What is dandruff and why does it appear?
Let's start with the unpleasant: dandruff is a disease. It is called seborrheic dermatitis, and, according to medical statistics, every person encounters it at least once in their life.
Dandruff can also be a manifestation of other, more serious diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Only a doctor can diagnose them.
What to do and what not to do if dandruff appears
Firstly, if the problem does not go away after using anti-dandruff shampoo, consult a trichologist. He will determine the cause and prescribe treatment.
If you want to get rid of dandruff, remember two things:
folk remedies such as rubbing castor or burdock oil will not bring any benefit, but they can cause harm;
limiting hair washing is also harmful; On average, it is recommended to wash your hair at least once every three days, or better just when it gets dirty.
Grandmother's funds
When dandruff appears, hair needs to be strongly nourished, so alternative medicine suggests using nourishing, exfoliating and moisturizing masks:
- Mix 1 egg yolk, 10 milliliters of olive oil, 5 milliliters of lemon juice and 10 grams of honey very well. Rub the healing mask into the hair root in a circular motion, then cover your head with a towel or hat and rinse with warm water after 40 minutes. This anti-dandruff mask should be done at least 2 times a week for 30 days.
- Mix 50 milliliters of kefir, 1 egg yolk and 10 milliliters of olive oil. Apply the resulting mass to the scalp and leave for 1 hour, then rinse and gently wash your hair with shampoo. Grandma's anti-dandruff remedy should be used 2 times a week for 2 months.
In addition to health masks, it is best to use anti-dandruff lotions to reduce itching and eliminate oiliness:
- Mix 5 grams of castor oil, 2 grams of salicylic acid and 100 grams of vodka. Rub the finished product into the scalp with light movements in a circle and leave for 2 hours. The healing lotion must be used every other day until the dandruff completely disappears.
- Mix 10 grams of castor oil, 5 grams of birch tar and 100 grams of vodka and apply to the scalp 1.5 hours before washing. The product must be used 3 times during the week until recovery.
Decoctions made from beet juice, nettle or calendula help exfoliate the skin, and also relieve itching and irritation. You need to rinse your hair with such decoctions after washing your hair.
Anti-dandruff cosmetics
An important step in scalp care is a special shampoo. It must contain the following ingredients:
keratolytics - substances that provide exfoliation of excess keratinized cells (salicylic, lipohydroxy, lactic acids and mechanical abrasives);
substances with antifungal activity: piroctone olamine, plant components;
antibacterial components: zinc, selenium, tea tree oil;
soothing ingredients.
Additionally, the shampoo may contain cooling and refreshing ingredients.
Review of anti-dandruff cosmetics
Fructis, Garnier 2-in-1 anti-dandruff shampoo with zinc pyrithione eliminates dandruff and prevents its reappearance for one and a half months. Suitable for all hair types.
Reviews
Intensive anti-dandruff care shampoo for normal and oily hair Dercos, Vichy soothes the skin, relieves it from discomfort and itching. Selenium-DS actively fights dandruff, ceramides strengthen hair, salicylic acid delicately exfoliates the stratum corneum of the epidermis, vitamin E has an antioxidant effect. The product prevents the appearance of dandruff for 6 weeks after the end of the course of treatment.
Reviews
Intensive anti-dandruff care shampoo for dry hair Dercos, Vichy with glycerin, which has moisturizing properties. Directions for use: apply a little product to damp hair, massage, rinse after 2 minutes. Use 2-3 times a week for a month. Then - once a week to prevent dandruff.
Reviews
What leads to dandruff, how quickly it can be cured, whether folk remedies are effective and why anti-dandruff shampoos do not always work, explains dermatologist-venereologist, cosmetologist-trichologist Samir Goreishi.
Personal archive of the doctor at the Blossom Clinic
— What causes dandruff?
— People come to me with the problem of dandruff quite often, and both men and women come to me equally. Often this problem becomes an accidental finding during an examination by a dermatologist. Dandruff is a symptom of other diseases. For example, it may be a consequence of chronic skin diseases. The most common of them is psoriatic lesions of the scalp.
In adolescence, when puberty occurs, the problem may arise due to endocrine disorders. And in adults, one of the main factors is stress, this has already been proven. Dandruff can also appear due to disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and improper hair care.
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— Can dandruff occur due to rubbing your hair too much while washing?
- No. Sometimes dry scalp is interpreted as dandruff, but this is not entirely correct. A little peeling is not scary: the keratinized part of the epidermis is regularly shed. But when the plates of exfoliated skin are very large and there are many of them, this is dandruff.
- How to get rid of it?
- We need to eliminate the cause. First of all, regulate the psycho-emotional state. Secondly, tidy up the gastrointestinal tract. Sometimes sedatives and enzymatic drugs are prescribed (if there are problems with the digestive system).
If the problem is seborrheic dermatitis, then azole antifungal agents are prescribed. Plus keratolytic shampoos: they eliminate flaking. They contain tar, salicylic acid or ichthyol. In severe forms of seborrheic dermatitis, antifungal drugs must be prescribed for oral administration, including zinc preparations, which regulate the secretion of sebum.
— Let's return to etiology. If the reason is increased sebum secretion and the presence of fungus, and we only dry out the skin, then we remove one reason, but the second remains. Treatment must be comprehensive.
— I read that it is not recommended to use anti-dandruff shampoo for more than two months in a row.
- Absolutely right. The pH and moisture of the skin may be disrupted and the therapeutic effect may decrease. Therefore, the recommended period must be observed.
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— How soon can we expect the effect?
— Most often, after the first use of drugs, the condition of the scalp worsens. It scares people. Why is it getting worse? There is a loosening of the top layer, increased rejection of keratinized cells, so there is more dandruff. This literally lasts a week. Then the skin calms down. You will see the first effect within two weeks after starting treatment. You can completely get rid of dandruff within one to one and a half months.
- Is it possible to cure her once and for all?
- Unfortunately no. If there are stressful situations again, disruptions in the functioning of the endocrine system, the problem will repeat. Therefore, to have a healthy scalp, you need to lead a full, healthy lifestyle.
— Do folk remedies such as egg masks, burdock oil, kefir work?
— This question is often asked to me. Because they prefer to resort to the help of a dermatologist and trichologist as a last resort. When all means have been exhausted, the advice of my grandmother and mother has been tried, but there has been no improvement, then okay, I’ll go and listen to the doctor. As a doctor, I cannot say that traditional methods are good or bad. In order to evaluate them, it is necessary to take a group of patients with the same scalp condition and divide them into three groups: the first to be treated with the classical method, the second with the traditional method, and the third not to be treated at all. Then we’ll see if egg masks and kefir really work. But I also cannot deny their effect, because, I repeat, I have not checked.
— To get rid of dandruff, the Internet also advises rubbing table or sea salt at the roots of your hair.
- This is a very dangerous technique, since salt acts on the scalp in the same way as soda - we risk getting burned. And given that table salt now contains iodine, other problems may arise. There is no need to experiment with the skin. This is the organ whose diseases manifest themselves very quickly and make a person feel uncomfortable in society. While the fact that you have a sick stomach may not be noticeable to others, blemishes on your skin are immediately visible.
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— How to properly care for your hair to prevent problems?
- If we are talking about a healthy person, then he needs to use shampoo with neutral pH - not for oily and not for dry skin. I prefer clear shampoos without added salts. I am against extracts, dyes, and flavorings in the composition.
You need to wash your hair twice a week, no more often. Otherwise, we will dry out the skin and it will take this as a signal to secrete more sebum. As a result, the hair will become oilier more often, dandruff may appear, and if it is not treated, then the problem will be more serious - hair loss.
— Does this recommendation apply to everyone? What if you workout three times a week?
— What vitamins/products should be in the diet for healthy hair?
— I am for a nutritious and varied diet. Eat a little bit of everything - meat, fruits, and vegetables. What foods are healthy? Anything that contains a large amount of zinc: for example, beans, buckwheat, beef, liver. There is very little of this microelement in our diet. You also need ascorbic acid (it is found in cabbage, citrus fruits, kiwi, tomatoes), vitamin A (fish oil, butter, milk, carrots).
In what cases should you resort to vitamin tablets? In my opinion (many experts may disagree with him), only if it is required by the treatment of some disease. In other cases, if there are no pathologies from the gastrointestinal tract and the products are well absorbed, if the person is wealthy enough to afford fruits and vegetables, there is no need to consume artificial vitamins. Of course, if you have pasta and sausages all year round, then such a diet cannot be considered complete. But, believe me, an excess of vitamins is much worse than a lack of them.
All artificial flavor enhancers and dyes have a negative effect on the condition of the scalp. Smoked and pickled foods should be consumed limitedly or eliminated altogether. During puberty, foods with high levels of fatty acids are undesirable. If a teenager eats peanuts from morning to evening, this will lead to increased secretion of sebum and provoke seborrheic dermatitis. Chips and crackers are harmful. But in general, you will agree that a healthy diet is good not only for the scalp.
Dandruff brings considerable discomfort; you have to constantly shake it off your clothes, but the main problem is irritation of the scalp.
Against the background of this disease, obsessive states appear; a person constantly checks dandruff on his clothes and tries to hide it from others, which is why he becomes nervous and excited. But what to do if dandruff appears, and doctors’ recommendations do not give results? Expensive shampoos do not always help, but why not use unconventional methods of treatment? In this article we will talk in detail about the treatment of dandruff from personal experience.
The article will include the following blocks:
Health problems
The disease comes in two types: dry and oily.
Regardless of the type, the disease occurs due to improper functioning of the sebaceous glands. The dry form is manifested by the following symptoms:
- dryness,
- small flakes,
- feeling of tightness,
- itching
Symptoms of the oily form are different: increased fat content, large exfoliated scales, inflammation of the hair follicles, severe itching. The cause of the development of the disease may be hormonal disorders, heredity, thyroid disease, HIV infection and other disorders.
If you take responsibility for your health, then both types of seborrhea can be easily dealt with with the help of medications and medicated shampoos.
The second problem that provokes the formation of exfoliated scales is psoriasis. It affects both men and women equally, mostly young people.
Psoriasis looks extremely unaesthetic. The hairy parts of the body become covered with red, very scaly spots. The affected areas may become inflamed. The disease is noticed by others, which causes a feeling of discomfort. Psoriasis is more difficult to treat than seborrhea.
The etiology of the disease lies in the internal processes of the body. Essentially, psoriasis is an inadequate response of the body not to external irritants. Symptoms intensify during stress, excessive physical activity, and alcohol consumption.
It should be noted that there are disorders in the body that are characteristic only of men. These are the presence of androgen-producing tumors and changes in testosterone levels. This may be one of the answers why dandruff appears on the scalp of men.
If we consider women's reasons related to health, then first of all it is the period of menopause. During menopause, a powerful restructuring of the body occurs, which is reflected in the skin and hair.
Find the reason
Before you begin to solve the problem, you need to establish the cause of its occurrence. The fact is that dandruff does not appear for nothing, but is preceded by certain factors. For example, this could be: improper hair washing (including the wrong shampoo), poor diet, hormonal imbalance, dry scalp, and stress.
As you understand, taking measures to get rid of annoying dandruff without eliminating the cause is illogical. Therefore, try to determine what exactly caused your dandruff. Having found the cause, eliminate it, but along with eliminating the cause, also tackle the problem with dandruff itself.
Getting rid of dandruff
First you need to understand that everything in this life comes from the inside out, and it’s the same with dandruff. It is necessary to fight not only the symptom, but also the root cause. Everyone knows that if you improve your diet, many diseases will disappear; the same principle applies to dandruff. Do not eat fatty, fried and salty foods, and forget about flour and sweets, this contributes to the appearance of dandruff. The sebaceous glands will stop secreting too much oil, and dandruff will quickly recede. It is necessary not only to get rid of harmful foods, but also to add healthy foods to the diet, for example, dairy products and fresh vegetables. You also need to consume a lot of vitamins, but there are very few of them in fruits and vegetables, so it is advisable to take a course of the following vitamins: A, B, C, E. You can take calcium and zinc, but in limited quantities, it is advisable to consult a doctor about dosages and contraindications .
Despite the fact that the root cause is inside, you need to fight the external signs of the disease. Buy a special shampoo, they are really expensive, but these medicated shampoos can cleanse the scalp and not cause allergic reactions. In the pharmacy you can see different shampoos, prices for which start at 500 rubles for a small bottle. Choose a shampoo for your hair type; no need to experiment and buy shampoo for dry hair if it is oily. Hair masks are very useful in this situation; they are sold in pharmacies and cosmetics stores, and you can make them yourself.
Prevention and treatment
After all, dandruff is caused by a fungus, so it is better not to use other people’s combs and not to wear other people’s hats.
Strengthening the immune system.
If your body is generally healthy, this will have a beneficial effect on your scalp and hair. In spring and autumn, it’s a good idea to take vitamins; it’s better if they are special vitamin complexes for skin, hair and nails.
The right shampoo.
The scalp and hair will be healthy, and dandruff will have a harder time finding a breeding ground. The optimal shampoo is one that combines three actions: it destroys fungus, reduces the rate of cell growth and removes dandruff flakes. Therefore, before buying a widely advertised shampoo, carefully study its composition. Climbazole and ketoconazole prevent the fungus from multiplying. Remember that these substances are quickly washed off with water, so it is better to leave the product with climbazole and ketoconozole on the hair for a few minutes. Zinc is not as effective against fungus, but it is more difficult to wash off, so it remains on the hair for a long time, providing treatment and protection. Octopirox, tar and selenium disulfide slow down accelerated cell division. The last two substances also reduce sebum secretion. Tar, sulfur and salicylic acid exfoliate the skin, destroy dandruff flakes and prevent cell gluing.
Head massage, contrast shower
- all this tones the skin and improves blood circulation.
