What Causes Dandruff?

Let’s talk about the most common problems found with many natural hair, dandruff. In this article, we will learn about what causes dandruff and also simple dandruff treatments that you can apply to overcome the problem. Since most people already have an idea of what dandruff is, we will jump right into it.

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What is Dandruff?

Dandruff is a skin condition that affects the scalp. This skin condition cause flakes to appear and most of the time it is accompanied by an Itchy scalp. Though having dandruff is a common problem with natural hair, it can be quite embarrassing to the person with dandruff as it’s flaky appearance makes it very noticeable. Having dandruff doesn’t mean the person has poor hygiene.

Possible Causes of Dandruff

Cold weather:  Colder weather such as winter or harmattan means there are fewer water molecules in the air which in turn results in a drier scalp. The drier the scalp, the more likely you are to have dandruff. Check here to learn more about hair care during cold weather.

Medications: Taking certain medications can result in your scalp becoming dry and flaky.

Illness (Seborrheic Dermatitis): This is a serious skin condition that leaves the skin inflamed. It usually occurs in areas where the skin is most oily like the scalp, inside the ear and on the face. Though it gives flakes like dandruff, it is different from dandruff and dandruff can be a symptom of this Illness. If you have been treating dandruff for a while and there are no improvements, please do a check-up at the hospital. This is to confirm that it is truly dandruff so that you can be given treatments that work. Treatments that cure dandruff don’t cure Seborrheic Dermatitis.

Reaction to certain hair products: This is why it is important to observe how your hair reacts to a product because your scalp might be sensitive to some ingredients in the hair products and this might result into dandruff.

Stress: For those wondering how stress can cause dandruff pay attention. Stress can make any underlying skin condition worse and can weaken our immune system. On our scalp, there exists a naturally occurring microbial flora. A weakened immune system makes it easy for the proliferation of this flora and grow beyond its usual limits which eventually leads to dandruff.

Very oily scalp: As a dry scalp can lead to dandruff so can a very oily scalp. A very oily scalp or a greasy scalp occurs as a result of the scalp producing more oil around the hair follicles. A very oily scalp can lead to Seborrheic Dermatitis.

Unbalanced diet:  Lower consumption of foods contain Vitamin B, Zinc and Vitamin D and increased consumption of foods high in sugar, salt and spicy substances can result in dandruff.

Dandruff Treatments

1. Use anti-dandruff shampoos. Shampoos with zinc pyrithione, selenium sulfide, and tar-based shampoos are great for dealing with dandruff. “Head and shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo” is a good anti-dandruff shampoo that can be found everywhere.
2. Add a few drops of tea tree oil to your regular shampoo and use the shampoo as usual.
3. Reduce your stress levels.
4. Reduce foods with high sugar contents and spicy foods and increase your intake of foods high in Vitamin B, D, and zinc.
5. Massage aloe Vera gel (Gotten from aloe Vera plant) into scalp before shampooing. Aloe Vera helps to reduce the itching and fights dandruff at the same time.
6. Mix a quarter cup of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) to a square cup of water.
7. Pour mixture into a spray bottle.
8. Spray the mixture onto scalp.
9. Wrap hair in a towel for at least 15 minutes and maximum one hour then wash your hair as you usually do.
10. Repeat this process twice every week.

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