Hair Tag

What Causes Dandruff?

Is your scalp itchy? Is it dry and flaky yet still paradoxically greasy? Do you shed a blizzard of flakes? Redness and tenderness to the scalp got you down? You very well may have dandruff or seborrheic dermatitis as dermatologist like to call it.

So why do some people get dandruff? The cause of dandruff is believed to be a complicated interaction between naturally occurring yeast, your skin oil, and the resultant inflammation. For unclear reasons, the yeast finds the composition of some individuals’ scalp oil to be delicious. The digestion of these oils generates fatty acids that penetrate the skin and stir up inflammation (hence the redness and flaking). It is not an infection of yeast per se, but a poorly understood reaction to your skin’s natural inhabitants.

What’s the Nit-Picking Problem?

Another child and distraught mother materialized right at closing time this week. “He cannot go back to school until it is treated!" the tired working mother bemoaned. Head lice are the scourge of grade schools everywhere, from the ritziest private schools on down. And they are not going anywhere anytime soon. While harmless to the kid, adults go berserk—casting glances of judgment upon the family and banning the child from school and social events. Parents take it particularly hard and are start harboring deep feelings of guilt and question how hygienic their homes and housekeeping skills really are.

As P.T. Barnum said, “There is a sucker born every minute.” Perhaps nothing speaks better to the validity of this than the multi-billion dollar industry for hair loss. We are all suckers for our hair. It defines us. We groom and style it to communicate different messages to others. We color, twist, braid, clip, and even spike it. It is a sign of virility, youth, and strength.