In order to maintain healthy natural hair, one of the most important components in doing so is maintaining a healthy scalp. One of the issues I had with my hair while I had a relaxer and even the early days of my going natural was dandruff. I would wash my hair regularly and "grease" it, and I still had issues. My scalp was either flaky, or too greasy from the product I was using trying to keep it moisturized. However, as time went along I started to learn more about what my scalp needed, I was able to cure my dandruff.
But first I had to ask myself the following questions:
What causes dandruff?
In order to understand what my scalp needed, I had to understand what was going on. Dandruff is made up of small flakes of dead skin cells on the scalp. It's caused by an overproduction of sebum, the natural oil your body produces to keep your scalp and hair moisturized. Other causes of dandruff can be the
Malassezia furfur, a fungus commonly found in the skin.
What could be causing my scalp to overproduce sebum?
My shampoo that I commonly used. I used the cheapest possible brand and when it comes to most things, you get what you pay for. The shampoo would strip my hair and scalp of its natural oils and then I would use petroleum based products to replace the moisture. I also lived in Connecticut during my dandruff days and the weather was often extreme. The winters were very cold and the summers unbelievably humid. So, there were a few factors that lead to me having dandruff.
Now that I have a better idea of what's going on, what do I do now?
After a few years of battling dandruff on and off, I managed to make some big changes with my hair. In 2010, I transitioned to natural hair. This is not a necessary step to curing dandruff, but it did inspire me to look into better ways to care for my hair. The next change I made was cutting out petroleum based products from my regimen.
Finally, in the summer of 2012, I was introduced to using organic oils. For example: olive oil, tea tree oil, coconut oil, argan oil, and many more. I started paying attention to my scalp and noticing that healthy oils get absorbed into my scalp rather than just sitting on the surface and clogging my pours.
Finally, the last step is to establish an effective moisturizing and cleansing routine
It's important to find what works for your hair and scalp. This part is the easiest because it's pretty obvious if something does not work. If you apply a product on your scalp and it left your skin feeling greasy or oily, then, it didn't work or maybe you applied too much product. If your scalp feels clean, moisturized, and does not have too much excess oils, that's a good indication of a product that works for you.
Another important element to a healthy scalp routine is a good cleansing routine. If you have oily scalp, washing your hair more often is not the answer. This will cause your skin to over produce sebum. Another thing I started to do was use less shampoo. I began to incorporate co-washing into my routine and if I use shampoo, I massage my scalp with a gentle at home cleanser, like apple cider vinegar, before applying a small amount of shampoo. Throughout the week, I also massage my scalp in order to promote blood circulation and also help to avoid clogged pours.
Well, I hope this helps guys! I know this is a lot, but I just wanted you to understand my thought process as I worked on improving my scalp.
Please leave comments and if there's anything you can suggest about curing dandruff, do not hesitate to let us know! This is something that effects everyone of all hair types and it can go away so long as you take a little time to find what works best for you.
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Naturals United