Why do I have dandruff?

Symptoms:

You have a flaky scalp which can become red and inflamed and form a crust. You also have redness and flakiness around your eyebrows and the side of your nose. Your scalp is covered in silvery scales which shed all the time, you have patches of red scaly skin on your back. Your fingernails are pitted like the surface of a thimble. You have fine scales on your scalp that lift off, get mixed up with your hair and can shed onto your clothes.

It could be:

Seborrheic dermatitis, a skin condition like eczema which occurs in places where you have lots of grease glands (sebaceous glands). It can affect all greasy areas of your body. Psoriasis, an autoimmune condition which causes inflammation and excessively rapid cell turnover which forms the scales. Simple dandruff. This is not a disease as the ads claim, it’s simply an exaggeration of the normal turnover of cells in the scalp.

Stop it:

For the scalp there are special steroid creams and gels which will calm down the inflammation and get rid of the crust. Similar products can be used on greasy skin. DON’T overwash your hair, shampoo no more often than every third day and use baby shampoo, washing only once. See your doctor for a referral to a dermatologist. There are many ways to tackle psoriasis but it’s best to see a specialist so that you can take advantage of the latest ones. Don’t use anti-dandruff shampoo more often than once a week if it contains selenium, otherwise you could irritate the scalp. Wash once only, very gently, and rinse thoroughly every other day with baby shampoo.