WHY DOES DANDRUFF HAPPEN?
Preventing dandruff involves maintaining a healthy scalp and minimizing factors that contribute to its development. First we need to understand dandruff itself. Both bacteria (Staphylococcus capitis) and fungus ( Malassezia) contribute significantly to dandruff in addition to other factors. Dandruff is extremely important to manage not only because it can be embarrassing but also continuously scratching your scalp does increase hair loss significantly. Lucky for you, there are several dandruff treatments you can do at home!
There’s usually 2 sources for dandruff:
- internal
- external, or both.
I usually recommend checking the internal things first. Internal causes of dandruff examples are unbalanced diet, stress, not sleeping enough etc. If all of these are fine, then, I recommend trying some of the external tips like dandruff shampoo, purchasing a showerhead filter, vinegar rinses etc. I will have links to the products and tools I prefer and recommend. Some of these links are affiliate links so, I do receive a small commission from them at no extra cost to you. If you do decide to purchase some products using my links, I appreciate the support and thank you! Here are some tips to help prevent dandruff:
EXTERNAL DANDRUFF TIPS:
1. Keep your scalp clean:
Regularly wash your hair 1-3x a week with a gentle shampoo to remove excess oil, dirt, and dead skin cells from the scalp. Avoid using harsh or drying shampoos that can strip the scalp of its natural oils. Dandruff is dead skin cells so it will be worse when we don’t shampoo our hair and scalp well enough. When you do shampoo your hair, especially if you wash 1-2x a week, shampoo it TWICE. If you want to look at some shampoos and conditioners I recommend please check out this link: https://benable.com/Styledbykurry .
2. Use an anti-dandruff shampoo or even a good quality pH balanced shampoo:
Do not do this right away. They can make the problem worse if you use these right away, so pleaseeeee don’t. If none of these other 11 tips do the trick, THEN consider using an anti-dandruff shampoo containing active ingredients like zinc pyrithione, ketoconazole, or selenium sulfide. These ingredients help control the growth of the fungus Malassezia, which is associated with dandruff. pH balanced shampoos and conditioners are probably the most underrated products ever! Down below on tip #12 I explain why your scalps pH is so important.
3. Avoid excessive use of styling products:
Some hair styling products, such as gels, mousses, and hairsprays, can build up on the scalp and contribute to dandruff. Limit their use or choose products that are labeled as non-comedogenic or non-acnegenic. If you love using these products, make sure you’re washing your hair very well. Wash up to 3x depending on how much product you put in your hair.
4. Avoid hot water and excessive heat styling:
Hot water and excessive heat styling can dry out the scalp, leading to flakiness and dandruff. Use lukewarm water or cold water, if you’re brave, for hair washing and limit the use of heat styling tools.
5. Brush your hair and clean your brushes regularly:
Brushing your hair helps distribute natural oils from the scalp to the hair strands, preventing oil buildup on the scalp. It also helps remove dead skin cells and improve blood circulation to the scalp. Just like how cleaning and disinfecting tools revolutionized the health industry, I believe it should be common practice that anything that touches our bodies should be cleaned and disinfected.
Ideally cleaning or rotating through brushes every 2 weeks is ideal, but I know life happens. So, I do recommend cleaning them at least once a month. I do offer a complimentary service to all my clients where they can bring in their clean brushes and I disinfect them during your appointment.
6. Avoid sharing hair items:
Sharing combs, brushes, hats, or towels with others can transfer fungal or bacterial infections that may contribute to dandruff. Use your own personal items to maintain scalp hygiene.
7. Protect your scalp from extreme weather conditions:
Cold, dry weather or excessive sun exposure can irritate the scalp and trigger dandruff. Wear a hat or use protective products to shield your scalp from extreme weather conditions.
8. Purchase a shower head filter!
Especially if the average pH of the water in your area is over a 7, if you have extremely hard water, have extremely soft water, use well water, or live in a large metropolitan area. There are several different heavy metals, minerals and chemicals that can be found in the water that can build up on your hair and scalp throw off your pH. Which in turn will increase dandruff production and increase bacterial growth due to your scalps pH being unbalanced.
If you research it, it will say a tiny carbon filter won’t do much. Before moving here, I had really nice hair and washed once a week. After living here for a few weeks, I noticed I was super itchy, my hair was falling out, it was breaking off, it looked greasy, it had a weird texture to it that I never had experienced before. I bought a nice shampoo and conditioner, showerhead filter and now my hair is amazing even though I’m bleach blonde. I recommend EVERYONE to buy one. If you want to check out which showerhead filter I like from Amazon it will be linked Here
9. Seek medical advice if needed:
If your dandruff persists despite following preventive measures or if it becomes severe and accompanied by other symptoms like redness, itching, or hair loss, consult a dermatologist for further evaluation and treatment options.
10. Lavender or Rosemary Oil:
They have been known to be great for sensitive skin, calm irritated skin, and have antibacterial properties. To help soothe your scalp in a natural way, you can add these essential oils to your products. 1-5 drops TOTAL in your shampoo or conditioner bottle, depending on the size of the bottle.
You can also dilute a few drops in a tablespoon of rubbing alcohol or vodka. Let it sit 30 min or so. Then place this solution in a spray bottle with distilled water. You can then spray this on your scalp once a week. I like to do this at the end of the week either the day I will wash my hair or I apply it right out of the shower.
ALWAYS dilute essential oils. They are extremely strong, You will damage your skin and develop allergies to them if if you use them pure. If you use them for 3 months in a row, take a 1-2 month break. You could also alternate weeks of your essential oil treatments.
11. Do Hydrating scalp treatments.
Once a week to every other week, use pure jojoba oil or argan oil in your scalp. They are compatible with the sebum our skin produces so they don’t just coat your hair and skin, they sink in. This will also help train your scalp to produce less oil over time. I will make a blog post that tells you how to use these oils to produce less oil in 11/2023. If you want to check out my favorite brand of jojoba oil please check out the Skincare section in my Amazon storefront which is linked here https://www.amazon.com/shop/kurryious/list/1J95WM4V1NXVZ?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_aipsflist_aipsfkurryious_V3379F35XA1V2AYCJ4MP
12. Vinegar Rinses
About pH
- pH in your body is extremely important. Your hair and skin’s pH is at a range of 4.5-5. The average pH of water is 7, which is considered neutral on the pH scale. The water in Bryan – College Station according to, BCS Culligan and the City of Bryan, the water pH is around an 8.4-8.5. The water in LA is an average of 7.7 if your water is coming from the “Los Angeles Aqueduct Filtration Plant” according to the water report from California State University Northridge.
Why it’s important?
- Our skin is more acidic to protect our bodies and prevent infections. Just like if our pH is out of balance downstairs, we get a UTI; it’s the same thing on your scalp. Throwing your pH out of balance with extremely basic water or shampoo will increase bacterial and fungal growth. Therefore causing dandruff, itching, and hair loss. The water in BCS is extremely bad for you skin, including your scalp, because it’s constantly throwing it’s pH out of balance. I can literally tell when people don’t have a showerhead filter from the texture of their hair.
Did I mention, The pH scale is logarithmic? Meaning that an increase or decrease of a number changes the concentration by multiples of 10.
- For example, a pH of 3 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 4. Likewise, a pH of 3 is one hundred times more acidic than a pH of 5. Similarly a pH of 11 is ten times more basic than a pH of 10.
Solution:
- You can use whichever vinegar you like, white, apple cider vinegar, etc. As long as it’s pH level listed on the bottle is a 4 or less and you’re diluting it with some water in a 1-1 or 1 to 2 ratio with the latter number being water. This is just a bandaid fix though not a permanent one. I was doing vinegar rinses to help tide me over while purchasing my shampoo, conditioner, and showerhead filter. But it definitely doesn’t even come close to how amazing my hair is now with these products and not itchy!
INTERNAL DANDRUFF TIPS
13. Maintain a balanced diet:
I’m sure you are sick of hearing this but, you are what you eat! The food we eat impacts our bodies significantly! A healthy diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants can promote scalp health. Include foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats in your diet.
14. Manage stress:
Stress can worsen everything, including dandruff symptoms. Practice stress management techniques like exercise, meditation, or deep breathing exercises to reduce stress levels.
I hope these 14 at home dandruff tips are useful to you and that you learned something new today. Please remember, the external tips are the most important ones and should be done first. Consistency is key when it comes to preventing dandruff. Stick to a regular hair care routine and be patient as it may take time to see improvements.
