What do you know about Dandruff?

What is Dandruff?
Dandruff is the flaking of dead skin from scalp

What causes dandruff?

Dandruff can have multiple causes, but the most common ones are:
• Dry skin- If you are experiencing signs of dry skin on other parts of your body, like your legs and arms it is possible that your dandruff is caused by dry skin.
• Not Shampooing often enough- If you don’t wash your hair regularly, oils and skin cells from your scalp can easily build up and cause dandruff.
• A yeast-like fungus (Malassezia)- this fungus lives on the scalp of most adults, sometimes it can irritate the scalp and cause more skin cells to grow. The extra skin cells die and fall off, making them appear white and flaky in your hair or on your clothes, people with oily hair and scalp are more susceptible to this since Malassezia live by eating oils in your scalp.
• Sensitive to hair care products (Contact dermatitis)- Sometimes sensitivities to certain ingredients in hair care products or hair dyes, especially Paraphenylenediamine (PPD) found in hair dyes can cause a red, itchy, scalp. Using too many styling products also may irritate your scalp, causing dandruff.
• Certain skin Conditions-people with psoriasis, eczema and some other skin disorder tend to get dandruff much often.

Is Dandruff treatable?

Yes, dandruff is a common scalp disorder affecting almost 50% of the adult population in the world and can be treated.

How can I treat dandruff?

Mild cases of dandruff can be treated easily by shampooing with gentle cleanser more frequently.
If it is more stubborn then, medicated shampoo will be a solution. Look for over the counter (OTC) Anti-dandruff shampoos, or if you still scratching your scalp after applying the above solutions or your scalp become red or swollen, see your doctor or dermatologist. You may have another condition that looks like dandruff. Often times your doctor can diagnose the problem simply by looking at your hair and scalp.

Anti Dandruff hair care products include ingredients such as:

Zinc pyrithione- slows down production of yeast
Ketoconzazole-slows down production of fungus
Selenium sulphide-reduces production of natural oils produced by your scalp glands