How to Treat Dandruff

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[MUSIC PLAYING]
NARRATOR
So you know you have dandruff. You see it every day. The good news is that you can get it under control.

CHYNNA STEELE-GRIFFIN: If you walk down the shampoo aisle of almost any store, you'll see that there are plenty of options to help treat dandruff. Try to choose a product that has at least one of the following ingredients, zinc pyrithione, selenium sulfide, sulfur, ketoconazole, or salicylic acid. Those ingredients can all be helpful in treating dandruff.

NARRATOR
Feel free to experiment with different medicated shampoos until you find one that works for you. And make sure you're using it correctly.

CHYNNA STEELE-GRIFFIN
Patients often ask me, how often should I shampoo my hair? You want to shampoo your hair as much as you need to, which will be determined by how oily your scalp or your hair gets. For a lot of people, that's once a day. For other people whose hair tends to get oily less frequently, then it's more at least once a week, but no less than that.

NARRATOR
You may be surprised to know that how you shampoo your hair is just as important as how often.

CHYNNA STEELE-GRIFFIN
Whatever product you use, it's important to make sure that that shampoo sits on the scalp though. It's not to treat the hair. It's to treat the scalp where the inflammation's going on. Leave that product on for a few minutes to actually let it penetrate and do the job.

NARRATOR
If you've been doing all the right things-- shampooing regularly, leaving the medicated shampoo on for a few minutes-- and there are no results, don't panic.

CHYNNA STEELE-GRIFFIN
I often hear that sometimes shampoos worked for a period of time, but then they stopped working as well. That's a common concern. What you can do is mix it up. There are plenty of options. Sometimes your scalp or your hair gets used to one product. So it's a fair choice to just switch it up and get something a little bit different. The other thing that you can do is see your dermatologist because there are also prescription shampoos that may be helpful.

NARRATOR
We all like to look properly coiffed, but if you've got dandruff, use caution with your hair brush.

CHYNNA STEELE-GRIFFIN: When brushing your hair, make sure you take long strokes from the root down to the end of the hair shaft.

That will make sure that you distribute the oil evenly along the hair. Also, make sure you don't brush your hair excessively. That may actually stimulate the oil glands and make your dandruff worse.

NARRATOR
So remember, shampoo your hair regularly with medicated shampoo, switch up the shampoo you use if it isn't working, use long strokes to brush your hair, and avoid brushing too frequently.

CHYNNA STEELE-GRIFFIN: And if all of that fails, remember to see a dermatologist who can help control your dandruff.