What Is Dandruff?

Basically, dandruff is the residue of dead skin cells from the scalp.
According to a study, the flaking of the residue of the dead skin cells on the scalp of the head (dandruff) is somewhere near 480,000 flakes per centimetre square. The presence of dandruff as appears chronically when the number of these flakes crosses some 800,000 per centimetre square.

What Are The Causes?

As we have already mentioned above, biologically, dandruffs come into existence due to the death of skin cells, (resulting into white flakes). This is a regular and normal phenomenon to happen on the scalp. But, the it becomes a condition once the shedding of the white flakes crosses a certain limit (800,000 per centimetre square). The main causes of dandruffs is dry skin, sensitive scalp (towards hair products), or overgrowth of yeast.
It can also be caused as a result of any of the following skin conditions:

1. Eczema

It is a localised physical condition of itchiness and rashes in the skin. Nearly 10 million cases are busted every year in India. It is also known as Atopic dermatitis. It develops in early childhood, and people with a family history of this condition.

2. Psoriasis

It is a condition in which skin cells build up and form scales and itchy, and dry patches. Even though psoriasis is non-curable, treatment can help up to some extent for sure.

3. Seborrheic Dermatitis (Also known as seborrheic eczema)

A condition that leaves red patches on the scalp. Unlike psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis is fully treatable. It is common in infants, teenagers, and people over 60.

Since, the above skin conditions are caused as a result of infection, keeping a strong immune system can decrease the dandruff flakes on the scalp.
Other causes also include improper brushing/combing of the hair, lack of shampooing of the hair.

Special Mention:

Stress is also a factor of increasing dandruff. You may wonder how! Well, stress weakens your immune system, and as we have already mentioned it above, a weak immune system is very prone to the dandruffs.

Know -How to Grow Thick Beard Faster Best Ways to Grow Beard

Why Do I Need To Get Rid Of Dandruff?

Generally, there is no direct harm of dandruff over the body, but in chronic conditions, it weakens the hair roots, resulting in hair loss. Apart from this, it is also quite an embarrassing thing to have on the head.

Here are some of the best ways you can try to get rid of dandruff.

Natural And Organic Ways

1. Vinegar

Vinegar is acidic, and proficient enough to kill the scalp fungus. Here is what you need to do —
Take two cups of vinegar and boil it on a flame. Let its temperature go down; in fact let it cool. Pour the one-eighth of the vinegar into a cup of water. Massage your scalp with this mixture. After sometime, shampoo your hair.
The acidic nature of this mixture can be irritating if it gets into touch with eyes, ears, or nose. Kindly keep a note to protect these organs while massaging.

2. Olive Oil

Olive oil, rich in fatty acids can do the things in just 10 drops. Massage your scalp with it and cover with a shower cap overnight. Do not forget to shampoo your hair the very next morning. You may wish to use a shampoo that contains olive oil for good results. Overtime, you would notice that you have successfully cured this dandruff condition.

3. Aspirin

While Aspirin differs from baking soda in organic contents; the former containing salicylic acid, the process is quite the same. You need to crush two aspirin tablets to powder and then rub it on the scalp while your hair is wait. However, while doing this you need to mix the powder with some shampoo. Leave it there for a few minutes and then wash off your hair thoroughly with plain shampoo.

4. Aloe Vera

One of the simplest therapies available for this dandruff treatment is — Aloe Vera. You have to do nothing but pluck an Aloe Vera fruit, squeeze its liquid content and massage your scalp with it. This Ayurvedic therapy can also be used by people who do not have dandruff problems in order to keep their hair and scalp healthy.

5. Orange Peel

Peel of an orange and blend it with 5 tablespoons of lemon juice in a mixer, or a food processor till it becomes a paste. Apply this paste on your scalp and leave it on your head for half an hour. Now, wash your hair with a plain, usual shampoo.

Notes:
Before blending, dry the orange peels.
Do this treatment thrice a week to get the best results.

6. Yogurt

Yogurt contains a reasonable amount of probiotics and hence is great when it comes to getting rid of dandruff. You just need a cup of yogurt, and that is all. First, shampoo your hair very well. Massage your scalp with yogurt and leave it on the scalp for some fifteen minutes. Finally, rinse your hair by applying the usual shampoo.

7. Eyova

Eyova is another name of egg oil. Take a few drops of egg oil and apply it to your head. Massage well and leave it there overnight. The very next morning, was your hair with a good shampoo. This is a panacea of ‘getting rid of dandruff’ problem if you do this regularly twice to thrice a week, and for 12 weeks. This remedy will literally broom out any kind of dandruff, and your scalp will become very healthy, hence very less prone to dandruffs.

8. Garlic

Garlic kills the dandruff causing bacteria in your scalp. You just have to crush garlic and rub it in your scalp. However, a lot of people do not try this remedy due to the pungent smell of the garlic. Here’s what you can do to its smell — Mix the crushed garlic with amounts of honey. This way, you get the anti-bacterial property of the garlic as well as the freedom from its smell.
After rubbing the mixture to your scalp wash off your head thoroughly.

9. Henna

Henna, integrated with contents like tannic acid, gallic acid, mucilage, etc., is not just a key solution to dandruff, rather, it is widely used for a lot of hair problems throughout the world. Henna has the ability to bind to the keratin in the hair, which creates a protective layer and relieves scalp irritation. It is also known for reducing the oily nature of the head.
Here is the list of ingredients you need:
1 teaspoon of henna.
1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
1 teaspoon of coconut oil (you may use any other hair oil, though coconut oil is recommended for this remedy).
1 teaspoon of amla (Indian gooseberry) powder.
1 teaspoon of tea.

Keep blending until you get a paste out of these ingredients. Now, gently apply the paste over your scalp in a massaging manner. To let it act, leave it for a few minutes on your head. Finally, rinse it off using a good, plain shampoo.

10. Rosemary Oil

Rosemary oil does not only scrub the dandruff off your scalp it also fastens the hair growth.
You need the following few things to complete this treatment:
4 to 5 drops of rosemary oil.
2 tablespoons of any carrier oil of your choice [maybe coconut oil, olive oil, or almond oil].

Mix the rosemary essential oil to the carrier oil. Apply this blend throughout your scalp. Now, cover your head (covering all the hair) using a hot towel. After a very few minutes, the hot towel will get down to the room temperature. At this time, gently remove the towel from your head, and wash the hair thoroughly. Although you can do this anytime but it is recommended to perform this during the evening for the best results.

Know-How to Grow Hair Fast Best 11 Ways and Helpful Tricks

11.Using Indian Lilac (Neem) To Get Rid Off Dandruff

You Will Need The Following Many Ingredients
i. 50 neem (Indian Lilac) leaves
ii. 1 L of water
iii. 1 tablespoon of honey

Boil the water; then take it off the flame.
Add the neem leaves to the water and allow it to stand still overnight.
Strain the water and use it to rinse your hair. And you can make a paste of the leaves by processing them in the mixer-grinder, blender, or maybe a food processor. Apply this paste on your scalp and hair. You may wish to add some honey to this paste which will help soften the hair. Leave the paste on the scalp for half an hour and then rinse it off.

Other Substances That Can Help You Get Rid Of Dandruffs

1. Mouthwash

Mouthwash is enriched with a lot of contents like alcohol that are anti-fungal in nature and prevent the growth of yeasts causing dandruff. If you are fed up of applying a lot of remedies on your scalp but only to see no improvement, this remedy is for you. First of all, wash your hair with the usual, plain shampoo. Then, rinse the scalp with a mouthwash. Here, please take a note that the mouthwash you are using should be rich in alcohol as it is one of the main reasons of the anti-fungal nature of the mouthwash.
Also, keep applying your usual conditioner during this.

2. Table Salt

The table salt is very abrasive in nature which makes it proficient to scrub the dandruff off your head. It may not seem a very good idea to massage your scalp with the common salt but surprisingly it is indeed a great remedy for any kind of dandruff problems.
Please take a note here that your scalp must be dry while rubbing salt on it. After doing this for nearly 10 minutes apply a plain shampoo and rinse it off.

3. Baking Soda

The baking soda removes the dead skin away from the scalp — the biggest reason of occurrence of dandruff. It also reduces the oily nature of the scalp. You just need to rub a tablespoon of baking soda on your scalp after wetting the hair. Leave it for a minute or two. Finally, wash off your hair. Doctors recommend to do this treatment twice to thrice a week.

4. Apple Cider Vinegar

The acidity of apple cider vinegar changes the pH (measure of acidity) of the scalp and makes it harder for the yeast to grow if not impossible. Massage your scalp with apple cider vinegar for a few minutes, and then wrap your head with a hot towel. After that, let the towel cool down to the room temperature, which may takes somewhere between one fourth to half an hour. For the best results, and tough cases, repeat this twice to thrice every week.

5. Egg Yolks

Egg yolks are rich in biotin, a protein that eliminates most of the bacteria and any other microbes causing dandruff. Moreover, it also helps you keep the hair better than before.
Take two egg yolks and mix them in a bowl. Before, massaging your scalp with this mixture, do make sure that your hair is fully dry. Now, gently apply the egg yolk. After proper application, cover your head with a plastic bag. Leave it that way for an hour or two.
Then, wash your hair thoroughly with your usual plain, good shampoo. We know that raw egg yolks are known for their bad odour. Hence, you may wish to wash your hair multiple times to get rid of any kind of smell from the scalp. However, you do not need to perform this remedy in a special time; you can simply do it anytime you go for a shower.

6. Fenugreek Seeds

Fenugreek Seeds are rich in a lot of vitamins, and minerals like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B-6, Iron, Calcium, and Magnesium. This large amount of contents are known to be very beneficial for the hair and the scalp. Apart from helping you get rid of dandruff, problems, this treatment will also make your hair roots strong. Here is how you have to proceed —
Take a tablespoon of Fenugreek Seeds and crush them finely with a mortar-pestle set. Now, take two cups of warm (maybe hot) water and let the seed powder stand still in the water for a complete night. Before taking a shower in the morning, strain the mixture, and use the water to rinse your hair.

More Tips Associated With Prevention And Cure of Dandruffs:

1. Prevent Your Head From Direct Sun Rays

The sun radiates Ultraviolet (UVA/UVB) rays which makes your scalp dry when exposed for long or to hard rays.
Hence, try not to expose your scalp to direct sun rays. Use umbrella or refrain from going out in very sunny days.

2. Avoid Direct Contact With Swimming Pools

The modern day swimming pools contain a large amount of chlorine, and other chemicals in them. These chemicals deteriorate the hair roots, the hair growth, and may led to additional hair/scalp related problems.
However, you might swim if you oil your hair properly. You can also wear swimming caps to ensure for the best protection.

3. Take Proper Sleep

As we have already mentioned above, a weak immune system is very prone to the dandruff related problems. And stress weakens the immune system of your body. Hence, one must take adequate rest to avoid any chronic scalp/hair conditions.

4. Use Good Hair Products

Hair problems like dandruff flakes may be a result of shampooing your hair with a wrong chemical. Try to select a good shampoo that suits your scalp the best. For example, you may like to look for a shampoo rich in olive, or coconut oil.

5. Brushing and Combing

Brushing out an oily, dandruff-affected scalp before a hair wash can also help reduce dandruff. Also, brushing your hair wrongly can make the hair week, eventually causing scalp problems. Hence, it is necessary to keep a note of combing your hair gently. Apart from these, try not to share your brushes, and combs with others, and keep yours neat and clean.

6. Pollutants

The pollution in the environment is one of the major factors of increasing dandruff problems in people nowadays. The dirt present in the pollutants elevates the risk of deteriorating the hair roots, making the scalp more prone to the dandruff.

7. Use ZTP Shampoos

Zinc Pyrithione, commonly known as ZTP is an excellent hair complex to eliminate the hair, or scalp problems. Use ZTP Shampoos available in the market which improve the scalp moisture, and do not let your scalp dry.

8. Look If You Are Sensitive To Market Products

Most of the hair products present in the market today contain silicones, sulphates, parabens, etc. These are extremely harmful to your scalp. They make the scalp dry, and make it very easy for dandruff to shed a lot. If your skin is sensitive, refrain from using these market products. Instead, use herbal methods such as, olive oil, Indian gooseberries, eyova, Indian lilac, etc.