DandruffTreatments.com is your one stop shop for all kinds of dandruff treatments and anti-dandruff shampoos. Dandruff is a common skin condition on the scalp where dead and dying skin cells shed. Often the dead cells clump together appears a white flakes in the hair. Dandruff affects more than 45 million people in the United States. The shedding of skin cells is a natural occurrence as the skin is constantly replacing itself from the inside so the cells are pushed up and eventually fall off. This usually occurs in small amounts and is not noticeable.
Dandruff Treatments
Soothing Agents: Baking soda and coal tar are included as ingredients in dandruff shampoos to relieve itching and inflammation.
Anti-fungals: The most common antifungal ingredients in anti-dandruff shampoos include zinc pyrithione, selenium sulfide and ketoconazole. Dandruff treating shampoos containing ketoconazole have been shown to be more effective than pyrithione zinc. Additional antifungals contained in anti-dandruff shampoo include tea tree oil, sulfur and piroctone olamine.
Removal of excess skin cells: Salicylic acid, selenium sulfite or ketoconazole are ingredients in dandruff treating shampoos that help to break up and clear the scalp of build-up of excess dead cells.
Reduction in skin cell production: Coal tar and salicylic acid help to reduce the overproduction of scalp skin cells. Ketoconazole may also reduce the production of scalp skin cells.
Causes of Dandruff
There is not a scientific consensus on what causes dandruff. Generally, there are few mechanisms that are believed to cause dandruff they can be external or internal. External causes of dandruff include fungus, cold and dry weather, hair coloring chemicals, hair gels and sprays, and electric blow dryers and curlers. Internal causes of dandruff may include autoimmune disorders and possibly, stress, diet and hormonal changes. There are not any scientific studies to prove any of the last three internal factors causes dandruff but they may have a role in the severity of certain autoimmune disorders that cause dandruff like symptoms.
Theories on dandruff production and proliferation include the interplay between fungus which is present on most people's scalp with or with dandruff and the sebum -- the oil the scalp produces. When the skin on the scalp's oil production fluctuates it may lead to a proliferation of fungal growth increase the shedding of dead skin cells.
Types of Dandruff
Dandruff is generally categorized in few categories depending on the severity and the cause. The types and causes of dandruff are (i) Mild, (ii) Moderate, (ii) Severe, (iii) Seborrheic Dematitis and (iv) Scalp Psoriasis. Symptoms of mild, moderate and severe dandruff include gradually increase amounts of dryness, flaking, and itching on the scalp. The symptoms of Seborrheic Dermatitis are generally more severe than typical dandruff. Symptoms of Seberrheic Dermatitis include flaky, greasy and scaly inflamed red skin usually on the scalp but it may occur in other places on the face such as the eyebrows, eyelids, nose and ears. In more severe cases it can also occur in the skin folds on the elbows and legs as well as the chest. The flakes caused by Seberrheic Dermatitis are yellowish in color. Scalp Psoriasis is occurs in over fifty percent of the people who have psoriasis. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder that generally presents itself on the skin. Scalp psoriasis can range from mild with a small amount of fine scales to severe with crusty thick plaques cover the majority of the scalp area and even extending down the neck and forehead. The flakes caused by scalp psoriasis are generally silver and powdery.