Dandruff is a mysterious condition as it has no specific cause or cure. However, its symptoms are treatable. Treatment can be as simple as changing shampoo, using lotions, home-made products, or changing your diet. 

Although dandruff does not generally threaten your health, it is annoying and can be quite embarrassing.   Persistent scratching can cause bleeding and greater susceptibility to infection.   There are many natural (and unnatural) remedies for relieving the symptoms of dandruff, but as yet, no known cure.

Dandruff results from the normal growing processes of the scalp. The skin on our scalp roughly sheds every 24 days. Dandruff occurs when skin cells shed at an excessive rate, causing flakes of skin to appear in the hair and on the shoulders. Other potential causes of dandruff include: fungal infection, food allergies, petrochemical and sulphate based shampoos, yeast infections; stress or it may just be hereditary. 

Traditional remedies general focus on the use of external shampoos or ointments; many of which contain petrochemicals and coal tar.   This is quite an extreme treatment given we’re only talking about excessive skin cell production!  

As consumers, we have a choice, we can either combat the symptoms with harsh chemical remedies, or we can attempt a more natural and holistic method.   The purpose of which is to gradually build up our own skin defences to restore the correct pH balance to our scalp, through diet, gentle cleansing and addressing stress. 

Chemically-based products are not the answer to dandruff; in fact, they can be part of the problem. There is a strong link between dandruff and sodium lauryl sulfate, a substance found in most commercially available shampoos. Eliminating this chemical from your hair care routine may be all you need to control the problem.

So before we start hitting the hard stuff, why not use a natural shampoo and conditioner, coupled with a citrus blend rinse to up the pH level in the scalp.   You could make your own anti-dandruff shampoo with a blend of lavender water and rosehip oil (egg white makes a good emulsifier), followed by apple cider and lemon rinse.  

Alternatively, Naturally Safe Cosmetics stock a range of natural and organic shampoos, the best results that we’ve personally been told by happy customers, have come from Mukti and MiEssence (who also make a great apple cider rinse). 

If you have any of your own natural dandruff remedies that you’d be willing to share, we would love to hear from you.