Many people know that feeling: you look down at your dark shirt, only to be surprised to see strange flecks of white or gray. Upon closer inspection, you realize your clothes haven't been dirtied by dirt or dust — it's dandruff.
Dandruff is an annoying problem to have. It is typically not dangerous at all, but that doesn't make being covered in oily skin flakes any less of a nuisance! It's also embarrassing — while dandruff has nothing to do with a person's hygiene practices, it can often feel like a sign of "dirtiness" or a lack of grooming.
Whether you have long hair or short hair, oily or dry, thick or fine, anyone can suffer from the unpleasant condition.
Dandruff is incredibly common. That's why there are numerous types of dandruff shampoo available. Just take a walk down the hair care aisle of your local drugstore, and you'll notice just how many options there are! There are so many choices that it can be hard to figure out what the best dandruff shampoo for you might be.
But if you've dealt with this condition chronically (or even sporadically), you're likely wondering about dandruff remedies (beyond the standard dandruff shampoo solutions), and if it's even possible to get rid of dandruff once and for all.
Scroll below for all of the facts you need about what dandruff is, common dandruff causes, and when it might be time to go to the doctor about your itchy, flaky scalp.
Thumbnail Photo: YouTube / KCK Official
What Is Dandruff?
Dandruff is white or gray flaky dry skin that is shed from a person's scalp.
While shedding dead skin cells from your scalp and getting "skin flakes" a bit as a result is totally normal (it happens everywhere on your body all the time!), dandruff results when you have a larger-than-normal amount of flaking.
It normally takes about 28 days for new skin cells to emerge, according to the New York Times. But for dandruff sufferers, it speeds up to about a 5-day turnover — way more shedding than normal.
What Are Its Symptoms?
Maybe you have a mild case of dandruff and all you experience are the tell-tale flakes scattered across your shoulders and shirts.
But for others, more severe dandruff can also be accompanied by complaints such as an itching or irritated scalp and scalp redness.
Some might even experience red and greasy skin patches and a "tingly feeling" on the skin of your scalp, according to the Mayo Clinic.
What Causes Dandruff? Cause #1: Not Enough Washing
Like I said, having dandruff doesn't mean a person is dirty. But infrequent shampooing can actually contribute to dandruff for some people.
If you don't shampoo regularly because you are thinking you don't want to disturb your scalp and cause more flakes, you might be ensuring exactly that will happen.
"Often when a women notices flakes, she immediately decreases shampooing because she thinks she’s too dry," Dr. Francesca Fusco, a New York dermatologist, told the New York Times. "But a lot of [the] time it’s dandruff, and cutting back on shampooing will only make it worse."
Infrequent shampooing can make you experience a buildup of those dead skin cells. If you're one of those people whose scalp skin cells die and shed much more frequently, you can wind up with a ton of flakes ready and waiting to tumble from your head at the slightest movement.
It's about manually massaging your scalp and regularly removing the dead skin cells (rather than letting them build up). Similarly, Medical News Daily reports that not brushing or combing your hair enough increases the risk of dandruff because there's not as much shedding if you leave your hair be.
Cause #2: Too Much Washing
On the flip side, shampooing too much can dry out your scalp or just plain irritate it. That dry or irritated skin can lead to dandruff.
According to the Mayo Clinic, flakes can be caused by dry skin too. Those flakes are typically smaller and less oily than the flakes from dandruff caused by other issues.
Some shampoo ingredients are more drying than others. Those include harsh detergents like ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, and sodium lauryl sulfate, as well as sodium chloride, according to what Dr. Robert Dorin told The Epoch Times.
Be sure to check the back of that bottle to see if you have one that's potentially too strong for your sensitive scalp and stripping too many oils from it!
Cause #3: Dermatitis
Seborrheic dermatitis is one of the most typical and frequent causes of dandruff. It is also sometimes associated with psoriasis, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Signs of this condition are red, greasy, and often itchy skin on your scalp, sometimes covered with white or yellow flaky scales.
The condition can affect other areas of the body where you have a lot of oil glands, like your face and specifically your nose.
Cause #4: Allergies & Sensitivities
Anything that irritates your scalp skin can potentially lead to dandruff.
Some shampoos and hair products or hair dye cause reactions because you are either allergic or sensitive to one or more of the ingredients in them.
Several common shampoo ingredients that could potentially be irritating your scalp and causing contact dermatitis include foaming sulfates like sodium lauryl sulfate, alcohols, formaldehyde, and fragrance chemicals like citronellol and cinnamal.
Cause #5: Fungal Infection
Those who have a yeast sensitivity have a slightly higher chance of developing dandruff, according to Medical News Today.
Similar to a vaginal yeast infection causing all sorts of skin disturbances down there, flakiness of the scalp can be caused by an overgrowth of Pityrosporum ovale (or malassezia), a "yeast-like fungus," according to the New York Times.
This fungus is common on the normal scalp, but too much of it is associated with seborrheic dermatitis.
Only some people find their scalp irritated by the presence of malassezia, but the reason why it affects only some and not others is unknown.
When Do I Need To Go To The Doctor?
For many, dandruff is a pain in the neck (and head and shoulders) but is ultimately manageable with at-home solutions and non-prescription shampoos. For others, it might be worth getting a professional to take a look, if you have the ability and the means to do so.
One reason you might want to see a doctor is if the dandruff is connected to an illness. For unclear reasons, people with neurological diseases (like Parkinson's disease), people with HIV infection, and others with compromised immune systems are more likely to develop dermatitis and dandruff, reports the Mayo Clinic.
Dandruff can potentially also be confused with psoriasis, which is a chronic and incurable skin condition resulting in dry or painfully irritated skin.
Occasionally, dandruff can be a sign of a more serious condition. If the dandruff is accompanied by sighs of an infection (like redness, tenderness, or swelling) or you have signs of other skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, you should consult a doctor.
If it won't go away on its own and doesn't improve after two weeks using an antidandruff shampoo, it may be worth it to see a dermatologist. A dermatologist can prescribe you with a prescription shampoo that can be more effective than those you can get at your local drugstore.
How do you deal with your dandruff? Don't forget to SHARE this important info with the other dandruff sufferers in your life!
