An itchy scalp became unbearable for George and ended in full blown scalp eczema which nothing would clear up.

BY George Lawton 3 July, 2007

George Lawton is a 27 year old technical sales man and lives with his partner in London. 

For the past two years George has suffered with itchy irritating scalp eczema, he had never suffered any skin complaints before and was shocked when he suddenly developed a flaky scalp.

George says:

"At first I thought it was a simple case of dandruff and that the itching would go away with a few treatments of anti-dandruff shampoo but when it didn’t, in fast it got worse, I started to worry it could be something more serious."

"The itching got so bad that I went to my GP who diagnosed scalp eczema and prescribed Betacap ointment. I was shocked when he told me I had eczema because I’ve never had anything wrong with my skin before."

"Although this helped I only remembered, I am not very good with medications, to apply it when the itching was really bad, and by this point I had made my scalp all flaky from scratching, which was causing me a great deal of anguish because walking round with a flaking scalp isn’t very pleasant. What I felt I needed was a treatment that would stop my head getting itchy in the first place, but there was nothing I could find that was actually a preventative that I could work into my daily hair care routine to stop the itching and flaking."

"Having scalp eczema made going to the barbers a nightmare. I have to keep my hair well groomed for work, but I feel so self conscious when it is short as people can see how red and flaky my scalp is. I also feel embarrassed as the barber is cutting my hair revealing my scalp, I wonder what he must think, I wonder if he doesn’t like touching it."

"I am lucky as I am in a stable relationship and have a caring partner who understands my condition but it must be dreadful for blokes who are single trying to date with this problem, they must feel so self conscious when they try and meet women because the problem is so easily visible."

"And I think people make very negative assumptions if your scalp is flaking. I think people assume you don’t wash your hair enough or that your personal hygiene isn’t very good. They don’t realise that it’s a skin condition that is not your fault."

"I felt quiet desperate to find something that would help me, I didn’t feel I could deal with having my scalp flaking and red for years on end as it was both uncomfortable and embarrassing and it was undermining my self confidence in how I looked. So when I saw an advert in the Evening Standard for eczema sufferers to join a trial of a new shampoo aimed at helping to treat scalp eczema, I jumped at the chance to try something different."

"I've never really been that into health before and have certainly never gown the ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ route. When I contacted the company they sent me through some helpful information on the products, which turned out to be completely natural. After reading it I felt much more educated about why natural products can be beneficial to sensitive skin like mine and I felt really confident that the products would not irritate my scalp further. The main natural ingredient in the hair care products, called Cardiospermum, which comes from a Shri Lankan vine, seemed to have a lot of convincing medical research behind it for treating eczema and dry skin conditions."

"When I received my samples I couldn’t wait to get started and applied them that night."

"After the first few washes I was surprised when my scalp stopped getting itchy, which meant it was no longer flaky. Both the shampoo and conditioner was really nice to use. I was worried because they were all natural that they wouldn’t work, but in fact they made my hair feel nicer and softer than my normal shampoo. I continued to use the shampoo and conditioner regularly and within about three weeks my scalp eczema had virtually disappeared. I no longer worry about going to the barbers, or about wearing dark clothes in case people see flakes of skin on them and all the itching has gone."

"I am definitely going to continue to use Cardiospermum Shampoo & Conditioner and would recommend it to anyone with a sensitive scalp. I am now convinced that using normal hair care products which tend to have high levels of harsh irritants in chemical in them, is what triggered my scalp eczema in the first place."