The Lifestyle-ista

GOT DANDRUFF AND WANT TO GET RID OF IT?

I got a great question from M.T. about dandruff and I know many of you face the same issues…

WHAT IS DANDRUFF:

The shedding of skin cells is normal… BUT dandruff isn’t.

There are a few different types of dandruff:

DRY SCALP:

– Dry scalp caused by environment or a skin condition e.g. eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis etc.

Are you using a very drying shampoo?  Go for a mild, moisturizing one instead… Perhaps a sulphite free shampoo…

OILY SCALP:

– Fungal overgrowth:

One ‘popular’ form of dandruff is caused by ‘malassezia’, a yeast-like fungus…  This fungus lives on a healthy scalp but when it starts to grow out of control, it starts to speed up the turnover of the skin cells.  These shed skin cells bind together with the oil on the scalp and cause what we call “dandruff flakes”…  Yuk!  We’ve all had it. 🙁

What contributes to dandruff?

– Making your scalp an even more tantalizing environment for these naughty microbes through overuse of hair products – hair gels, mousses, sprays etc. (fungal overgrowth)

– Humidity and heat (fungal overgrowth)

– dry, cold weather (dry scalp)

– dry, indoor heating (dry scalp)

– B complex or zinc deficiency

– Stress

– Hormonal changes

– Not rinsing your shampoo off throughly after each wash.

ANTI-DANDRUFF SHAMPOO:

Make sure your anti-dandruff shampoo contains one of the following active ingredients:

Try ones with different active ingredients to see which ones work…

– zinc pyrithione – decreases fungus and bacteria, cut down on scalp oil production

– selenium sulfide – decreases fungus and reduce the rate of cell turnover

– ketoconazole – anti fungal

– salicylic acid – helps get rid of the dead skin cells

– IF NONE OF THESE ANTI-DANDRUFF SHAMPOOS WORK… TRY A full-on TAR SHAMPOO!  Yes it smells appalling and it may even irritate your ski (lol) but it’s an age-old remedy that works!  It decreases fungus and reduce the rate of cell turnover.

***Wash with shampoo twice.  On the second wash, allow the shampoo to ‘soak in’ and have the active ingredients work… for 5 mins.***

HOMEMADE ANTI-DANDRUFF REMEDIES:

A homemade salicylic acid remedy:

Pound 4 aspirins into a powder and add it to your shampoo.  Allow it to penetrate the skin cells on your scalp for 5 mins before washing away with regular shampoo.

Lemon or Lime rinse:

3 tablepoons of lemon or lime juice in one cup of water.

This balances the pH levels of your scalp, reduces itchiness and has an anti-bacterial action.  It’ll even make your hair shine.  VERY IMPORTANT: Wash off all the lemon or lime before you go out into the sun (or else your hair will bleach!)

and

If your dandruff doesn’t go away or if you feel it is extreme, see a dermatologist!

Good luck chica!  I’m here rooting for you.

love,

The Lifestylista

xox

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