Conditioner and dandruff There are some situations where a conditioner is good for your dandruff, and some situations where it can make your dandruff worse. If your hair is dry and frizzy, that is often due to scalp oil getting trapped and the normal flow to the tips of your hair becoming blocked.
KEEPING YOUR SCALP HEALTHY
If you have dandruff, remember, to make anti-dandruff products the last step in your routine. Use a dry scalp shampoo to help prevent flakes and restore your scalp's natural moisture balance. Then, if you use conditioner, make sure it's an anti-dandruff conditioner.
Conditioning Treatments.
If you use a hot oil treatment, make sure it isn't too hot; warm oil or a deep conditioner applied the scalp twice a week can help moisturize and soothe an itchy, dry scalp. Deep conditioning and hot oil treatments can also make dry, brittle hair healthy and supple.
Simply using an anti-dandruff shampoo isn't sufficient to treat dandruff ridden scalp. What you would likewise require is an anti-dandruff hair conditioner as well. Most anti-dandruff conditioners are intended to be applied on the scalp as well.
Leave-in conditioners can help with dandruff if they contain dandruff-fighting ingredients. In addition to the natural scalp soothing remedies mentioned earlier, some leave-in conditioners may contain salicylic acid or pyrithione zinc.
Dandruff tends to be worse during dry months. Cold, dry winter weather in particular can make dandruff worse. Stress or fatigue can trigger or aggravate it, too.
In fact, the most effective way to treat most dandruff is to use an over-the-counter shampoo, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) explains. You should shampoo your hair daily and swap in the anti-dandruff shampoo twice a week.
The frequency of shampooing necessary to control dandruff varies from person to person. Some need to shampoo twice a week, others more frequently, even daily. Many people forget that the scalp as well as the hair needs to be shampooed.
Allow the shampoo to rinse down the hair shaft as opposed to piling hair on top of your head while rubbing in the shampoo. This will stop it from tangling. Make sure the water isn't too hot, as hot water can dry the hair and the scalp, causing brittle hair and/or dandruff, Drouillard says.
Applying conditioner on the roots is the most common mistake. “Since the scalp produces natural sebum to nourish the roots, applying conditioner on the scalp will further make the roots too greasy and flat,” says Motwani. Silicones are also commonly found in conditioners and they will cause build-up on the scalp.
Because your scalp is already oily, the conditioner oils can end up becoming a cause of dandruff. You'll notice that conditioners have a slightly greasy texture. If conditioners are used too often or in large quantities, your scalp oil has nowhere to go.
“Applying conditioner to the roots near the scalp doesn't necessarily cause damage, but it can cause the hair to be flat and/or limp,” Kalin shares. So if you're hoping to achieve voluminous locks, avoid putting conditioner on your scalp at all costs.
Do your best to resist the urge to touch your scalp, especially if it's already itchy. Scratching can increase irritation and lead to a vicious cycle. When you touch and scratch, you can also introduce dirt into the mix that can make dandruff worse. Find the right shampooing balance for your scalp.
You should wash your hair more often.
“Not shampooing enough will only make your dandruff worse — it causes more oil and dead skin cells to accumulate on your scalp, which the yeast and fungi just continue to feed on,” warns Beverly Hills dermatologist Stuart H.
Hot water can give you dandruff. Dry scalp is one of the prime reasons behind dandruff and itchiness. Given that hot water can leave your scalp extremely dry, it can also lead to increased itchiness and dandruff issues.
Cold Water
Keeping this in practice helps you close the cuticles that you expanded earlier with warm water, while also sealing the moisture in. Moreover, it can also be deeply relaxing for your scalp skin after all that dandruff itching it's been through.
Then, and this is very important: rinse out with cold water. As cold as you can possibly handle. Cold water will close the follicles of the hair as well as the skin's pores, making it much easier to keep out dirt or any harmful substances that may cause negative effects like dandruff.
It could be that you don't use enough shampoo, or that the shampoo you use isn't strong enough to break down the oil barrier that is contributing to your dandruff. The remedy: While the fix could be as simple as shampooing more frequently, you might need to take it one step further.
Not washing your hair can lead to sebaceous secretion which can cause infection of the hair follicles. If you have dandruff, it tends to get mixed with the sebaceous secretion, increasing the risk of folliculitis. “Folliculitis causes inflammation of the hair follicles that can result in infection.
Both dandruff and dry scalp cause flakes and itchy skin on your scalp, which makes them challenging to distinguish. Oily, large flakes typically point to dandruff, while dry, smaller flakes signal dry scalp. If you have a dry, flaking scalp, you may suspect dandruff.
It can take several weeks for dandruff to stop, so don't jump to conclusions about shampoos in the first week or two. If you don't see any improvement after about a month, it's worth using another shampoo or moving on to another dandruff treatment.
Dandruff shampoo is often considered a first-choice treatment for dandruff. Several dandruff shampoos are available over-the-counter (OTC), including Head and Shoulders (selenium sulfide) and Nizoral A-D (ketoconazole). Head and Shoulders and Nizoral A-D are both effective treatment options for dandruff.
Dandruff And Stress
Thankfully stress itself is not a direct cause of dandruff. The ever-present microbe on your scalp, Malassezia Globosa, is the true culprit. However, dandruff and stress are not completely unrelated as the symptoms of stress have been shown to significantly aggravate a dandruff problem.
In most cases, dandruff doesn't directly cause hair loss. However, the itchiness it causes can lead to scratching. This can injure your hair follicles, leading to some hair loss, though not complete baldness.