What Is Dandruff?
The skin on your scalp sheds dead skin just as the rest of your body does. But if the rate of shedding is faster than the speed at which your scalp naturally removes it, you end up having flakes of accumulated dead skin cells, called dandruff. Dandruff makes your scalp itchy forms scales and feels crusty.
What Causes Dandruff?
There can be many reasons that cause dandruff. Most often, it is a combination of factors that make things worse. Some common causes are:
- Excessive dryness
- Excessive oiliness
- Product buildup
- Overgrowth of a yeast called Malassezia (a mild form of seborrheic dermatitis)
- Stress
Can You Treat Treatment At Home?
Yes, mild dandruff can be managed at home. Proper hygiene, a nutritious diet, regular exercise, and a stress-free life go a long way in reducing dandruff. You can also make DIY hair masks or scrubs using tea tree oil, aloe vera, oatmeal, apple cider vinegar, etc. Commercial dandruff shampoos also have stronger surfactants that help clean out your scalp. However, avoid hair products that contain alcohol.
If you have a sensitive scalp or don’t seem to be able to manage the condition at home, seek more sophisticated treatment at a trichologist’s clinic. Excessive dandruff that causes stickiness in your scalp or prevents you from leading a normal life must be treated with medicines and medicinal shampoos.
How Is Dandruff Treated At A Trichologist’s Clinic?
A trichologist will first determine the root cause of your dandruff by taking your medical history. You may be prescribed a selenium sulfide, zinc pyrithione, or ketoconazole shampoo. Coal tar and salicylic acid also work well. But which one will work for you the best depends on what caused you dandruff in the first place. You may be able to find some such shampoos OTC but only a hair expert will be able to tell you in what concentration you use them and how frequently.
If your dandruff is caused due to inflammation, some oral pills can also be advised for temporary use. In this case, the doctor will also advise you to shift to an anti-inflammatory diet. In addition, you may also receive a list of ingredients to avoid while purchasing new haircare products.
Treating dandruff is not a short-time fling. The treatment will be holistic including oral and topical medicines, dietary adjustments, and use of alternative hair products. Sometimes, dandruff is also a symptom of another more severe condition like psoriasis, eczema, allergy, etc. While immediate treatment may take 4-6 weeks, if you are prone to dandruff, it will warrant some lifestyle changes too. So, it’s necessary to keep working with your trichologist to ensure your sleeves always remain flake-free.