Curing dandruff naturally

Dandruff is a skin disorder of the scalp that can begin because of either very little moisture or too much oil near the hair folicles. Skin cells on the scalp regenerate every 21 days and as they do the old cells fall off. Cell loss over the entire body happens as a very slow process and is never noticeable. However, when you suffer from dandruff, the cells regenerate every 10 days and as the old cells on the top fall off they look like tiny little snowflakes. Anyone, from infants to old age, can suffer from dandruff and it often is random, coming and going with no apparent pattern.

Mild dandruff is not related to dryness of the scalp but rather too much oil. If however, you have symptoms around the nose, eyebrows, ears or genitals it may be due to seborrehic dermatitis or seborrhea and not common dandruff. Severe dandruff can also be the result of psoriasis of the scalp while seborrheic dermatitis can be caused by an increased number of yeast like organisms.

There are specific things that you can do, both internally and externally, to improve the health of your hair and scalp. The first is to drink at least 2 L (66 ounces) of water each day to increase your hydration and help your skin to perform optimally. We really are what we eat, so eating lots of salads, green vegetables and fresh fruits will help your skin cells to form naturally and normally. Your hair brushes and combs should be washed frequently and your hair brushed regularly. Brushing the hair helps to bring the oils produced in the oil glands at the base of the hair follicles out to the ends of the hair where they will condition your hair and help it to look naturally clean and shiny.

These initial changes should be made to your diet whether or not you decide to use anything on your scalp. If these changes don\’t help there are several other things you can try externally. The first is a yogurt shampoo. Rinse your hair to get out any hair products and then apply yogurt to the scalp. Let it sit there for at least 10 to 15 minutes and then washed with this little shampoo as needed. You can also try two tablespoons of vinegar infused with thyme or sage as the final rinse after shampooing without yogurt. Yogurt helps to re-establish an natural balance of bacteria on the skin while vinegar will help to kill fungus and bacteria.

Even though the dandruff often results from too much oil build up on the scalp, using a hot oil therapy will help to cure it. Massage hot oil into the scalp at bedtime or an hour before bath time in the morning. Rub lemon juice mixed with vinegar into the scalp with cotton swab. The lemon juice and vinegar will help to cut the oil and remove it more easily from the hair and help to kill extra bacteria and fungus. Wash your hair as you would normally and as a last rinse use the juice of one lemon and a cup of hot water. You can try this treatment once or twice a week for three months.

An alternative method is to mix 1 teaspoon of lemon juice with 2 teaspoons of vinegar and massage that into the scalp. Wash the hair with an egg-based shampoo. Others find success with four to five tablespoons dried thyme that has been added to 2 cups of water and boil for 10 minutes. Cool this mixture, strain it and use it to massage the scalp. Keep it on for half an hour and then shampoo as normally.

Aspirin has many uses, including as a blood thinner, headache remedy, preventative for blood clotting and also to help cure dandruff. By dissolving two aspirin in any over-the-counter dandruff shampoo you increase the effectiveness of the products.

If all else fails try an over-the-counter shampoo that contains selenium sulfide or salicylic acid (aspirin). While dandruff may be embarrassing it is by no means dangerous and not contagious.