Causes and risk factors of dandruff

The skin’s natural cycle that becomes speeded up eventually leads to the development of dandruff. The acceleration causes the accumulation of dead skin of the scalp that appears as patches on the scalp coming away into the hair. This results in skin flaking on the scalp that we know as dandruff.

The cause of why the skin cycle starts to accelerate is still a medical mystery; however, some suspected factors may be:

Malassezia – Malassezia is a fungus that typically resides itself on skin. This type of fungus is harmless to the body but if it develops into substantial quantities on the skin, it can speed up the development of new skin.

Seborrheic dermatitis – This skin problem is quite a common condition that is still even now not clearly understood.  Seborrheic dermatitis causes the skin condition to become oily. It can also cause skin flaking on various parts of the body including the side of the nose, the eyebrows and parts where skin folds together like the armpits.

Malassezia and seborrheic dermatitis are thought to be interlinked. The fungus residing on the skin can trigger an irregular reaction from the immune system that in turn can tend to make the skin oily.  Furthermore, the skin’s oiliness may spur the growth of the fungus that can then lead to the appearance of dandruff symptoms.

Some other suspected factors that can lead to dandruff include:

A weak immune system that can be due to a side effect of a drug or "treatment" such as chemotherapy or the result of a disease like HIV

Other problems of the skin like eczema or psoriasis – These two are very commonly occurring skin conditions that can cause the skin to become flaky, red and dry

Availing of hair products like hair mousse, hair gel and hairspray

Seldom washing of your hair and also too much washing of your hair – There are people who suffer from scalp irritation due to frequent shampooing of their hair.

Emotional stress
Individuals suffering from Parkinson’s disease strangely usually develop both seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff.