How to get rid of dandruff and white flakes?

Never wearing a black button down or blazer. Not wearing dark clothes in general. That is the curse when you experience dandruff or white flakes. And that is a shame, because you want to be able to wear whatever you want. That is why we talk about the best ways how to get rid of dandruff in this blog post.

What causes dandruff?

Dandruff is basically a scalp condition and about half of the population gets to deal with that after puberty. So, you are definitely not alone when you experience dandruff. It does not matter what sex or ethnicity you have.

Researchers link dandruff to eczema. It is said that dandruff is the least severe version of eczema. But dandruff has nothing to do with inflammations, while eczema does.

When you experience dandruff you will primarily experience white flakes. These flakes are tiny pieces of skin that stick together. And gravity is causing them to end on your shoulders.

There are microorganisms living on your body and scalp. That is perfectly normal. On your head you can find staphylococcus, cutibacterium acnes and malassezia. The first two are bacteria and the last one is a fungus.

Your whole life you will have these bacteria and fungus on your head, but when you have problems with dandruff, it means you have more malassezia on your head compared to people without dandruff. In that case about 75% of the bacteria and fungus on your scalp will consist of malassezia.

So, fighting this fungus is the logical way to get rid of dandruff. An anti-dandruff shampoo needs something to fight fungus, but to preserve the healthy bacteria.

When you use a proper anti-dandruff shampoo you will notice that your scalp becomes healthier after 2-3 shampoos and you will also experience less itching.

But when you stop using this special shampoo, the level of malassezia will be back on its old level after just 2 weeks.

Fungus is the primary cause of dandruff, but there are other things that can cause it. A few examples are: washing your hair too often with products, hair friction (tug and pull) or the use of certain hair styling products. These can all cause dandruff-like symptoms.

Another reason is tiny particles in the air that can cause dandruff and that is something you hardly can change.

And least but not least we also have to mention psychological stress. Researchers think that stress could be a factor as well, but more research is needed to know that for sure[1].

Anti dandruff shampoo

The first step is to start using a shampoo that is made to fight dandruff. These anti dandruff shampoos contain certain ingredients. Eucalyptus and aloe vera help to fight malassezia for example[2].

Other ingredients that help to reduce the amount of Malassezia on your scalp are: piroctone olamine, zinc pyrithione and sulfates[3].

In our Moquer shop you can find a few great anti dandruff shampoos for men.

A first example is the Recipe for Men Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. This product does not only contain piroctone olamine to fight malassezia, but it also contains ingredients to cool and calm your scalp, which helps against itching.

Click here to have a look at the Recipe for Men Anti Dandruff Shampoo 

Another shampoo is the Sebastian SEB MAN The Purist Anti Dandruff Shampoo. This product helps to reduce an itchy feeling. It also contains zinc pyrithione to fight malassezia. It does not contain peppermint extract, but it has other cooling and calming ingredients.

Click here to have a look at the Sebastian SEB MAN The Purist Anti Dandruff Shampoo.

Another popular options is the Dandruff Control Shampoo by Pete and Pedro. The formula contains menthol, tea tree oil and zinc to reduce dandruff and calm your scalp.

Click here to have a look at the Pete and Pedro Control Dandruff Shampoo.

Test your hair styling products

When an anti dandruff shampoo does not have the desired effect, then you have to start looking at other potential causes of your dandruff. Do you brush your hair to vigorously? Do you use certain hair styling products that can cause dandruff? Is there maybe something in the air?

First check your hair brush and hair styling products. Buy a softer hair brush or stop using certain hair styling products to see if anything changes. According to researchers it is usually pomades and hairspray that could potentially cause some dandruff[4].

When you do notice that it probably was the hair products you were using that caused the dandruff, then you should try to look for products that contain eucalyptus, aloe era, zinc, piroctone olamine or tea tree oil. It is usually the cheaper products that can cause dandruff, so always use high quality products with better ingredients.

An example of a hair styling product that contains aloe vera and eucalyptus is the Brickell Clay Pomade. It is suitable for all hair types and it does not contain any parabens or sulfates. It also provides a high hold, so your hair will stay in place.

Click here to have a look at the Brickell Men's Clay Styling Pomade

If you are looking to replace your hairspray, then you could have a look at the American Crew Grooming Spray. Aloe vera is one of the most important ingredients in this formula. Apply it in damp hair before styling or use it as a finishing spray.

Click here to have a look at the American Crew Grooming Spray

Sulfates also do help to fight off fungus, so you could start to use products that contains sulfates. Many things have been said about sulfates and if you want to know more about it, read this blog post about parabens and sulfates!

In our webshop you can check the ingredient lists to see if they contain sulfates and we also have convenient filters to help you make your choice.

Reduce your stress

New shampoo, new hair styling products and still not the desired effect? In that case you might have a look at your daily life. Do you perhaps have to much stress?(4)

Emotional stress can be reduced in many different ways. You can start exercising more or you can start meditating to relax more. Even an evening doing absolutely nothing can make a difference.

Mindfulness also helps people to experience less tress[5]. You try to keep your thoughts in the here and now. That means you try to block negative thoughts about things you did in the past or scary thoughts about what might happen in the future.

Buy an air filter

New shampoo, new hair products and as relaxed as a zen master? Then the last thing you could have a look at is the air quality. When you usually spend your time at home, you could consider buying an air filter as a last resort.

It is possible that you are allergic to something in the air and an air filter can try to filter that out, so you will experience less allergens.

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[1] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-2494.2006.00326.x

[2] https://www.e-ijd.org/article.asp?issn=0019-5154;year=2006;volume=51;issue=2;spage=145;epage=148;aula...

[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9013067/

[4] https://europepmc.org/article/med/16617752

[5] https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2008.0495