By Ali Finney, photography by Averie Woodward/Unsplash
It’s not dry skin.
It’s Friday night, you’ve punched out from work, and you’re standing in front of your closet pondering: “What do I wear out tonight?” Here’s a shocking fact: The most obvious answer—the little black dress—is out of the question to some women because they’re worried about showing their dandruff. According to a new survey from Head and Shoulders, nearly half of women and men said they don’t wear black because of flakes (and 39 percent of millennials said they’d rather their partner point out bad breath than flakes).
READ MORE: How Healthy Is Your Scalp?
Dandruff is one of the most most common scalp conditions, and despite what you’ve heard, it’s actually NOT caused by dryness. Dandruff occurs when a yeast known as malassezia forms on the scalp. We all have it, says dermatologist Dr Joshua Zeichner —but some of us react to it, and others don’t. When you and the yeast don’t get along, you get the classic oily, flat, yellow flakes on your scalp. “An oily environment promotes yeast growth,” he says. “Yeast levels may rise when the humidity and heat rise or during times of sweating like when you exercise.”
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That’s why it’s key to have a shampoo with a yeast-nixing ingredient. It’s also important if you have dandruff to keep your combs and brushes clean, to avoid adding more irritating germs into the mix. If you’re not seeing results from an OTC shampoo, it’s probably smart to head to the doctor’s office for more help.
READ MORE: Dandruff? There Are Five Types So You Might Be Treating It Wrong
Even if you don’t have dandruff, you can take care to, well, take better care of your scalp. Nowadays, we put our hair through the ringer, using chemical processes (such as colouring) and products (dry shampoo, cough, cough) that can be irritating. “With such a high concentration of oil glands on the scalp, it is very rare for the scalp truly to be dry,” says Zeichner. “However, some hair care products or processes may cause irritation to the scalp which can lead to flaking as well.”
Luckily, dryness like this generally tends to go away once you stop using the product that caused the irritation. So you might just need a slight tweak to your routine in order to banish those pesky flakes.
Looking for more ways to protect your hair? Read up on how your hairstyle could be making you bald, plus get gorgeous hair and skin with pomegranates.
This article originally appeared on www.womenshealthmag.com
