Dandruff Causes and Treatment
Dandruff is a skin condition that majorly affects the scalp. Due to Dandruff, scalp causes flakes of skin to appear. It can be embarrassing that affects your self-esteem and sometimes difficult to treat. when the scalp becomes dry or greasy, it starts to produce white flakes of dead skin that may appears in the hair and on the shoulders.
Causes of Dandruff:
Causes of Dandruff may include a number of genetic and environmental factors. But it is not due to the poor hygiene.”If the skin cells rapidly begins to divide faster than they are shed causes flakes”. A yeast that often lives on the skin, called as “Malassezia furfur” plays a vital role in producing Dandruff. Other inflammatory diseases that may produce excessive scaling leads to dandruff. It also may be caused by individual skin sensitivity or allergy.
Other common causes involves:
- Infrequent shampooing
- stress
- high oil secretion
- Hormone imbalance
Symptoms Of Dandruff:
Due to the white flakes of dead cells in the hair, the scalp becomes dry or greasy. Scalp becomes red, and starts to feel itchy. Sometimes it can be appears on other parts of the body like yellowish or reddish scaling can appear on the hairline, as well as around the ears, or on the nose and chest also.
Treatment of Dandruff:
For mild dandruff, choose mild shampoo for daily cleansing to reduce oil. If not worked go for medicated dandruff shampoo. for more severe dandruff, aggressive anti-dandruff treatment with a steroid lotion may be needed. If more severe condition, consult the doctor for prescription.
Some anti dandruff shampoos are:
- Ketoconazole shampoos
- Zinc pyrithione shampoos
- Tar-based shampoos
Home Remedies for Dandruff:
1.Coconut Oil: Massaging with coconut oil provides hydration to the skin and prevents dryness, which can increases dandruff. A skin condition called eczema that may also contribute to dandruff may be treated by coconut oil.
2.Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera has antibacterial and anti fungal properties which helps to protect against dandruff. It deals with other skin or scalp problems. It also acts as conditioner and make hair silk and shiny.
3.Boost Immune system: Improving immune system can help to reduce stress and to fight against fungal infections. Meditation, yoga, deep breathing or aromatherapy are some techniques which reduces stress.
4.Apple Cider Vinegar: It can be added in daily Routine. The acidity of the vinegar discards the dead skin cells on the scalp. You can add it with some essential oil, can spray directly to hair or add a tablespoon of it to your shampoo.
5.Tea Tree Oil: The anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties present in tree tea oil helps in reducing dandruff.Tea tree oil reduced greasiness and itchiness on the scalp.
Prevention:
- Take healthy diet.
- Frequently cleansing hair using mild shampoo.
- Avoid excessive usage of styling products.
- keeping stress levels under control.