What Causes Hair Dandruff?

What Causes Hair Dandruff? Dandruff is a condition that causes the skin on the scalp to shed flakes of skin. It occurs as three times as many men as women. Although dandruff can be embarrassing and even difficult to cure, it often resolves itself without any trouble at all.

Dry skin

Dry skin is often associated with dandruff. If you wash your hair too infrequently or use too much product, you may find that it dries out your scalp, leading to flaking. Using harsh chemicals like silicone can also dry your scalp and lead to dandruff. And if you smoke or are under stress, this will affect your sebaceous glands, leading to dryness and flaking.

Poor hygiene

What causes hair dandruff is, if you don’t wash your hair regularly, you may find that it begins to produce extra oils that can clog pores, leading to an overgrowth of yeast (which lives on everyone’s scalp). This yeast triggers an allergic reaction resulting in itching, redness, and flakes.

Heredity

If anyone in your family suffers from it, then you are more likely to suffer from it too. However, the heredity factor is not as strong as some of the other causes for dandruff; if poor diet, hygiene, or stress are affecting you, even if you come from a dandruff-prone family, you will still suffer from it.

Yeast Infections in the scalp

When yeasts living on the surface of the scalp adapt to being shampooed twice per day, something strange begins to happen- these yeasts begin to change from commensals into parasites. Suddenly, instead of just living happily at the surface, they invade deeper into the epidermis and start eating keratinocytes as if they were yeasts.

Cradle cap

A type of scaly dermatitis that usually appears on babies’ scalps and faces and gives an appearance of thick white or yellow scales. It spreads over the face just like acne, but unlike acne, there is no redness associated with it, and it even shows up on eyelids and neck.

This condition is very common in babies and starts at 3 to 6 months of age with a good response to medical treatment given by the dermatologist.

Pregnancy

This may result in this problem as, during pregnancy, estrogen levels increase, which can weaken the skin of the scalp, thus leading to excessive dryness resulting in dandruff formation.

Dehydration of the Stratum Corneum

The stratum corneum plays an important role in scaling due to its binding with keratinocytes. A reduction in water content induces impairment in desquamation activity, leading to the accumulation of corneocytes resulting in scales on the skin’s surface. This scale is mostly made up of proteins, lipids, and other substances present at this level that are nonviable.

Malassezia yeast species

It has been suggested that fungal infection may influence dandruff formation. Malassezia globose and M. restricta have been implicated as a factor in dandruff formation, but the role of other fungi is not well known.

Oily Skin (Seborrheic dermatitis)

It is an inflammatory skin condition that appears on the face, chest, and back; it may spread to some parts of the body like behind the ears, neckline, upper chest & lower abdomen, where there are many sebaceous glands. Flakes of dandruff are generally grey-white and are oily.

People with seborrheic dermatitis usually have redness on the face, yellow crusting & greasy skin flakes on the scalp that form scales.

Psoriasis

An autoimmune skin condition triggers an overproduction of skin cells called keratinocytes, which pile up on the skin’s surface, resulting in thick, scaly patches of dandruff.

It occurs on the scalp, elbows, knees & lower back. The affected people can easily get relief by applying coconut oil or almond oil regularly for a few months to reduce the scalp’s dryness and reduce the risk of recurrence.

Stress

The stress hormone cortisol increases sebum production, leading to an acne breakout or dandruff. Hair follicles become more sensitive under the effects of increased cortisol levels and trigger over-production of dead skin cells on the scalp. Dead skin cells form scales by sticking together to form flake-like particles along with oily secretions from hair follicles.

It may be because hair follicles connected to oil glands (sebaceous glands) get stimulated and secrete excess amount of oil, leading to clogged pores & greasy hair. This problem is common in people who frequently change physically demanding jobs.

Fungal Infections

It develops due to having certain fungal infections. When you are infected with a fungus, it causes an overproduction of keratin, making up your hair and nails, making them shed faster than usual. Along with fungus, seborrheic dermatitis has been known to cause hair dandruff.

Seborrheic dermatitis is a condition that causes the skin of your scalp to become red and flaky, which can lead to hair dandruff that looks similar to having a fungal infection.

Incorrect Hair Care Practices

Haircare practices that disrupt or damage the natural balance of oils on your scalp can contribute to dandruff. These include overuse of styling products, hair gels, or hair sprays that contain alcohol as an ingredient. Excessive heat applied to the hair through blow drying and hot iron use could strip away oils from your scalp skin.

Aggressive brushing or combing, chemical processing such as permanent waves or straightening treatments that damage the outer layers of the hair shaft and lack regular haircuts that could allow ingrown hairs to develop around the base near your roots.

Not having Enough Sebaceous Glands

Not having enough sebaceous glands to produce oil for your scalp. This could result in an oily appearance but with no visible dandruff-like flakes present to indicate dryness. Which might also cause itching of the affected area compared to the scalp, where there is normal oil production.

This condition is known as seborrheic dermatitis, and it’s the cause of dandruff that many people wrongly blame their shampoo for causing, when in fact, it might be helping to control an underlying skin condition they don’t know about.

Skin Cells are Shed all the Time Naturally

Dead skin cells, including those of the scalp, are constantly being replaced by new ones. However, when dead skin cells don’t flake off (or do so excessively) and instead clump together with oil and other skin debris, they can eventually lead to thick adherent scales forming on your scalp, which is what causes hair dandruff.

Conclusion

In conclusion, dandruff is unpleasant and uncomfortable, not only for the person affected but also for those nearby. It can be caused by many different things, which are more serious than others.