What causes dandruff?

Question

how do I get rid of it?

Answer 1

Causes

At one time or another, dandruff causes have been attributed to dry skin, oily skin, shampooing too often or not often enough, a poor diet, stress, and the use of too many fancy styling products. Although some of these factors may exacerbate or contribute to scalp flaking, the real culprit may be a fat-eating, yeast-like fungus called malassezia, formerly known as pityrosporum.

Malassezia lives on the scalps of most healthy adults without causing problems. But sometimes it grows out of control, feeding on the oils secreted by your hair follicles and causing irritation that leads to increased cell turnover. The result is a large number of dead skin cells. As the cells fall off, they tend to clump together with oil from your hair and scalp, making them appear white, flaky and all too visible.

Exactly what causes an overgrowth of these organisms isn't known, although increased oil production; hormonal fluctuations; stress; illness; neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease; a suppressed immune system; infrequent shampooing and extra sensitivity to the malassezia fungus may contribute to the development of dandruff.

Treatment

Dandruff is a chronic condition that can almost always be controlled, but dandruff treatment may take a little patience and persistence. In general, mild scaling can often be helped by daily cleansing with a gentle shampoo to reduce oiliness and cell buildup.

When regular shampoos fail, OTC dandruff shampoos may succeed. But dandruff shampoos aren't all alike, and you may need to experiment until you find one that works best for you. Dandruff shampoos are classified according to their active ingredient:

* Zinc pyrithione shampoos (Selsun Salon, Head & Shoulders). These contain the antibacterial and antifungal agent zinc pyrithione, which has been shown to reduce the fungus that causes dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis.
* Tar-based shampoos (Neutrogena T/Gel). Coal tar, a byproduct of the coal manufacturing process, helps conditions such as dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis by slowing cell turnover.
* Shampoos containing salicylic acid (Ionil T). These "scalp scrubs" help eliminate scale, but they may leave your scalp dry, leading to more flaking. Using a conditioner after shampooing can help counter dryness.
* Selenium sulfide shampoos (Selsun Blue). These shampoos help prevent cell turnover and may also reduce the number of malassezia. Because they can discolor blonde, gray or chemically colored hair, be sure to use them only as directed and to rinse well after shampooing.
* Ketoconazole shampoos (Nizoral). The newest addition to the dandruff armamentarium, ketoconazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent that may work when other shampoos fail. It's available over-the-counter as well as by prescription.

Try using one of these shampoos daily until your dandruff is controlled, then cut back to two or three times a week. If one type of shampoo works for a time and then seems to lose its effectiveness, try alternating between two types of dandruff shampoos. Be sure to leave the shampoo on for at least five minutes — this allows the ingredients time to work.

If you've shampooed faithfully for several weeks and there's still a dusting of dandruff on your shoulders, talk to your doctor or dermatologist. You may need a prescription-strength shampoo or more aggressive treatment with a steroid lotion.

Answer 2

Dandruff can be a result of occasional dry scalp (this is not a true dandruff), fungal infection and seborrheic dermatitis. Treatment depends on the cause. If it's due to dry scalp, a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner can be effective. For fungal infection, Head & Shoulder's seems to work. For seborrheic dermatitis a tar-based shampoo or selenium sulfide shampoo work well.

Answer 3

You can use dandruff shampoo. My mom used to use
vinegar she would just put about 4 cups of it on her scalp and let it sit for about three min and then rinse it out, it always worked.
Hope it helps.

Answer 4

Causes: Fungus, dryness, and certain shampoos, or too much use of them (since they have a chemical acidic amino content).

Ways to get rid of: special shampoo that fights dandruff... BUT NOT TOO MUCH!

Good Luck!

~LG23~

Answer 5

Dandruff is dry scalf, try a dandruff shampoo. Most people that has naturally oily hair does not have dandruff, I use a shampoo that has protein. This might work for you. Sometime we can over wash our hair, causes it to be dry scalf.

Answer 6

First you wash your hair once a week then you make sure your hair don't have no dandruff in it, then you comb/brush your hair.Always make sure you put a sarf on your hair every day well not every day but make sure when you wake up you dont have stuff in your hair and that it's not mess up every day.That's all there is to it!Make sure you use dandruff shapoo.
HOPE IT WORKS!!

Answer 7

i am not sure you just have a dry scalpe. try diff. shampoos it will help i think. i have never had dandruff before. Good Luck

Answer 8

lots of gel and hairspay cause dandruff. U can buy selsum blue shampoo or patene anti dandruff or garnia frutese anti dandruff.

Answer 9

oily scalps cause dandruff,, use head n shoulders,,

Answer 10

A fungus in your hair!!! I used to think that it was eczema, or something else, but...... yeah. There are lots of different kinds of shampoos you can get to get rid of it that aren't super expensive.