Dandruff
This is flaking and itching of the scalp start getting around puberty in some people.
The skin of the scalp has many layers. Cells start growing in the dermis at the bottom, and work way up their until they form a layer of dead cells on the skin surface, dead cells fall off in small flakes which we don't even notice. Washing your hair or brushing it gets rid of these tiny flakes.
Causes:
- You have dry or oily skin
- The air is especially dry or frigid (example: winter time)
- You spend a lot of time in chlorinated pools
- You shampoo too often or too little
- A neurological condition is involved (example: Parkinson’s disease)
- High levels of stress occur often
- Sensitivity to your hair care products
- It runs in the family
- You develop a yeast infection on your scalp
- You have a condition that impairs your immune system (example: HIV)
Dandruff control:
- Massage (not scrub) your scalp in the shower
- Rinse off immediately after dips in the pool
- Make changes to your dietary intake
- B-vitamins, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial to scalp health
- Expose your head to the sun for a few minutes every day
- Dandruff tends to improve in the summer, unless it’s exceptionally hot and humid
- Experiment with removing a hair care product from your routine; one of them may be an irritant
- Try home remedies like tea tree oil, baking soda, or sea salt
Treatment:
- Ketoconazole: It is an imidazole antimycotic agent and has been used for the treatment of multiple mycoses orally. Ketoconazole has been approved for prescription use at 2% topical and for over-the counter use at 1% in shampoos. Twice-weekly treatments are currently recommended for ketoconazole-containing shampoos. It blocks fungal synthesis of ergosterol. The ergosterol is an essential constituent of fungal cell membranes. Ketoconazole binds and inhibits cytochrome P450 14-alpha-demethylase. This enzyme is required in fungal the sterol biosynthesis for the formation of ergosterol from lanosterol.
- Climbazole: It is other azoles antifungal used in antidandruff shampoos with high in vitro and in vivo efficacy against Malassezia evaluated for safety and efficacy. This shampoo is not marketed in the United States.
- Coal tar: It approved for over-the-counter treatment of seborrheic dermatitis, dandruff and psoriasis at levels of 0.5?5%, it reduces the size and number of epidermal cells, decreases the dermal infiltrates and epidermal proliferation. Coal tar may also have slight antifungal activity, which could explain its minimal antidandruff efficacy. Coal tar-containing shampoo and treatment products have been marketed for decades, especially for psoriasis.
- Sulfur is approved for over-the counter treatment of dandruff at levels of 2?5%.
- Salicylic acid: It is approved for over-the-counter treatment of seborrheic dermatitis, dandruff, and psoriasis at concentrations of 1.8?3%, is an exfoliant that loosens weakly adherent flakes, enabling them to be washed away.
