Treatments for Dandruff
Although no ultimate cure for dandruff seems to exist at the moment, there are several treatment options that enable you to control this condition. Mild forms of dandruff can be handled successfully by daily cleansing with a gentle shampoo. For more serious conditions you will have to try special anti-dandruff shampoos. Most of them are readily available in pharmacies in most countries of the world without a doctor’s prescription. You may need to test a number of brands addressing various causes of dandruff or use different types of anti-dandruff shampoos simultaneously to achieve the desired effect. In more severe cases, prescription strength shampoos must be prescribed by your doctor. Corticosteroid and anthralin treatments are applied in the most serious conditions triggered by psoriasis.
Anti-Dandruff Shampoos and their Active Ingredients
Salicylic acid helps eliminate scale and can be found in Meted, Sebulex and Ionil T shampoos.
Coal tar slows the dying of scalp skin cells and flaking. It is used in Tegrin, Denorex, Neutrogena T/Gel, Pentrax, Zetar and Ionil T shampoos.
Zinc pyrithione has antibacterial and antifungal effects and it can be found in Head & Shoulders, ZNP, DHS Zinc Shampoo and Selsun Salon shampoos.
Selenium sulphide slows skin cells from dying and reduces malassezia and it is employed in Selsun Blue.
Sulphur has antibacterial and antifungal properties and helps remove excess flaking. It is used as one of the active substances in Meted and Sebulex.
Ketoconazole is a strong antifungal agent and it is thought to reduce DHT present in the scalp and thus to fight also hereditary hair loss. Nizoral and Dandrazol shampoos are the best known brands containing ketoconazole.
Corticosteroids such as fluocinolone acetonide help diminish scalp inflammation and can be found in the prescription shampoo Capex.
Caffeine is yet another active ingredient credited with the ability to reduce dandruff. It is used in Alpecin shampoo, which is also claimed to help protect the hair roots from dihydrotestosterone attacks and provide them with the necessary growth energy and is thus also used to fight baldness.
Home Remedies for Dandruff
There are plenty of home remedies that claim to soothe and reduce the effects of dandruff. The best known home remedy that can be also found in herbal preparation for treating dandruff is tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is said to possess antifungal, antibiotic and antiseptic properties. Other popular home remedies for reducing dandruff include curd, lemon, olive oil, baking soda and apple cider vinegar.