Is It Dandruff or Dry Scalp? Symptoms, Treatment, and More
If you have a dry, flaking scalp, you may suspect dandruff. But it could be a sign of dry scalp. Dandruff and dry scalp have the same main symptoms, which are falling flakes and an itchy scalp, but they are two different conditions.
In dry scalp, the skin gets irritated and flakes off. With dandruff, the cause is too much oil on the scalp. That excess oil causes skin cells to build up and then shed. Knowing which of these conditions you have can help you get the right treatment and banish those flakes for good.
Causes and symptoms
You get dry scalp when your skin has too little moisture. The skin on your scalp becomes irritated and flakes off. If your scalp is dry, the skin on other parts of your body, like your arms and legs, could be dry, too.
Dry scalp can also be triggered by factors like these:
cold, dry air
contact dermatitis caused by a reaction to products you apply to your scalp, like shampoo, styling gel, and hairspray
older age
The skin cells on your scalp and body normally multiply when you need more of them. Then they die and shed off. When you have dandruff, skin cells on your scalp shed more quickly than usual.
The main cause of dandruff is seborrheic dermatitis, a condition that turns the skin oily, red, and scaly. The white or yellow scales flake off, creating dandruff. You can get seborrheic dermatitis anywhere you have oil glands, including your eyebrows, groin, armpits, and along the sides of your nose. In babies it’s called cradle cap.
Often, a fungus called malassezia triggers dandruff. This fungus normally lives on your scalp. Yet some people have too much of it, and it causes skin cells to multiply more quickly than usual.
Certain factors can cause malassezia to multiply, including:
age
hormones
stress
Dirty hair doesn’t cause dandruff, but if you don’t wash your hair often enough, the oily buildup can contribute to flakes.
One way to tell the difference between dry scalp and flakes from dandruff is by their appearance. Dandruff flakes are bigger and they look oily. In babies with cradle cap, the scalp looks scaly or crusty. Both dryness and dandruff can make your scalp itch.
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