The presentation of dandruff may differ from person to person. From a 'flaky' outburst because of an oily scalp to an itchy, scaly, and excessively dry scalp. Even though Hair dandruff affects almost half of the world's population, there is no conclusive evidence to classify it as a summer or a winter phenomenon. Dandruff is usually topical and may be effectively treated through simple home remedies, supplements, and medical intervention. Read through to learn the causes of dandruff in hair and easy ways to prevent dandruff in summer.
Causes of Dandruff:
Dandruff risk factors may include age, weather, stress levels, medical conditions, and choice of hair products.
Malassezia is a fungus that grows on your scalp. It damages the cell of the scalp's top layer, making it very dry and causing dandruff. In another condition, your scalp makes more oil, making the flakes stick to your hair and look oily, known as seborrhea or seborrheic dermatitis. Another similar presentation could be scalp Psoriasis which also presents with itching, dryness, and a scaly scalp. While these three conditions may occur independently, they can present in combination.
Some of the most common things that provoke dandruff are.
- Poor Diet & Nutritional Deficiency.
- Inadequate scalp cleansing (shampooing)
- Stress and mental illness of any kind
- Health conditions like Parkinson's illness
- Environmental insults & pollution
- Sleep Deprivation
- Harsh Chemicals & coloring agents
- Excessive Hot Showers
- Impaired Immunity
- Genetics (possibly)
Now that you know what could stimulate dandruff growth in the first place, let's talk about some simple steps to get rid of dandruff and prevent it from happening.
How to Manage Dandruff?
Maintain a Healthy Diet:
A poor diet devoid of essential vitamins and minerals can lead to dandruff. Additionally, studies show that foods rich in fat and sugar aggravate dandruff. Please limit your intake of refined carbs such as white bread, white pasta, tortillas, crackers, red meat, processed foods, fried foods, sugary foods, and beverages.
Dietary modifications prevent fungal infections by controlling yeast growth and improving the gut microbiome, which may aid in treating dandruff. Changing your diet may reduce inflammation and prevent fungal infections, which may help treat dandruff.
Focus on Nutritional Supplementation:
Dietary factors and nutrients that may help fight dandruff include zinc, B vitamins, omega-6 fatty acid known as gamma-linolenic acid, and Omega-3 fatty acid, which causes dry skin and scalp dandruff when deficient. Don't forget to add Yogurt or natural Probiotics to your diet.
Maintaining a balanced diet with essential nutrients, proteins, fatty acids, amino acids, Vitamins, and minerals keeps the hair and scalp healthy and helps reduce scalp inflammation and dandruff.
Add a skin hair supplement like Richskin to your daily routine.
Try Homemade remedies: Oils / Extracts etc.
This is the most exciting part, with many resources and suggestions. These ingredients have been used for ages by our forefathers. Most of these ingredients work naturally because of their antimicrobial and antifungal nature. This is why they are believed to help manage dandruff.
- It's a long list starting from, Aloe vera, Tea Tree oil, Argan Oil, Coconut Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda, Yogurt, Onion Extract, Lemongrass Oil, Eucalyptus oil, Garlic, Neem oil, Lemon Juice, Fenugreek seeds, Hemp Seeds oil. We will cover these homemade recipes in another blog.
Improve your Lifestyle:
Remember that stress adversely impacts our immunity, creating a breeding ground for fungal infections, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, eczema, itching, seborrheic dermatitis, and dandruff leading to scalp itching and flakiness.
- Find ways to effectively manage stress.
- Get some sun exposure daily.
- Maintain a regular routine every day and avoid hectic schedules.
- Sleep at least 6-8 hours a day.
- Implement stress reduction techniques such as yoga, meditation, deep breathing, relaxing warm oil massage, or aromatherapy.
Scalp interventions to control Dandruff:
- Get a warm oil scalp massage with preferably coconut oil at least once a week. You can use olive oil or regular hempseed oil as well. Contrary to the belief of not using oil in the head, most researchers believe that a small amount of oil is good for pulling the existing oil from the scalp, possibly causing dandruff buildup.
- Ensure to wash your hair in 30 minutes after oil application on the scalp.
- Brushing your hair with nontraumatic rounded bristles is always advised, preferably with a flat brush before scalp massage and shampooing the hair. This helps to loosen the dead sticky skin cells from the scalp for easy wash.
- Use a non-oily hair nutrition serum like Hairsilk Serum
What Not To Do To Stop Dandruff.
- Do not scratch your head to avoid trauma to the scalp.
- Do not rotate or change your shampoo often, mainly if you use an anti-dandruff shampoo. For better and long-lasting results and to get rid of dandruff, give your anti-dandruff shampoo at least 3 to 6 months to work on the scalp.
- Do not use harsh chemical products on the hair.
- Do not use a hot water shower; keep it lukewarm. Hot water dries the scalp and hurts the hair follicles
Wash hair at least thrice a week, if possible daily.
- People often think that washing your hair often will leave the scalp dry and cause dandruff. Some fear they will lose more hair when they wash their hair often. In fact, the more oil that builds up on your scalp, the more itchy and flaky it becomes. So wash your hair at least thrice a week.
- Use a pre-shower Hair Lotion spray like Danderm containing resorcinol. It loosens the hard sticking skin flakes from the scalp, making them easier to be washed away.
- Invest in good quality hair products, especially conditioning shampoo.
- First, wet your head, and massage the anti-dandruff shampoo. After that, once you have cleaned the body, rinse your hair.
- Leaving the anti-dandruff shampoo on the scalp for at least 5 minutes is ideal for it to work.
- Use shampoo on the scalp, not the hair strands; it is usually wasted and hard to rinse when applied on full hair length.
- Make sure not to leave hair shampoo conditioner residue in the hair, and rinse thoroughly. Left behind, hair products suffocate the hair follicles.
- After washing and pat drying the scalp with a soft towel, apply a topical leave-on spray of Zinc Pyrithione such as Demmazinc.
What are anti-dandruff products, and how do they work?
There are three categories of anti-dandruff products.
- Antifungal Agents: Help manage fungal infections on your scalp, forehead, beard, or chest that are causing itch, dandruff, or flaky skin. These Antifungal agents may contain ketoconazole, climbazole, zinc pyrithione, or selenium sulfide, which can eliminate fungal infections caused by Malassezia furfur.
- Scalp Exfoliating Agents: These Agents include salicylic acid and sulfur that exhibit keratolytic activity or scalp exfoliation to loosen up the corneocytes (clumps of flaky skin) so they can be washed with ease.
- Anti-inflammatory Agents: Mild Topical steroids, such as corticosteroids, exert an anti-inflammatory effect, thus reducing Dandruff flareup and itching and helping reduce flaky skin.
Use an Anti-Dandruff Shampoo:
- An anti-dandruff shampoo is the easiest option to treat dandruff. Anti-dandruff shampoos may contain one or more anti-dandruff agents, such as salicylic acid, ketoconazole or climbazole, zinc pyrithione, fluocinolone, and selenium sulfide that work alone or together with other ingredients against flakiness.
- Even though washing your hair thrice a week is essential, using the right product is also important. Most people choose a shampoo based on its fragrance, feel, or how soft it makes their hair, but there's a reason there are shampoos for specific problems. Avoid harsh anti-dandruff shampoo.
Tip and Recommendation:
- For best results, you can try Hairviton Anti-Dandruff Shampoo for Men and Women by Biobrix. It is readily available at Gleinmed.com and also on AMAZON. The Hairviton Anti-Dandruff Shampoo contains Climbazole, Salicylic Acid, and ZPTO, as well as natural hair care ingredients like Amla extract, Bhringraj extract, and Arnica extract, which stop hair from falling and fungus from growing.
- First, follow some natural solutions, maintain scalp health, and control dandruff naturally if you notice flakes and itching. For this, stick to a healthy diet, a good hair care routine, and a stress combative lifestyle. However, if dandruff persists, please visit your dermatologist and follow the prescribed treatment. Chronic dandruff can be annoying and frustrating and has not only physical implications such as acne and skin infections but may adversely affect social, emotional, and mental well-being.
- Regular hair washing, exfoliation, anti-dandruff shampoo, and a healthy and nutritious diet may help eliminate dandruff," says Dr. H S Chauhan, Dermatologist, Twacha Dermatology Clinics India
