How To Control Dandruff

These scaly white flakes can be embarrassing

- Dilia Narduzzi

ESTIMATES VARY, but between 10 and 50 percent of the population suffers from dandruff at some point in their lifetime. Marked by an itchy, irritated scalp and the obvious flakes that come along with it, you know dandruff when you see it. But what is it exactly, what causes it, and what can you do to control it?

“The medical term for dandruff is seborrheic dermatitis, and it’s a type of inflammation of the skin that’s associated with oily or greasy scales,” says Dr. Peter Vignjevic, a dermatologist in Ontario, Canada, and an assistant clinical professor of medicine at McMaster University Medical School. While it most often affects the head and scalp, it can also occur on the eyebrows, eyelashes, eyelids, on and around the nose, the ears and sometimes behind the ears, says Vignjevic. In men, beards can also be affected.

Core Causes