Dandruff—those pesky white flakes—is common, annoying, and often embarrassing. If you notice that alongside the flakes, your hairs are excessively shedding, then you must be wondering: Does dandruff cause hair loss?
The simple answer is that permanent hair loss resulting from dandruff is not the case.
Dandruff is a mild skin condition known as Seborrheic Dermatitis, which results from the overgrowth of a yeast that is naturally present on the scalp (Malassezia globosa). The irritation, oiliness, and increased skin cell turnover caused by that lead to the visible flakes. Even though the shedding is very frustrating, the hair follicle is not permanently damaged in the dandruff process.
Though the disease does not kill the follicles, the symptoms accompanying a very severe dandruff can, in fact, lead to a temporary hair shedding and thinning situation. To help the readers understand better, the article authors have summarized the information in the following two bullet points:
Intense dandruff causes the patient to be very irritated and itchy. By the time you would be relieving the itch through aggressive scratching, you are damaging the hair strands and the hair root.
The hair shaft is repeatedly and vigorously scratched which weakens it, thus leading to breakage and hair fall, though temporarily. Follicle Trauma: Scalp is punched with fingers in the vigorous scratching, it's the place where hair follicles are and the small injuries that can be there may even damage the delicate hair follicle and interrupt the normal hair growth cycle. 2. Inflammation and Cycle Disruption If the dandruff is not treated in time, the inflammation on the scalp will be chronic.
Inflammation which is around the hair follicle and lasts for a long time, can make the environment a very difficult one, thus putting stress on the hair root and very likely it could be the reason for a premature pushing of hairs into the shedding (telogen) phase. This may cause the sudden increase of the hair shedding which can be recognized as Telogen Effluvium.
It is necessary for one to know the difference between mere dandruff and other conditions that are more serious and can lead to hair loss:
It’s important to distinguish between simple dandruff and other, more serious conditions that do cause hair loss:
|
Condition |
Primary Cause |
Hair Loss Link |
|
Dandruff |
Yeast (Malassezia) overgrowth |
Indirectly, via excessive scratching |
|
Fungal Infection (Tinea Capitis) |
Ringworm fungus |
Direct damage; causes patches of severe loss |
|
Folliculitis Decalvans |
Severe, chronic inflammation |
Direct and permanent follicle destruction |
In most cases, the answer to the question "Does dandruff cause hair loss" is negative. However, if you keep allowing the condition to persist and do the scratching, then you are definitely going to accelerate your hair shedding. Managing the irritation and inflammation properly is what will keep you safe from dandruff-related hair loss and the use of medicated shampoos with such ingredients as Zinc Pyrithione or Ketoconazole will be of great help in that.
Q: Can dandruff cause baldness?
A: No, typical dandruff does not lead to permanent baldness.
Q: How do I stop dandruff-related hair shedding?
A: By medicated shampoo and by not scratching.