Monday, October 15, 2007

Dandruff Problem

Everytime I buy shampoo in my favorite supermarket, I always skip anti dandruff shampoos, for obvious reason. I choose shampoo that would help me eliminate, if not, lessen excessive hair fall. However, in the past two weeks, I noticed itchiness in my scalp and so I thought I have dandruff. While seated in my table in the office, wearing black polo shirt, I kept scratching my head & scalp, small dandruff flakes were falling…yuckkkkkk!!! My eyes couldn’t believe it! It’s confirmed, I have dandruff, something I didn’t expect I will ever have. Am I not washing and rinsing my hair enough?


I made a research in the internet regarding dandruff and here’s what I learned:

Dandruff is a scalp problem that is identified by excessive flaking of dead tissue. Everyone sheds dead skin cells. A person with oily dandruff has overactive oil glands around the roots of the hair. This overactivity causes the natural shedding process to speed up, resulting in a crusty scalp, oily hair, and excessive flaking. For some people this problem even occurs on the eyelashes. In this case, the oil glands become plugged, resulting in dull, dry looking hair and dry flakes of dead skin. This dry type of dandruff can be just as bothersome as oily dandruff.

The true causes of dandruff are unknown. "Every Women's Health" says dandruff is somehow caused by poorly functioning sebaceous glands. Although the causes of dandruff are inconclusive, there are treatments for existing dandruff and methods to help prevent recurrence.

If you try a product and it does not work, you should not get discouraged. After giving a product ample time to provide results, try something different. The same article suggests using a shampoo that contains coal tar or salicylic acid. The website article entitled "Dandruff", published by Betterbodz.com, suggests trying shampoos containing sulfur, selenium sulfide, or pyrithione zinc, as well as products containing coal tar and salicylic acid. It says shampoos containing tar help slow the production of skin cells. Shampoos containing salicylic acid help remove these cells. These shampoos also help control a fungus that promotes problem dandruff. "Neutrogena" advises if dandruff is extreme or unaffected by shampoos, a skin specialist should be consulted.

"Dandruff" recommends shampooing on a daily basis. This should be done by thoroughly massaging the scalp so dead skin cells are removed. Since dandruff shampoos and products tend to be harsh, it is important to carefully follow label directions. Doing so will ensure the safest, most effective use of the product. The same article suggests alternating regular shampoos and dandruff shampoos in order to prevent the hair from becoming dry. It also recommends using shampoo containing tar if the hair starts becoming too dry.

Before going to Robinson Supermarket this morning, I made sure that anti dandruff shampoo is included in my list. CLEAR shampoo is my target. It’s the latest anti dandruff shampoo being advertised on TV. I believe that when a product is new, it is effective and true to its promise, to attract its potential market and be commercially viable. There are different types of CLEAR anti dandruff shampoo to choose from and I am delighted to see CLEAR anti dandruff shampoo & hairfall defense, this suits me best. I hope this one will work for me or else, I’ll end up trying different anti dandruff brands.

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