How to treat dandruff...

Wednesday, 23 June 2010 16:25

Todd's Blog - 2010

Dandruff is a hyper-proliferative affliction of the skin of the scalp, meaning that for some reason the skin has a rapid rate of turnover and flakes off in excessive amounts. Although emboldened with it's own scientific name (Pityriasis simplex capillitii, complete with no less than eleven syllables and a double 'ii' thrown in for good measure), the term 'dandruff' is really more of a wastebasket diagnosis, meaning that any number of factors can cause it. But even if they don't fess up directly, those dandruff shampoo manufacturers are betting that it's caused by a fungal infection.

But even if they don't fess up directly, those dandruff shampoo manufacturers are betting that it's caused by a fungal infection. Just go take a look at your bottle of anti-dandruff shampoo. Ketoconazole? Selenium sulfide? Zinc pyrithione? All anti-fungals. Hmm. Could it be that everyone's dandruff is caused by a yeast infection? But why on earth would so many people have this infection?

Shampoo is derived from the Indian word 'champa', referring to a head massage. Although most of us have a bottle of it in the shower, it was only a couple generations ago that we in the West even learned about the virtues and benefits of this new-fangled hair product called sham-poo (yes, the Europeans were admittedly a smelly bunch...). But instead of washing our hair with herbal rinses and floral waters, massaging and combing it with a little coconut oil as they traditionally did in India, the stuff we call shampoo is closer to industrial run-off mixed with water, a toxic soup of ingredients with untiringly complicated names like sodium laureth sulfate, methylchloroisothiazolinone and polymethacrylamidopropyltrimonium chloride. Fortified with such ingredients, the cosmetic industry would have us believe that these fantastic concoctions will apparently leave us with not only luscious controllable hair, but if you're a woman you will for sure have an orgasm every time you shower, and then later on, you'll be magnetically attracted to a computer nerd with an irresistible smell. Let's hope he's as rich as Bill Gates...

And it would be all so wonderful except that the promise of bouncing hair, libidinous showers and spontaenous hookups has given way to the realization that you have dandruff. But why? Gather round my friends, and I will shed a little secret, not as the little flakes that now flutter down from your hair, but as a purifying, clarifying bath in the water of traditional knowledge. It may seem fantastic to consider, but if you are one of those vigilant daily hair-washer with dandruff, it is very likely that the cause of your dandruff is the very thing you are using to clean your hair. Loaded with antibiotic compounds including methylparaben, DMDM hydantoin and the aforementioned methylchloroisothiazolinone, the regular use of shampoo has utterly disrupted the natural ecology of your scalp. The first microorganisms to get hit were the friendly bacteria that naturally live on our skin and are supposed to surround us in a thin protective bacterial membrane. After this was destroyed the yeasts moved in, and being naturally more resilient to these preservatives, they dig in for the long haul, growing into the epidermis of the scalp, stimulating the skin to shed faster to rid itself of the yeast. So now you turn to the anti-dandruff shampoos, and the stuff works for a while, but you find you have to use it regularly to beat back the yeast. You slowly arrive at the realization that you have become a dandruff-sufferer, only one of the millions that Corporate America feels sorry for, which in their great compassion lovingly manufacture their products with only your self-esteem in mind. But you're trapped, and if you skip a wash your hair joneses for the shampoo, and like a strung out addict your hair descends into a spiral of greasy flakes. "Hey Brother, can you spare this hair a dime?"

So what's the solution? Get off the drugs, treat the yeast within and restore the body's natural ecology. Avoid all sweets, sugars, breads, pasta, pastries, dried fruit, natural sugars, most fruit, ice cream, milk and yogurt. Eat whole grains, root vegetables, leafy greens and high quality animal products (organic, free-range, wild). Eat live-culture fermented foods. Make sure you get your omega 3 essential fatty acids, and take herbs that have an antifungal and skin supportive activity, such as Turmeric, Buplerum and Oregon Grape root. Use oils like coconut to massage into your hair and scalp on a daily basis, and if you do have a fungal infection, mix in a little Neem oil and/or Tea tree with the coconut oil, and leave it in the hair for 20-30 minutes a day before washing it out with a little castile soap, or better yet, a powder of green mung bean. In Ayurveda there are special hair oils you can use, like Bhringaraj taila, made with Eclipta alba, or Amla hair oil (the latter of which is better if you have black hair, as it stains black). You can also alternate these treatments by massaging some yogurt into your hair, as the probiotics help to restore the scalp's ecology. Like the Neem oil, just leave the yogurt in for 20-30 minutes at a time before rinsing it off with water. Instead of regular shampoo, you can also try making a strong infusion of herbs such as Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Nettle, Horsetail and Hibiscus flower. Let it cool, and pour it through your hair as a rinse. Make sure to follow the diet, and try some of these things on a daily basis. Within a few weeks you will begin to notice the difference as the yeast dies and the ecology of your scalp begins to normalize. You too can get your hair off drugs.