Bumps on temples and forehead

Hi folks,

new member here, in 30's, and a NW 3.5 or so. First off, great forum, natural therapy is the way to go.

Had a bad case of shedding at temples about a month back, so during the past week I've been doing oil massage on my scalp. Once a day with coconut oil and a little rosemary oil mixed in it, and I leave it overnight. I can get a bit vigorous with the massage, unfortunately. Past 2-3 days I have small reddish bumps on my temples, acne-like but not quite, seem to be more somewhat subcutaneous. There's no itching, but there's pain in the scalp when I press down on a bump. Strangely, I have never gotten acne or such bumps on my temples before, so this is something new for me. I'm not even the types to get acne usually. Past day, I spot a couple on the forehead too near the hairline.

Some side notes, to help diagnose-
- In the past 2 weeks, either I'm growing some new hair at the edges of my receded temples, or the hair are breaking close to the roots. Hard to say.
- Sometimes I drink a little aloe juice, and sometimes a little emblica (amla) juice.
- Topically, I have been applying a dilute spearmint water on the scalp and rubbing it in for the past 3-4 days, remains of my spearmint tea water.
- The only other significant topical application to scalp is an occasional emblica (amla) juice + coconut oil massage.
- I'm not taking any other topical or oral medication

So, what's going on here? What are the small bumps, am I dealing with demodex here, and is this a good or a bad sign? Will they go away themselves or is this a new thing to take care of?

many thanks,
9r5

It's Tellurium. I had the red bumps for the longest time and couldnt figure out what it was. Take some cilantro drops.

Thanks Elan,

that's something I didn't know about, and I'll try to incorporate cilantro into my diet and observe. I do have an intake of dry seeds of cilantro in food as spice.

Meantime, it's been two days, and I bought some tea tree essential oil. Now I've been mixing TTO in the rosemary/ coconut oil combo and lo! the bumps have significantly subsided already. I'm wondering whether I have some scalp fungus/ mites- frankly, I didn't think I had, till now. Maybe the rosemary oil might be triggering something there- I think I might have chanced onto something pretty good here, it smells really potent. First time using essential oils.

Anyone having ideas on the relationship between red bumps and essential oils, please do chime in.

9r5

Rosacea?

Essential oils (that old scottish study on alopecia) might give you a good chance for a while (a few years) so you should actually do good if you're just starting out. Use less TTO (a drop or two) as it's an estrogen and you may get systemic absorption and dilute the oils with some water, a little goes a long way with them.

Lavender, cedarwood, rosemary, TTO oil made me sore/stiff in my muscles later on, but I've been at this for a decade and had used them for a long time so I think my profile changed and it wore off, same thing with zinc, saw p, beta-sis, etc. As I got older, the things that used to help seemed to make me worse or were good for the body, but not the hair.

You might want to take the cilantro on the weekend. For myself, it kicked my ass hard. I wouldn't do any pills or alcohol around the time you do it. Lemon water and lots of flushing might help, sea salt in gallon of water, etc.

Thank you guys for further tips.

Takingaction, no it is not rosacea. I looked up rosacea images on image search engines, and I don't think this is it.

Whip, means a lot that you shared your first hand, long term experience with essential oils. I agree that the initial use with these oils should show most results. Particularly, the anti-fungal, anti-inflmmatory action is what might be helpful.

On another note, I've been doing a bit of reading on the web, and it is recommended by some aromatherapists that the right oil for you is the one whose fragrance you particularly like. If one takes that advice, mixing 4 or 5 oils to make a hair tonic might not be the way to go. The hypothesis is that the scents activate the hypothalamus and other parts of the brain triggering changes in body chemistry. I was unlikely candidate to believe all this till I first tried the tester sample of rosemary- it took me straight to the mountains (although it was supposed to take me to the sea coast)! Its probably unrealistic for these oils to work wonders on hair, but they might have their use in holistic medicine.

Ogling at the mirror, I do think I'm regrowing at the temples, particularly my right temple. And I think its not just the recent loss that is reversing. However, its surely not due to the essential oils which I've only begun using about 10 days, or so, ago. My guess so far is head massages with medicated coconut oil, mustard oil, and occasionally, Emblica juice.

A tip about Emblica to those researching vitamin-C and its instability. Emblica aka Amla is rich in vitamin-C and some claim that this beneficial quality of Emblica is not degraded even by heating at high temperatures, or by storage. The first-press Emblica juice has a shelf life of 30 days. What I'm suggesting is that it may have a derivate compound of ascorbic acid that is more stable. How good it is in skin penetration is something I have no idea about, but would surely be interested in knowing.

9r5

Elan64 and Whip had recommended taking Cilantro on a weekend for a metal detox. I am trying it today and got some fresh cilantro. Instead of doing this for a long-term, I'm thinking about an intensive 2-3 day detox program, for reasons of practicality as cilantro supplements are not available in these parts. So, fresh cilantro is my only choice.

How much fresh cilantro should I eat in one go, and how many times a day? Also, with meals or on empty stomach? And lastly, how many days should I do this intensive detox?

many thanks,
9r5

I would try and make a cilantro tincture. http://www.ehow.com/how_4788300_own-herbal-tincture.html

Thank you, Elan, that is surely a good link. Requires patience, though

Coconut oil is a highly comedogenic oil. So leave out the cco and you should do fine.

Hi, ppm, did a web search and as you say, Coconut Oil is in the list of comodegenics. That could explain the bumps. But, I'm not particularly prone to acne, and I didn't get as many again.

That issue apart, what are your thoughts on the Cilantro detox for heavy metals. Short and somewhat intensive, as I'm starting, or a long and persistent one?

As an update on that front, I had a snack of about 150 gm of fresh green stems of leafy coriander, spiced with some lemon, tomatos and green chilli (pepper). A few hours later, feel a little hot in the stomach, but that's about all. Drank lots of water and green tea; and small doses of vit-E, vit-C, cod liver oil, coconut oil (internal), garlic, & a probiotic.

-9r5

RR, (real) lemon + water should help with it.

Thanks, Whip, my Vit-C is from Lemon and Gooseberry, so that means it is good.

-9r5-

Ok, here's what I had as my dinner with a mind to chelate. What do you guys think- add/remove something? Chlorella not available here, btw.

1. Salad- 4 individual garlic 'slices' (or is it cloves?) 50g fresh cilantro, 2 tomatoes, 1 turnip root (iodine?), 1 lemon, 1 green chilli pepper, non-iodized rock salt, and some coconut oil.
2. After a while, an orange.
3. After a while, a chunk of raw turmeric, ground black pepper and coconut oil; chewed well before swallowing.
4. Some Cod liver oil.
5. Lots of water.

I still have some curd (yoghurt) and psyllium husk sitting on my shelf, and I'm wondering if they will help absorb and clean out the released metal in absence of chlorella. What do the members think? Or will a natural laxative help?

If you have any other tips or additions, subtractions to this methodology, please do add your suggestions.

thanks,
-9r5-