Can Dandruff Lead To Baldness?
Hair isn't something most people give much thought to… until they start to lose it. And while hair loss is something that can happen to anyone, medically, it is far more likely to happen to older men. In fact, 2/3 of all men are vulnerable to hair loss by the time they reach the age of 35.
That, of course, is just as true for men in Freehold, NJ, as it is for any other part of the world. But hair loss is something that can happen for many different reasons, and age isn’t the only factor. If you’ve ever had dandruff, brushing away those embarrassing flakes that end up on your shoulders, you already know your hair isn’t as healthy as it could be. But can dandruff lead to more? Could it lead to hair loss?
What Is Dandruff?
While most men in Freehold, NJ will associate dandruff simply with flakes falling from the head, there’s more to it than that. Under normal conditions, your skin is constantly dying and shedding the dead matter, growing new skin to replace it. This happens everywhere on your body, including your scalp.
With dandruff, however, a mix of genetic factors, like oily skin, and environmental factors, such as the dry air of winter, can contribute to creating a condition where the scalp is affected. This can result in itching, but, more prominently, it also creates larger pieces of dead skin coming off your scalp that are visible as flakes, instead of the tinier flakes most people shed.
It Gets Worse
Under normal circumstances, dandruff can be taken care of with specific dandruff shampoos, or other treatments. However, there is a more severe case of dandruff, known as seborrheic dermatitis that magnifies these symptoms. In addition, seborrheic dermatitis includes inflamed and scaly skin.
With this version of dandruff, the scales that fall off the scalp are now large enough that sometimes they can even take entire hair follicles with them. So this means while “garden variety” dandruff is nothing more than some itching and embarrassing flakes of skin on the shoulders, the more severe form can, if untreated, lead to a loss of hair as more and more time passes.
What To Do
Seborrheic dermatitis can be treated a number of ways. The general retail products like medicated shampoos for dandruff can actually be effective against the milder forms of this disorder, so always try those first. However, if a case of seborrheic dermatitis is too severe for consumer products, there are much more powerful medicated shampoos that require a prescription from a doctor in order to be used. Consult a medical expert about the usage of these specialized treatments if the store-bought products aren’t doing the job.
Always Talk To Professionals
If you live here in Freehold, NJ, and you’re worried about seborrheic dermatitis, the associated hair loss, or even just hair loss in general, talk to us! We can help you to get back the hair you’ve lost, and the youthful looks and feels that come with them. Always consult only an experienced, licensed medical expert to do and discuss these types of issues in a safe, knowledgeable way. Contact New Jersey Hair Restoration Center for a consultation.
