Would a poet liken your shoulders to the tops of the Rockies? Or does your hair, at first glance, make you look older than you are—except those gray streaks aren’t signs of ageing, they’re actually skin clumps?
If you’re reading this blog, you’re likely not someone super turned on by the harsh chemicals (and smell) of dandruff shampoo. So, if you’re looking for dandruff treatment, then here are some home remedies for dandruff, just for you!
First you need to know what causes dandruff—it isn’t just one thing. If you’ve ever tried a generic dandruff treatment, you probably found out it doesn’t start working very quickly, and it may not have worked completely, either. That’s because it’s treating dandruff broadly, not targeting the actual cause.
Rule out the easy fixes as causes of dandruff:
Do you use any of hair care products? You might just be experiencing an allergy, especially if you have other allergies. Although chemical based shampoos, etc., are more likely to cause a bad reaction with your skin, you should even read labels of fancy organic shampoos carefully (an allergy to citrus is an allergy to citrus whether you eat it or rub it on your skin, right?). See if changing hair care products (and using less if you’ve got a ton layered on) fixes things.
Could your skin just be dry? Again, this could be the result of your hair care products, so try different ones (even just a gentler or more moisturizing version of the same brand!). Buy a boar bristle brush (they aren’t that expensive, most major grocery stores have them in the beauty aisle) and brush your scalp (and down your hair, however long) daily. It will stimulate oil production and remove dead skin cells (and make your hair glossy and soft). Then make a habit of drinking more water.
Not an easy fix? Okay, here are home remedies for dandruff…
Dandruff is caused by skin shedding 2-4 times faster than the average person. The dead skin cells often come off in clumps stuck together by your natural oil, so they’re also more visible than the average person’s shedding. You might also have redness and itching.
If there’s redness and itching, and it’s present in other places (especially your eyebrows and nose folds) you might have an overproduction of sebum, leading to inflammation and even infection. This is exacerbated by the state of your immune system… i.e. stress, lack of sleep, other illness, lack of Vitamin D during winter.
See ways to boost your immune system.
Although it may seem like a boar bristle brush is the opposite of what a person already making too much oil needs, it can still be helpful in many cases. It will help you to actively remove dead skin cells before they clump, and distribute oil into hair, away from the scalp (if you have long hair it shouldn’t look too oily, if it’s really short maybe not).
Most cases of dandruff are caused by a yeast (which can even play a role in the above scenario). Medical yeast treatments can be quite harsh, and can include anything from topical antifungals to topical steroids. Since the medical path also holds that there’s no possibility for a cure, only treatment, a lifetime of these harsh dandruff treatments isn’t ideal, and may, over time, lead to other problems.
So! Dandruff home remedies you can use: again, use a stiff bristle brush to knock loose and remove as much dead skin as possible each morning, before and after you shower. Fight the fungus with a friendlier antifungal: pepper is one traditional dandruff treatment, but you can also use colloidal silver.
How you get the colloidal silver on there is going to depend on the time available and how long your hair is. I have really long hair, so if it were me, I’d start with (at least) a week of digging through my hair and spraying my scalp, and I’d do it at least once a day and hope that I was doing damage to the resident fungus causing trouble. Then I’d do maintenance forever after—since you’re only supposed to really shampoo near your scalp anyway, I’d mix colloidal silver into my shampoo and really work it into my scalp daily. I’d let it set in the shower while I do something else.
If I had short hair I might try and keep spraying my scalp daily. Nevertheless, I’d still comb through my hair and spray the skin as often as I could.
Have you ever tried a dandruff home remedy? Egg oil came up when I was researching this article—have you tried it as a dandruff treatment or for anything else?
