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Causes of dandruff

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August 29, 2008

Dandruff is an itchy skin problem that affects the scalp. Dandruff, if not treated at an early stage, can turn out to be a real headache. In its advanced stage, the dirty white flakes of dandruff find its place even on your eyebrows. Constant itching can only make your scalp reddened. It won’t bring down the trouble a bit. Its unmistakable and most embarrassing symptom is the white flakes that lie on your shoulder.

Dandruff settles in your head due to a variety of reasons. Emotional stress, wrong food combinations, over exposure to extreme cold climate, applying harsh shampoos can all be reasons for the itchy menace. However lack of cleanliness is pointed out as the most common cause. Choosing the right shampoo for your hair and applying it regularly will help to prevent dandruff to a good extent.

Though one or other of the above reasons are usually cited as the cause of dandruff, the real villain is an yeast-like fungus called malassezia. This microbe
dwells in the scalp of all healthy adults. But, sometimes, due to reasons not exactly known, they multiply in gigantic proportions and result in the death of skin cells. Oil from the hair follicles mix up with these dead cells and give them the look of white flakes as they fall down. Fresh ones in a gradual manner replace the dead cells, within a period of roughly, eleven days. Increased oil production, stress, infrequent shampooing, hormonal fluctuations and even neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease are all said to be possible reasons for the sudden drastic augmentation of the malassezia fungi.

However, treatment should be provided before dandruff develops as a chronic scalp disorder. Excessive scalp flaking is found in its aggravated stage. Another trouble posed by dandruff is its contagious nature. They easily spread from one head to another. This can be effectively checked by avoiding the usage of common bathroom accessories such as shampoos, soaps, towels and of course, hair brushes.

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