Today we take a quick look at what dandruff is. Medically known as seborrheic dermatitis.

What is Dandruff?

Medically known as Seborrheic Dermatitis, dandruff is the result of our sebaceous glands over releasing the waxy oil called sebum that is meant to protect our hair and scalp. This is supposed to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair. This excess causes scaly flakes that we are all too familiar with.

In short, it is excess skin cells that have clumped together. The mechanism that makes this happen is the sebum causes the skin to be more sticky where it would normally fall off and become dust it instead creates dandruff.

 

Where Can Dandruff Happen?

Dandruff can happen anywhere we have hair. the sebaceous glands come in 2 types those that have a hair follicle attached and those that are independent. These glands secrete the sebum it is thought they do this to an excess which leads to dandruff. Although there is really good evidence that a fungus might irritate the situation and lead to the excess sebum the jury is still out on this one. Dandruff can happen in the following areas:

• eyebrows
• scalp (even when bald)
• the folds between the lips and nose
• beards
• mustaches
• for very hairy men this can happen on your chest as well
• babies often get it on their entire scalp and it is called cradle cap

*There are Sebaceous Glands in some intimate areas but I could not find any reference that dandruff could form there but I am thinking it must be able to do so.

 

Why Do We Have Sebum?

Typically you might be asking about the causes, but I thought I would take a look at what mechanisms come together to cause dandruff.

1. When we sweat our bodies will include the sebum in our sweat to help keep the sweat on our skin longer and prevent dehydration.
2. Alternatively, when it is cold the sebum automatically becomes more oily and has properties such as effectively repelling rain.
3. Sebum is part of the bodies defense against bacteria and viruses: it helps form something called the acid mantle which is like a biological force field.

But there is a little more to this as we said previously there are other causes for dandruff and excess sebum I will break these down in the future and provide links but for now. Just know that the listed items above are more like ‘why our bodies need this’.

Is Dandruff The Result of Being Unhygienic?

Can’t I just wash my hair more to get rid of the sebum?

No.

This answer is pretty plain and straightforward. The interesting thing you will find conflicting advice on the internet about if you should wash more or less. Which is the reason I created this blog to become a clearinghouse of sorts for dandruff and Seborrhoeic Dermatitis.

For some people the extra washing his a helpful relief but for others, it irritates the situation. Partly because stress is one of the things that can cause dandruff but so can dry scalp. For other people, it is the opposite situation. Check out this list on the Mayo Clinic site under causes you will see dandruff looks like it might be unavoidable.

Who Gets Dandruff Anyway?

Dandruff is believed to affect half of the population of the world if not more. It is also believed that every person will have dandruff at some point in their lives. It doesn’t matter your race, or sex everyone is susceptible. The only difference we do see is that more men are affected than women, but this is believed to be because in general men are much hairier than women.

How Can I Treat Dandruff?

*I am working on a resource page that I will link here in the future but until then here is a short list. 

There are 2 common paths you can take when treating dandruff either natural or medial. For me, I use a combination of both but a large part of that is I am experimenting with different treatments and methods to find out what will really work long term.

Just last night my wife wanted to comb my hair and while she was doing it I could feel when she would hit a patch of dandruff. For now, until I build the resource list check out these lists of remedies.

Natural Dandruff Remedies

• tea tree oil
• Campho-Phenique
• coconut oil
• aloe vera
• reduce stress
• apple cider vinegar
• aspirin crushed
• eat more fish
• eat more probiotics (such as yogurt)
• lemons
• baking soda
• essential oils (I have a story about cedarwood oil I will tell later)
• Increase foods that have zinc
  • meat
  • shellfish
  • legumes
  • seeds
  • nuts
  • eggs
  • dairy
• Increase foods with selenium
  • seafood
  • meats
  • eggs
  • legumes
  • nuts
  • seeds

Medically Accepted Treatments (over the counter)

• Dandruff Shampoos
  • coal tar
    • Denorex Therapeutic Protection
    • Neutrogena T/Gel
    • Scytera
  • Pyrithione zinc
    • Selsun Blue for Itchy Dry Scalp
    • Neutrogena T/Gel Daily Control Dandruff
    • Head & Shoulders
  • Salicylic Acid and Sulfur
    • Sebex
    • Sebulex
  • Salicylic Acid
    • Neutrogena T/Sal
  • Selenium Sulfide
    • Dandrex
    • Head & Shoulders Clinical Strength
    • Selsun
  • Ketoconazole
    • Extina
    • Nizoral A-D
    • Xolegel
• Lotions
  • Ones containing mild steroids
    • Hytone or Kenalog