Q: good morning ma’am. Please I have been experiencing dead cell (dandruff) in my hair. I have tried all efforts but to no avail. Please if you can help me get rid of it, do tell me

A: Hmm! This sounds really serious!!! J I feel your pain! It can be very embarrassing to comb your hair or brush it and see those horrible looking flakes all over the comb or surface where you are. Even more embarrassing when the hair stylist or barber at the salon says, ‘Aunty/Oga, you have a lot of dandruff. We need to put hair treatment!’
So what are these dandruff? They are whitish, flaking scalp skin which are not contagious…Thank God!!! J They can also be terribly itchy.

It can be caused by dry hair, oily hair that is irritated, hair that is not shampooed frequently and hair that is shampooed too often ( 🙂 You just can’t win, aye?). Fungi have been implicated in dandruff and some hair care products are also suspect. In addition, piling on hair care products could also be a problem. Being male, increasing age, having oily hair and eating foods poor in Zinc could put you at risk of dandruff. Zinc-rich foods include beans, chicken, spinach, nuts etc.

The treatment of dandruff is pretty simple. Several anti-dandruff shampoo are available in supermarkets and they have anti-bacterial and/or anti-fungal agents, agents that condition the scalp limiting dryness or slow the flaking of skin on the scalp. You may find that one shampoo works for you, but other people may have to combine two different shampoos alternating their use. These are used daily or every other day…check the directions on the bottle. Be sure to rinse thoroughly as any shampoo left on the scalp just generates more problems.

Oftentimes, these shampoos are sufficient to deal with this. However, if they continue, you may need to see your doctor for a ‘stronger’ prescription.

I hope this helps.

Have a good bight y’all 🙂