How to Deal With an Itchy Scalp and Dandruff
Posted by GuestWriter on October 2nd, 2009
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Have you started noticing tiny flakes on the shoulders of your favorite black dress or shirt and been bewildered as to how they got there? Dandruff is frustrating to live with and can be embarrassing if it becomes severe and noticeable in public. If you want to be able to have long, lustrous locks that are free of flakes and a scalp that is calm and not constantly itchy, then it’s time to take a long hard look at what dandruff is actually cause by, and how it can be quickly and successfully dealt with. Unfortunately, the things that would appear to cause dandruff and a flaky scalp are not usually the culprits at all, meaning that more investigation is needed to learn how to recognize and treat dandruff.
While watching a great video on this very topic at a website called DermTV, I learned that what most people don’t realize is that the entire skin organ, that covers your whole body, is constantly rejuvenating itself and shedding off old skin cells. While this may seem really gross, the skin cells that cover your body die about every 28 days, and often fall off without you even noticing, because they are so small. This is all well and good when you have younger skin, but as the skin ages, the skin stops being so good at moisturizing and rejuvenating itself, and problems can arise.
While it may seem like dandruff is dry skin that’s flaking off, it is actually the result of oily, irritated skin that is shedding itself to early. This premature shedding causes the skin to fall off in large clumps, or flakes instead of microscopic cells. The board certified dermatologist that hosted the video on taking care of dandruff informed me that the best way to deal with this problem when it occurs on the scalp is simply to exfoliate and cleanse the scalp skin with regular shampooing.
If after about two weeks of daily shampooing with your normal hair products, you don’t notice the dandruff starting to clear up, it is time to switch to a medicated shampoo that contains tar, zinc, or salicylic acid. These are medicines that can be used to soothe the inflammation and clogged pores that are causing the flakes in the first place. If these over the counter, topical medications don’t work, it is best to talk with your dermatologist so that he can assess the situation and prescribe something stronger.
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