You put on your favorite little black dress or brand new navy sports coat and are feeling like a million bucks until you notice the telltale white flakes sprinkling your shoulders. It’s really hard to feel self confident and at ease when you’re constantly thinking about and checking to see if your dandruff is ruining your carefully orchestrated “look.” Here is what you need to know about dandruff and some ways of dealing with the problem.
I’ve never heard of or thought about dandruff until a child in first grade gleefully pointed out that I suffered from the affliction. There is, I think, one such little know-it-all in every class. Everyone knows the type. She or he loves to note that you have a zit, out-of-style pants or toilet paper stuck to your shoe. It’s not enough to softly mention that your barn door is open, some people find great joy in making a public announcement. In any case, I mentally made a note to go home and ask about dandruff and also to do something about this apparently dreadful cootie-like affliction.
Most people of double digit age or higher have a pretty good handle on what constitutes dandruff or at least can recognize the obvious signs—little white flakes of skin that are stuck to the scalp until disturbed and then pepper the hair or fall and dot the shoulders and back. If a person has not had personal experience with dandruff, then they’ve certainly seen the television commercials that range from serious to quite funny depending on the company and the year.
What is dandruff?
If you do have scalp flakes and/or itching, then you probably do have dandruff. Approximately half of all individuals have classic dandruff ranging from occasionally to on a regular basis according to Proctor and Gamble. I’d love to give you a long list of famous individuals battling dandruff, but even in the current climate of soul baring true confessions, you’re just not likely to see a top actress or high scoring athlete coming out of the closest about head flakes.
If you are suffering with dandruff, then you have a fungus. Naturally, this is not a pleasant thought. But when it comes to fungi, scalp involvement is certainly not as serious as fungus in other areas like on the feet or under the nails. And, scalp fungus is not the same beast as fungi usually attacking other body areas. It’s much easier to keep scalp fungus in check and under wraps than to try to wear sandals when sporting yellow misshapen toe nails. If you must be a plagued with a fungus, scalp problems are probably the easiest to deal with though still not particularly appealing.
Normal skin regenerates and flakes. Otherwise, you’d wear out your skin and look very odd indeed. The difference when dealing with fungal problems is that the cycle is accelerated. Instead of slowly, steadily, and with little to no fanfare replenishing head skin, dandruff sufferers cycle skin on average every seven to twenty-one days. The average person cycles on a monthly basis. The faster the cycle, the more problematic the flaking. Instead of having fine flakes that are washed away and never particularly noticed like the average person, you’ve got a head full of turnover skin often in rather large clumps.
In fact, all head flakes are not created equally, and some sufferers incorrectly assume they have dandruff problems when they are really dealing with other skin conditions.