Mikko left the shampoo – Three weeks later, something special happened – 2024-02-24 08:17:25

Mikko Linnolahten life threw a somersault on many levels about 15 years ago. The relationship ended in divorce, and the small children stayed with Linnolahti to live. One of the children became ill with type one diabetes, and Linnolahti began to learn about diabetes and its treatment.

– I tried different methods on myself first and monitored my blood sugar. As a result of the process, my own quality of life and health improved. In the end, I stopped thinking about things only in terms of blood sugar, but more broadly from a health perspective. My problem was also that I was addicted to shampoo. I had to wash my hair every morning and sometimes even in the evening, Linnolahti opens.

A research trip to treat her daughter’s diabetes also led her to the fact that shampoos have been used for at most a few hundred years. It was a short journey to a species-typical lifestyle. In connection with that, he radically changed his own eating habits.

– That path led me to natural, unprocessed food. I stopped eating ready meals. My own health improved so significantly that I became more motivated. I thought what would happen if I tried to live the same way people lived in the prehistoric era, says Linnolahti.

Shampoo got a ride

Linnolahti’s hair got greasy quickly, and her skin was scaly and itchy. Linnolahti used various substances to treat both her skin and her greasy hair. He tried, among other things, dandruff shampoos and various conditioners.

– I wonder if the shampoo could be harmful and in fact even the cause of my hair becoming very greasy. I decided to drop it along with all the other tests as one test. They have nothing to do with my work or the fact that I know chemistry. I was only inspired to make observations about myself, Linnolahti assures.

Linnolahti does computational chemistry and materials research in a company that develops plastic production processes and OLED materials, i.e. organic LED materials, which are used in lighting and televisions.

We asked the dermatologist of Suomen Ihosairaala Oy From Martta Jokiwhat does he think about Linnolahti’s solutions.

– The purpose of shampoo is to enhance the dissolution of dirt and grease in the washing water. They often also contain other chemicals to achieve the desired effects on the hair and scalp. They include, for example, substances that chemically exfoliate the scalp, suppress the growth of yeast, smooth the hair surface, and so on. It depends on the individual which substance is suitable and which is beneficial or harmful. For example, a washing product is usually helpful for people with oily skin or oily skin, says Jokinen.

But what happened to Linnolahti’s greasy hair and flaky skin when the shampoo was given the go-ahead?

– It was actually an easy process, although at first my hair got very greasy. During that time, I didn’t leave the house very often, and my hair was very short. It minimizes the nastiness of transitional greasiness. That phase passed quickly. As I recall, it took three weeks for my hair to stop getting greasy and clean. I haven’t touched the shampoo since then, says Linnolahti.

The nature of the hair changed from zero to one hundred

Linnolahti has not regretted her decision to get rid of shampoo. The nature of the hair changed during the transition phase, namely from zero to a hundred, almost with a click of the fingers.

– When I got over the transition phase, and my hair was no longer greasy, I was free from the worry and stress caused by it. It has had the consequence that I no longer pay attention to them, and therefore they often remain both unshaven and uncombed. That’s why they look so messy and fluffy. If I try to brush them into a certain shape, they don’t stay, but return to a shape that looks like the professor’s hair, Linnolahti laughs.

After he also switched to a species-typical lifestyle and diet, the skin has also taken on a new life. Its condition has significantly improved.

– Before, the skin was itchy, scaly and there was a sebaceous rash on the face. It was an embarrassing hassle. I’ve almost completely gotten rid of it. I think of it in the way that if you wash your hair with shampoo, it removes the skin’s natural fats at the same time, and the skin reacts to it by adding new fat, Linnolahti thinks.

Dermatologist Jokinen states that the tendency to oiliness of the skin and scalp is individual. Excessive greasiness of the hair can lead to a skin disease called seborrheic dermatitis, and its treatment is largely based on washing away excess sebum and keeping sebum yeasts under control.

– In severe stress and the body’s alert state, many skin diseases get worse. If it is a case of flaking due to dryness of the skin, i.e. the flaking is white and not a yellowish greasy flaking, as in seborrheic dermatitis, you can try a basic cream wash. That is, the hair is wetted and washed instead of shampoo with a thin aqueous base cream and rinsed. Dry scalp should not be teased with washing ingredients, advises Jokinen.

He recommends seeing a doctor if the flaking is severe and there is also a rash elsewhere on the skin. Flaking related to skin inflammation is treated with a corticoid solution. Dandruff can also be chemically exfoliated with, for example, salicylic acid.

Nutrition plays a big role in the well-being of hair and skin

Linnolahti believes that the improvement of her own skin and hair greasiness is related to changes in her entire lifestyle and especially in her diet. Hair care plays a part, but it doesn’t explain everything.

– I use nothing but water to wash myself. Toothpaste is the only chemical I use. As a matter of principle, I don’t put substances inside or outside myself that do not belong there from the perspective of the history of human species development. The home is washed with detergents, Linnolahti states.

Dermatologist Jokinen says that there is little scientific data on the effect of diet on sebaceous glands. The studies that have been done give indications that the symptoms can be alleviated by adding vegetables and soft fats to the diet and by avoiding fast sugars and fried foods.

– Lifestyle also has an effect on the symptoms of chronic skin diseases. Lowering the stress level, adequate rest, recovery and, for example, exercise can have a calming effect on the condition of the skin, both in seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis and atopic eczema. From the point of view of the whole, it would of course be great if the symptoms could be brought under control by improving lifestyles, says Jokinen.