What is dandruff? Dandruff is a skin disorder on the scalp that develops during the normal growing process of the skin cells of the scalp. In a normal growth cycle, old cells die and are sloughed off approximately every month, and replacement cells are manufactured quickly. In a scalp that has dandruff, the cells are sloughed off before they are dead.
There are two forms of dandruff:
- Internal Dandruff - Internal dandruff causes include hormonal imbalances, poor health, poor hygiene, food allergies (including dairy and seafood), lack of rest, emotional stress, excessive consumption of sugar, fat and starch and hereditary predisposition.
- External Dandruff - External dandruff is caused by excessive use of hair products including lotions and styling gels, cold weather, dry indoor heating, stress, infrequent shampooing of the hair or inadequate rinsing of the scalp.
\"dry Scalp\"
Most dermatologists agree that dandruff is associated with a tiny fungus called Pityrosporum ovale, or P. ovale. This fungus makes a home on our bodies and scalp, usually without causing a problem. For some people, it grows out of control and leads to a dandruff problem.
Dandruff Symptoms include:
- an overly dry scalp
- itchy white flakes
- waxy or greasy hair appearance
- greasy scalp with scales
These dandruff scales are usually small, round, white or gray patches on top of the head. Scaling can occur anywhere on the scalp, in the hair, on the eyebrows, the beard and can spread to the neck and shoulders. Please remember that there is no known way to prevent dandruff from occurring. You can only treat it after it surfaces. Since dandruff cannot be eliminated the only option is to manage it. Most of the time that is an almost impossible task!
Since dandruff has to be managed, the most common treatment is to use a dandruff shampoo. When making the choice of which one to use make sure that you always take the mildest option available. If you are in a position that you have to shampoo every day use a small amount of baby shampoo along with your dandruff shampoo. This will help from drying out your scalp. Nizoral is currently the only shampoo that contains an active ingredient that is medically proven to be effective against the fungus P. ovale. Since you don't need to use this shampoo every day, Nizoral is very cost-effective. Note: When buying over the counter products make sure that they contain zinc pyritheone or selenium sulfide as these ingredients are the most effective in removing flakes from the scalp.
It is important to remember that there is no known "official" cure for dandruff. Once you have the problem, the best that you can hope for is management and control. For more tips on controlling dandruff, please see our other articles on how to control dandruff.
Remember if your scalp starts to show any of the following items then please see your doctor as they could be signs of a more serious problem.
- scalp shows signs of redness
- swelling
- scabbing
- oozing accompanied by flakes
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