Every one of us has suffered the woes of dandruff at some point in our lives. Dandruff is a common skin problem that seems harmless but it is difficult to treat and is often embarrassing. If you have an active social life, you may want to keep a check on your dandruff and take treatment to keep your hair and scalp healthy. Ayurvedic treatment for dandruff is a widely accepted approach because it offers a natural and permanent treatment for this problem.
What is Dandruff?
Dandruff is the dry, sticky, powdery flakes that Inhabitat our scalps in dry, cold weather. It is not a serious or a contagious problem but it is not easy to treat it as it keeps returning every few days. Mild dandruff can be treated with a gentle shampoo, but it may be a matter of concern if it gets beyond the mild state.
Seborrheic eczema is a serious kind of eczema that causes extreme dryness and deep dandruff in hair roots. It makes the scalp greasy, oily, itchy, and damages the growth and development of hair, Most chemicals used for dandruff treatment are very strong and end up incurring more damage than you could think. Therefore, it is better to look for a natural non-chemical dandruff solution.
Causes of Dandruff
Dandruff can result from various reasons:
- Seborrrheic Dermatitis: It is a bad type of dandruff as it happens when eczema reaches a chronic stage.
- Contact Dermatitis: It is a kind of skin allergy that affects the scalp. Mostly, strong hair-care products, dyes, and shampoos cause this allergy and result in dandruff in hair.
- Dry Skin: Our skin including the scalp gets dry and scaly during winters which makes it irritated and itchy. The scalp reacts by shedding dry dead skin in form of powdery flakes that become dandruff.
- Irregular Shampooing: People who shampoo their hair after longer intervals often end up with dandruff. Large breaks between washes lead to oil secretion that produces dandruff.
- Age: Puberty and homornal changes often result in dandruff. It gets less and less as people reach the age of 50.
- Weak Immune System: People suffering from HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis C, or Pancreatitis have weak immunity which results in eczema in their scalp.
- Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases: Patients of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinsons’s disease, brain injuries, and epilepsy also run a high risk of dry and oily scalp that results in dandruff.
- OIly Skin: If you have oily skin naturally then you have a higher risk of getting dandruff.
Symptoms of Dandruff
- Skin flakes on scalp, eyebrows, hair, mustache, shoulders, and beard.
- Crusty, scaly scalps in infants.
- An itchy scalp.
Diagnosis and Ayurvedic Treatment for Dandruff
Dandruff is diagnosed by simply checking the hair and scalp. In Ayurveda, dandruff is termed as Darunaka. It is categorized in minor diseases, and happens due to imbalance of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha Dosha. Kapha and Vata doshas play a key role in dandruff. Excess of Kapha leads to oily skin while Vata imbalance leads to dry skin.
Therefore, the Ayurvedic treatment of dandruff focuses on neutralising excess of Kapha and Vata in body. Herbal medicines are used to restore the lost balance of Doshas. Along with, Panchakarma therapies like Sirodhara, Dhoopanam, Abhyangam, Nasyam, Virechana, etc. are used to detoxify skin and tissues impurities.
Diet and Lifestyle Changes
Diet and lifestyle plans are tailor made for patients depending on their condition. However, on a general note, patients need to stay away from Vata and Kapha aggravating food substances. Deep breathing exercises and Yoga are further recommended to restore lost moisture and health of skin.
Preventions for Dandruff
- Avoid using strong and cheap quality shampoos. Find out the best herbal dandruff shampoos that are mild in nature and less harmful to skin.
- Get in the habit of oiling and shampooing regularly. Wash your hair at least once a week.
- If you have repetitive case of dandruff, than try medicated dandruff hair oils. There is a wide range of Ayurvedic hair oils recommended as dandruff and hairfall solutions. Ask your doctor before using any.
- During winters, massage your scalp with warm hair oil once or twice a week. It will keep away dandruff, hairfall, itching, dryness, and other winter hair problems.
- Try to keep a check on your junk food usage as it makes our skin excessively oily which then leads to dandruff.
- Add more fruits and fibre-rich substances to your diet, it will increase your immunity and will keep many kind of skin disorders away.
You can also try dandruff treatments at home in form of home-made hair-packs with aloe-vera, fenugreek paste, and lemon-coconut oil massages.
Signs and Symptoms of Dandruff
Skin Flakes on Scalp
Scalp Itchiness
Crusty Scalp
Hair Fall
Why To Choose Ayurveda?
Looks for the Root Cause
The ayurvedic approach of disease looks for the root cause and not merely the symptoms. Ayurveda offers two ways of treatment; One is Shodhan, and the other is Shaman. Shodhan is complete detoxification of the body by Panchakarma therapies. Shaman is balancing the doshas by Ayurveda medicines, diet, and lifestyle changes. Ayurveda medicines always work better in a patient detoxified with Panchakarma.
Safe Medicines
Ayurveda medicines are processed most naturally and not in the synthetic and chemical form. For this reason, the herbs are soft on the body, and there is no risk of side effects even if the patient requires to take them for longer durations. The complete eradication of the root cause ensures the cure and prevents future health complications.
Holistic Approach
Ayurveda is not merely a medical science. Instead, it is a philosophical science too. The basic principles of Ayurveda consider an individual human a specific identity and hence his treatment. Ayurveda gives importance to the treatment of the patient rather than the treatment of the disease. Two patients of the same disease can have different treatments because of the difference in their body constitution.