin slightly, so it absorbs it even deeper.

• SECOND STEP - TREATMENT - Take a one rupee coin-sized amount of your dandruff shampoo and lather it up. Spread it on your scalp (or face) thoroughly. If you have longer hair, you may have to section it a bit to access your scalp properly. Remember, you're only treating your SCALP, not your hair.

Once it's applied all over, wet your fingers if you need to, or put a little water on your scalp, and MASSAGE thoroughly. You have to keep the skin WET. If it dries out, it's not penetrating properly. Once the lather is massaged in well, leave it on for however long the bottle suggests. Wash it off with cold water for best results. This way the treatment, which penetrates the top layer of the skin, STAYS on the skin. Hot water would wash it out somewhat. And heat in general really encourages the fungus, so avoid hot showers, if possible. Keep it coool! 😌❤

• AFTERCARE: If you have dandruff, it's easiest to skip conditioner entirely. Almost all of them have ingredients that will feed the fungus. If your hair is long, and you have to condition it, only do the ENDS. Whatever you apply to the ends WILL TRAVEL up the wet hair shaft, and it shouldn't touch the roots and scalp. So do the ends of your hair, up to chin level and no further. If you have frizzy hair higher than that, use a bit of gel (aloe gel works, so do hair gels) when your hair is dry, but AVOID THE SCALP 😡

If you have fungal acne on your face, follow up with a fungal-safe skincare routine (my previous post here was about this) and be careful not to over-moisturize your skin. Better have your skin a bit dry than oily!

I hope this clarified things! It's worked really well for me. At this point, I don't have to use treatments any more myself, and just stick to a fungal-safe routine, and have no issues ☺

EDIT: Super happy to share this post by u/owlet09 who cleared up her chronic dandruff using this method! 😆

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianSkincareAddicts/comments/j2q4rr/appreciation_post/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share