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What is Dandruff?
Dandruff refers to the flaking scalp which falls like a snow flakes and settles on one’s brows, shoulders and clothes, but assumes an unpleasant, irritating condition associated with bacteria, in the case of excessive formation of scales on the scalp.
The basic cause of dandruff is the shedding of dead skin cells from the scalp, which is in fact a process that takes place all of the time for every person. In the normal course of events for someone who does not suffer dandruff, the life cycle of average skin cells is somewhere around 28 days. During this period of time, the skin cells are formed within the body before being gradually pushed to the outermost epidermal layer of the skin. Once the cells reach the very outer layer of the skin, in contact with the air, they quickly die and are shed by the body.
Signs & Symptoms of Dandruff
In this case, the individual concerned is producing far too many skin cells, with the whole cell production process taking place in something between two and seven days. The result is that these cells are shed in oily clumps or as flakes, hence this person has dandruff. In effect, someone who suffers from this problem is simply showing the visible signs of an exaggerated physiological process, with their body working too quickly to process the job that for a non-dandruff sufferer is something that they will not even notice. However, the shedding of oily clumps or flakes of skin is often accompanied by redness and irritation as well, so not only does this problem look unpleasant to other people, it can also be an unpleasant problem for the sufferer too. Types of Dandruff
Some of these conditions might require medical attention or special treatment, so you cannot automatically assume that flaky skin landing on your shoulders immediately tells you that you have dandruff (although as dandruff would be by far the most common cause of flaky skin, it would be the most likely cause). Learning to recognize these other conditions is a valuable exercise as it should enable you to differentiate between dandruff and something else that might be (or may become) more serious and worthy of medical attention. Seborrhoeic dermatitis Seborrhoeic dermatitis (sometimes called ‘Seborrheic eczema’) is a skin disorder that can affect not only the scalp but also other areas of the body including the face and trunk. This is a condition that causes flaking, itchy red skin and is most commonly found in areas of the body where there is the largest number of sebaceous glands. As these glands are found in hair follicles, it follows that any part of the body where there is hair present is a place where you might suffer from Seborrhoeic dermatitis. Fortunately, whilst the condition might be visually unpleasant and often causes irritating itching, it is nevertheless harmless. Whilst it is also a condition that can be persistent, it is one that is easily dealt with using either natural means in the majority of cases, or medication if absolutely necessary in the most severe cases. Scalp psoriasis In the case of people who suffer from psoriasis, one area of the body that is often affected is the scalp. As the most common form of psoriasis (psoriasis vulgaris) is characterized by angry red lesions on the skin with a silvery, flaky upper skin layer, scalp psoriasis will usually cause dead skin flakes to land on your clothes in exactly the same way as dandruff would. Psoriasis is a medical condition that can vary in degree and severity, with the most severe cases sometimes requiring medical intervention. And whilst there are different types of psoriasis, it is a fact that 80% of people who suffer from the condition have psoriasis vulgaris, which would be evident in most sufferers by the angry red lesions or plaques that can appear almost anywhere on the body. However, the most common place to encounter psoriasis lesions is on the elbows and knees, so if you have skin flakes dropping down from your head as well as these lesions, it is likely that your scalp problem is associated with psoriasis rather than with dandruff. In this case, seek medical advice to confirm your condition. Fungal infection Every person has millions of fungus cells on every part of their body, but for the majority, these fungi cause no problem whatsoever. However, if the skin is damaged in some way, the fungus on the surface can gain access to the body, in which case it is possible that it might cause a fungal infection. This can happen on any part of the body, including the scalp, so it is entirely possible that from time to time you might suffer a fungal infection that causes the skin cells around the infected area to die in greater numbers than usual. When this happens, you would encounter dandruff-like symptoms as the dead skin cells are shed. Whether you need to seek medical attention in these circumstances would depend upon the severity of the fungal infection from which you are suffering. However, in the case of fungal infection, it should be evident that something is not quite right because it is most likely to be accompanied by a degree of pain, which dandruff very rarely is. Head lice
For example, it is believed that anywhere from 6 to 12 million people are treated for head lice in the USA alone every year, whilst high levels of louse infestation have been reported in countries as diverse as the UK, Australia, Israel, Denmark and Sweden. And in the case of louse infestation, it is possible that the excoriation (or shedding) of skin cells caused by the lice as they go about their ‘business’ might cause a condition that appears to be similar to dandruff. Obviously, having lice is not particularly pleasant, nor is it necessarily healthy as they will bite the host skin four or five times a day to feed and inject saliva into the skin when they do so. Although head lice are not believed to be carriers of any disease, they are certainly something that you want to get rid of as soon as possible, so if there is any reason to suspect an infestation, you should seek attention as soon as possible.
What Causes Dandruff? Although the problem of dandruff is probably one that has affected mankind almost since the dawn of time, it is nevertheless a problem that is not completely and fully understood as yet. Hence it is difficult if not impossible to give a complete definition of what causes the conditionproblem. On the other hand, there are many factors that appear to be implicated in causing the condition, some of which are internal others that are directly related to the scalp itself. Firstly, there are suggestions that part of the reason that some people suffer dandruff could be genetic. Part of the reason for believing this is that this problem generally starts to appear after puberty, and is also far more common in men than it is in women. It is also another oddity about dandruff that it appears to be more common in people who suffer from certain diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, which researchers suggest might also have some genetic causes as well. Some 25 years ago, dermatologists began to suspect that one of the major causes of dandruff is a naturally occurring yeast that everyone carries on their skin known as Malassezia yeast. Nowadays, it is generally agreed that it is a combination of this particular form of yeast and the sebum secreted by the sebaceous glands in the hair upon which this particular yeast feeds that is the primary cause of dandruff in an individual who is already genetically predisposed to suffering from the condition. When the yeast feeds on the natural grease produced by the human skin, it generates oleic acid which then penetrates the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the skin) and causes irregularities in the way the skin cells divide, accelerating the growth of new cells by doing so. As suggested, it is this increased turnover or rapid production of skin cells that causes dandruff, hence removing Malassezia yeast from the skin should help to reduce or remove your dandruff problem.
Risk Factors: Contrary to popular theory, dandruff does not necessarily imply that your head or your hair is dirty, nor is the condition contagious. As a physiological process, dandruff can never be can be completely cured, only treated. Consequently, anything that claims to be able to cure dandruff is something to be viewed with a good deal of skepticism and doubt. Dandruff is a condition that can be suffered in varying degrees, ranging from extremely mild to severe.
Prevention:
Stress and diet There is evidence that stress can play a part in causing dandruff or in making a pre-existing dandruff problem worse. Why this should be the case is not particularly clear, although it may beat that your body speeds up the skin cell production process at times of stress and anxiety when it is more excited. There may also be a connection with the fact that stress and anxiety might prompt quicker sebum production as it is natural to sweat more at times when anxiety or stress is greater. In a similar manner, if your diet contains too much sugar, fat, or starch, this could exacerbate your dandruff problem, as can a diet that is generally low in healthy nutrition. It is sometimes suggested that a dandruff sufferer should avoid eating hot spicy food (which causes sweating in many people) and that alcohol should also be avoided as it is believed that the toxic nature of alcohol in the body might aggravate the problem.
When to seek Medical Advice:
In most cases, there is no need to consult the medical profession to deal with a dandruff problem unless it is extreme is serious, or because it is related to some other condition which does necessitate medical attention.
Treatment/Therapy: Amongst the solutions that I would guess almost every dandruff sufferer has tried or will try are medicated shampoos, shampoos which include chemicals which are supposed to control the problem. There are many different dandruff control shampoos on the market, many of which can be bought over the counter in pharmacies or from drug stores. The active ingredients of these shampoos not surprisingly varies from one brand to another, with some being based on relatively natural substances whilst others are chemical based. Before considering how you can treat your dandruff problem entirely naturally, it makes sense to consider these chemical-based shampoos in order to establish whether there are any possible adverse side-effects. In the majority of cases, the idea of including chemicals in an anti-dandruff shampoo is that the chemicals used are antimicrobial or antifungal so that they reduce or prevent dandruff by inhibiting the growth of the necessary yeast that is a root cause of the problem. There are several different chemicals used in the different brands, with the most common being selenium sulfide, pyrithione zinc and ketoconazole. For the majority of people, because these chemicals are contained in relatively small amounts in medicated shampoos, the risk of adverse side-effects is fairly limited. However, that this does not mean that there is no risk in using the shampoos, because every individual is different and therefore the susceptibility to unpleasant side-effects of any individual person using such as shampoo is an unknown. For example, in the case of shampoos based on selenium sulfide, it is known that this particular chemical can exaggerate pre-existing dry or oily skin, and skin irritation is not unknown. In more extreme cases, selenium sulfide can accelerate natural hair loss, which it is to be assumed is not the primary intention of anyone who is using a medicated shampoo to get rid of their dandruff! Shampoos that contain pyrithione zinc are generally safe for most people, but some people do suffer allergic reactions to the chemical such as skin rashes, hives and lesions. It should also be noted that several sources suggest that using a pyrithione zinc based cleaning agent such as a shampoo over a prolonged period of time might increase the chance of adverse side-effects, so caution is necessary because it cannot be said with any certainty that pyrithione zinc is categorically safe. You should therefore be on the lookout for skin irritations or skin that does not heal as well as it did previously, and if either of these is encountered, you should report the fact to your medical attendant. Shampoos that are based on ketoconazole are using a substance that is known to cause itching, nausea, vomiting, headache and abdominal pain, dizziness and fatigue. In extreme examples, it is believed that ketoconazole can even cause blood disorders and impotence so using a shampoo based on this particular chemical antifungal agent is something that you should do with extreme caution. In tests, shampoos containing ketoconazole have been shown to be more effective than those that contain pyrithione zinc. On the other hand, it is also established that the possible side-effects of ketoconazole are considerably more unpleasant or dangerous than those of the zinc compound. In simple terms, ketoconazole is potentially more effective, but it is also potentially more dangerous as well. The truth about using antifungal chemical based shampoos is that in the majority of cases, they are unlikely to do anyone significant harm, particularly on a short-term basis. This is relevant, because although dandruff is a chronic condition that can often be with you for a lifetime and is incurable, it is also a condition that is seasonal. Hence, you might find that whilst it is necessary during the colder, damper months to use a medicated shampoo containing one of the chemicals highlighted in this chapter, it may be unnecessary to use that shampoo all year round. This is this is something that will depend upon where you live and the severity of your condition, but it is nevertheless true that if you choose to use a chemical based medicated shampoo, you should try to avoid doing so on a permanent basis. And of course, if any of the side-effects highlighted in this chapter become apparent, you should report the details about your condition to your medical attendant as soon as possible. Dandruff - Home Remedies To Get Rid of Dandruff There is a misconception that dandruff is caused by dry scalp. In fact it is due to an oily scalp. Wrong dietary habits like excessive consumption of cheese and chocolates also cause oil to accumulate on the scalp and cause the problem. Worry and tension increases the flow of oil in the scalp, make you prone to dandruff. These white flakes can be a nightmare. Dandruff further tends to weaken the scalp, and the flakes falling on your face, neck and shoulders can affect your skin skin too. Severe dandruff may be the result of psoriasis of the scalp. Seborrheic dermatitis may be caused by an increased number of a yeast-like organism (pityrosporum ovale) found on healthy scalp in low numbers. Dandruff can occur to anybody at any age. It should not be left untreated. Here some natural home remedy for dandruff to get rid of dandruff For good hair without dandruff, drink at least 2 liter water. Combs must be washed and hair should be brushed regularly. This problem is a scalp condition that can be controlled by following home remedy methods. Warm Oil Treatment is best to get rid of dandruff Warm 4-5 tablespoons full of wheat germ oil, olive oil or coconut oil. Massage well into the scalp. Wrap a warm towel around your head. Leave it on for 30 minutes. Rinse your hair thoroughly with water, to which lemon juice has been added. Massage well as you rinse. This is the most commonly known cure for dandruff. This will helps to get rid of the condition. Chickpea Flour (Besan) and Curd is natural dandruff remedy Take half a cup of chickpea flour. Add to this a little curd and enough water to make a thick paste. Apply on the scalp and individual strands of hair. Leave it on for 30 minutes. Rinse vigorously with warm water. Rosemary and Oil Treatment is another treatment for dandruff rid Take half a cup of coconut or olive oil. Add a few drops of rosemary oil, (alternatively, crush some fresh strain the oil by squeezing the leaves.) Apply all over the scalp. Leave it on all night after wrapping up your head with a towel. In the morning, rinse your hair with a mixture of warm water and lemon juice. Fenugreek (Methi) Seeds and Oil for get rid to dandruff Crush a tablespoon of fenugreek seeds in about 5 tablespoons of warm coconut or olive oil. It would be better to boil them in the oil. Cool the mixture and apply generously all over the scalp. Leave it on for two hours. Rinse and wash off. This will helps to get rid of dandruff. Soap Nut (Reetha) is natural dandruff treatment This is ideal for removing dandruff. Soak half cup soap nut overnight in one cup of warm water. Extract the juice from the soap nut br rubbing them vigorously. Strain. Apply directly on the scalp. Leaves this on for 15 minutes. Rinse and wash your hair with tepid water. Shut your eyes tightly while rinsing as it hurts the eyes. Ensure that no residue is left behind. Onion is natural dandruff solution Grind raw onions to fine paste. Rub this paste into your scalp. Leave it on for an half hour. Wash thoroughly. Rub in some lemon juice into your scalp and hair to rid yourself of the onion smell. This will helps to get rid of dandruff. Black Pepper is a natural dandruff home made remedy Take 10 grams of black pepper powder. Add to it the juice of a fresh lime, along with a quarter cup of milk. Rub this mixture thoroughly into your scalp. Leave it on for an hour and wash it out thoroughly with the water.
Dandruff is an inflammation of the skin on the head, causing flaking and itching skin on the scalp. Often noticeable, it can be treated with herbal remedies to help keep the flaking to a minimum. Doctors are not sure what causes dandruff but it can flair up during stressful times as well as in the winter when the air is dry. Vitamin & Nutrient Associations • Evening Primrose – Evening primrose contains an oil that helps rashes as well as dandruff. You can rub the oil into the scalp to help keep the dry skin lubricated. You may also take it in capsule form, typically taking up to 10 capsules per day. • Flaxseed – This has high levels of omega-3 fatty acids which has been known to help with rashes and dandruff. Usually taken internally, take 1 teaspoon per day. You can also rub flaxseed oil directly onto the scalp.
• Tea Tree – Known for its anti-fungal properties, tea tree oil is used externally. Add it to evening primrose oil or flaxseed oil and rub the mixture into the scalp before bed. Leave it on overnight, then rinse out in the morning and wash your hair as usual.
Using Ayurveda Therapy:
Numerous medicated shampoos are available in the market for the treatment of dandruff. Most of these, however, in the process of curing the disorder, cause irreparable damage to the hair roots because of the synthetic ingredients contained in them. The treatment of this condition has to be constitutional, if a permanent cure is desired.
The foremost consideration in the treatment of this disorder is to keep the hair and scalp clean so as to minimise the accumulation of dead cells. The hair should be brushed daily to improve the circulation and remove any flakiness.
The most effective way to brush the hair is to bend forward from the waist with the head down towards the ground, and brush from the nape of the neck towards the top of the head. Short or shoulder-length hair can be brushed right from the roots to the ends in one stroke. In the case of long hair, two strokes would be best to avoid stretching the hair.
The scalp should also be thoroughly massaged every day, using one’s finger tips and working systematically over the head. This should be done just before or after brushing the hair. Like brushing, this stimulators the circulation, dislodges dirt and dandruff and encourages hair growth.
For a proper massage, spread your fingers fanwise and slip them through the hair. With your thumb pressed behind your ears, press down on your scalp with your fingertips. Now rotate your fingers so that they move the scalp over the bony structure of the head. You will feel your skin move and the scalp tingle.
Move up an inch at a time until you have covered the whole head. It is a very simple procedure, and takes only a few minutes to perform.
Several home remedies have been found useful in the treatment of dandruff. The use of fenugreek (methi) seeds is one such remedy. Two tablespoons of fenugreek seeds should be soaked overnight in water. The softer seeds should be ground into a fine paste in the morning.
This paste should be applied all over the scalp and left for half-an hour. The hair should then be washed thoroughly with soap nut (ritha) solution or shikakai. The use of a teaspoon of fresh lime juice for the last rinse, while washing hair, is equally beneficial. This not only leaves the hair glowing but also removes stickiness and prevents dandruff. Washing the hair twice a week with green gram powder in curd is another useful prescription. Dandruff can be removed by massaging one’s hair or half-an- hour with curd which has been kept in the open for three days, or with a few drops of lime juice mixed with amla juice every night, before going to bed. Another measure which helps to counteract this condition is to dilute cider vinegar with an equal quantity of water and dab this on to the hair with cotton wool in between shampooing. Cider vinegar added to the final rinsing water after shampooing also helps to disperse dandruff. Diet plays an important role in the treatment of dandruff. To begin with, the patient should resort to all-fruit diet for about five days. In this regimen, there should be three meals a day, consisting of fresh, juicy fruits, such as apples, pears, grapes, grapefruit, pineapple and peaches. Citrus fruits, bananas, dried, strewed or tinned fruits should not be taken. Only unsweetened lemon or plain water, either hot or cold, should be drunk.
During this period, a warm water enema should be taken daily to cleanse the bowels and all other measures adopted to eradicate constipation.
After the all-fruit diet, the patient can gradually adopt a well- balanced diet. Emphasis should be on raw foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables ; sprouted seeds, raw nuts and whole grain cereals, particularly millet and brown rice. Further short periods on the all-fruits diet for three days or so may be necessary at a monthly interval, till the skin’s condition improves.
Strict attention to diet is essential for recovery. Starchy, protein, and fatty foods should be restricted. Meats, sugar, strong tea or coffee, condiments, pickles, refined and processed foods - all these should be avoided, as also soft drinks, candies, ice cream and products made with sugar and white flour.
Exposure of the head to the rays of the sun is also a useful measure in the treatment of dandruff.
Simultaneously, an attempt should be made to keep the body in good health. This also helps
clear dandruff.
Diet change strategies: Part of this fighting back process has got to be reassessing what you currently eat and drink every day to see whether there are improvements you can make which might help to control your dandruff. As suggested previously, you should try to avoid eating a diet that is too rich in spicy foods, because not only is there a chance that spicy foods might increase your bodily secretions, it is also a fact that some spices irritate the average human metabolism.
When your body is irritated, it naturally tries to counteract this irritation by fighting back which in turn can lead to internal imbalances. Internal imbalances will often manifest themselves in sickness, susceptibility to infections and other external indications of imbalance, one of which could well be worsened dandruff. There are other foodstuffs that you should reduce (or completely cut) your intake of that are believed to have a direct effect on the production of sebum which feeds the yeast that leads to dandruff. For example, cutting down on the saturated fats of the kind that are contained in red meat such as beef whilst also reducing your intake of trans-fatty acids that are often found in margarine could help to reduce your susceptibility to dandruff, because both of these forms of fat are believed to encourage increased sebum production. Whether you are a dandruff sufferer or not, it is common knowledge that a diet rich in colorful fruit and vegetables is always good to you, but what might not be that well known is that it is a particularly good idea for someone with dandruff to eat a vegetable and fruit rich diet. Many of these foods are rich in minerals and B. vitamins and it is generally accepted that a deficiency of both of these nutrients can aggravate a dandruff problem. Hence, you should include a good portion of leafy green vegetables, potatoes, bananas, red chili peppers and lentils in your diet as all of these are a rich source of different minerals and vitamin B. variants. The B. vitamins help to counteract the inefficient metabolism of fatty acids and carbohydrates which is in turn believed to contribute to the incidence of dandruff, so increasing the level of these vitamins in your diet is a significant step towards freeing yourself of the misery of dandruff. If you do not consume milk as part of your everyday diet, you should, because it contains every vitamin that mammals need for good health. The fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A., K., D. and E. are all contained in the milk fat, so if you drink no-fat or reduced fat milk, you will not take much of any of these vitamins on board. On the other hand, the B. group vitamins are found in the aqueous (water based) part of the milk, so even if you take reduced fat milk, you will still take on board a significant amount of B. vitamins. Incidentally, fluid milk in the USA is often supplemented with vitamin D., whilst in other countries, different vitamin supplements are added to fluid milk, such as vitamin A. It is also believed that vitamin D-3 has many benefits, particularly for your skin. Unfortunately, the human body does not generate vitamin D. without some outside assistance although each and every one of us needs vitamin D. in order to maintain good health. However, it is generated primarily by the skin due to the effects of sunlight in combination with certain foodstuffs such as milk, cheese, butter, cereals and fatty fish. Of course, many of us see very little of the sun, perhaps because we live in a part of the world where there is not a great deal of sunshine for a significant proportion of the year, or perhaps because the majority of people work in an indoor environment. It is for these reasons that vitamin D deficiency is most commonly seen in people who live in the northern regions at higher latitudes who see less of the sun than people that live close to the equator. Furthermore, even for people who live in sunnier climes, their concern over the possibility of contracting skin cancer leads many to use sunscreen every time they venture outdoors. Whilst taking such precautions is obviously sensible in some ways, it does unfortunately mean that perhaps as much as 95% of the body’s ability to generate vitamin D. is cancelled out by the application of sunscreen. Recent studies have indicated that many patients who are suffering from a wide variety of inflammatory conditions were vitamin D deficient. The connection between vitamin D. and inflammatory conditions (of which dandruff is one example) was further emphasized by the fact that the condition of many of these patients improved once additional vitamin D. was added to their diet. There are various different forms in which vitamin D. can be taken, but it is generally agreed that vitamin D3, the form that is typically found in fish oil or other oily fish related products is the most beneficial because it appears to be the form from which vitamin D. can be absorbed most efficiently. Some nutritionists suggest that increasing the amount of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) in your diet can also assist anyone with a dandruff problem to minimize the size of that problem. It is believed that increasing the amount of GLA in your diet will help to improve the general condition of your skin and hair, so it is probably worth adding a rich source of GLA such as blackcurrant or evening primrose oil to your diet to see what difference this makes.
Even when we try to eat well, we're disadvantaged. The nutritional content of most food has been compromised over the years, not only by deficient soils and modern production, transportation, storage and processing methods, but also by the enormous amounts of chemical and artificial substances added to promote growth, storage life, taste and appearance. It's for this reason that more and more medical authorities are advocating the use of vitamin and mineral supplements. However, finding them in the right combination can be both confusing and costly.
You may find benefit from our information on detoxification as well as a bit about detoxing because of change of diet We wish you well in your search for solutions to this Dandruff problem and your movement towards better health in all areas. More Resources available about Dandruff:
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These scales are formed from the horny layer of the skin. The scaliness increases whenever the hair is brushed or rubbed. It may also appear as lumps or crusts on the scalp. Often there is itching as well, and the scalp may become red from
scratching.
The white lumps or flakes on the shoulders of someone wearing dark clothing do not necessarily indicate a person who suffers from dandruff, because there are other conditions that can cause the skin on the scalp to flake in a similar way. 
Although it is perhaps not that easy to believe in this day and age, there are still millions of people (mainly children) all over the world who suffer from head lice. 
