
Healthy scalp and shiny hair
Itching, irritated and flaky scalp is stressful and disturbing. Many exogenous stimuli, such as dry heating air, aggressive shampoos and styling products, can daily weaken the skin and leave the hair dull and brittle. The health of the scalp is also influenced by various factors such as climate, season, microbial colonisation and hormonal status. The scalp reacts to the stimuli as sensitively as the rest of the body's skin.
The severity of dandruff varies from a mild extent, similar to dry skin, to seborrhoeic dermatitis. To bring the scalp into its natural equilibrium, the right products are there to support it, also accompanying medical therapy. Thus irritation, dryness and dandruff can be prevented. An optimally functioning scalp is the be-all and end-all for healthy, beautiful hair.
There are six different types:
Normal scalp:
It renews in about 28 days. Corneocytes dissolve as single cells, the scalp is healthy and inconspicuous.
Dry scalp:
The skin renewal rate is also 28 days. However, corneocytes detach in groups of 10-20 cells (smallest hardly visible floury scales)
scalp with dry scaling:
The skin renews more quickly, every 7-21 days. Corneocytes dissolve in coarse scales of about 100-1000 cells.
Oily scalp / Seborrhoeic dermatitis:
The skin renewal rate is also about 7-21 days, skin cells dissolve in oily scales of 100-1000 cells. The scalp is reddened and inflamed.
Atopic head eczema:
The main symptoms are redness and itching of the scalp, dry mealy dandruff may be absent or present.
Scalp psoriasis:
The skin renews itself in less than 7 days, the skin cells clump to large scales of more than 1000 cells. It creates so-called plaques. The underlying skin is reddened and inflamed, often hardened, indurated. The inflammation often reaches 1 cm into the skin of the forehead.
Symptoms of an itchy, irritated and flaky scalp
An itchy, irritated scalp manifests itself primarily through scalp dryness and redness. Frequently dandruff is visible and the skin reacts to touch with special sensitivity. An altered microflora is also characteristic with a significantly increased skin pH. However, these changes also have consequences for the hair: It appears dry, brittle and lacklustre.
People with congenital dry skin often also have a dry scalp at the same time. The dandruff is triggered by micro-inflammatory foci of the scalp that are not firmly localised. The cause is an altered microflora / fungi or bacteria caused by a pH shift of the hydrolipid film. Tormenting itching and redness are often the result. Frequent hair washing increases the discomfort.
A very common, mainly plant-related skin disease is seborrhoeic dermatitis, which primarily affects middle-aged men. The male sex hormone androgen causes increased sebum production (even women can be affected). The skin disease manifests itself in yellowish, oily dandruff, which forms on the scalp, among other things. Seborrheic dermatitis is harmless, non-infectious and one of the most common skin diseases. For the treatment of seborrhoeic eczema, anti-fungals and cortisone preparations are considered. In addition, scalp shampoos containing octopirox, selenium disulphide and tea tree oil, which have a fungicidal and anti-scaling action (DERMASENCE Haircare Shampoo, DERMASENCE Selensiv Shampoo), provide good support for medical treatment. In most cases, the areas of skin normalise very quickly under therapy. However, the seborrheic dermatitis often occurs again after stopping the preparations or is generally chronic.
In general, neurodermatitis is a chronic, relapsing skin disease with a genetic background. The predisposition to the development of skin lesions is inherited, but the expression is dependent on a variety of factors (allergies, colonisation of the skin by bacteria, mental factors, etc.). In adult atopics, dandruff-dissolving preparations such as salicylic acid-containing oils can be used at short notice. As a support mild shampoos are used (DERMASENCE Milk Serum Shampoo).
Psoriasis vulgaris is a condition that is only in exceptional cases limited to the scalp and is sometimes difficult to distinguish from seborrhoeic dermatitis. Hairy heads show sharply defined and reddened, sometimes slightly raised plaques (accumulation of skin scales) with firmly adhering, silvery shining scales. In psoriasis, cell renewal is greatly accelerated. The treatment can be done in a variety of ways and belongs in the hands of a specialist. In addition, shampoos containing salicylic acid, selenium disulphide, ichthyol light and tea tree oil (DERMASENCE Selensiv Shampoo, DERMASENCE Medicinal Shampoo) can assist in relieving persistent plaques in the head area. The increased formation of horny cells and increased sebum flow is regulated and the colonisation of the scalp with bacteria and fungi is counteracted.
