Can Bleaching or Coloring Hair Cause Dandruff?

Hair is called the crowning glory. That’s more than just because it’s on top of one’s head. With the many ways of styling hair, your hair often speaks volumes about how you present yourself. As important as it is to take care of your hair, you don’t want to be associated with that bane of hair care that is dandruff. But what causes dandruff in the first place? And does bleaching or coloring hair cause dandruff or make dandruff more likely to happen?

What Is Dandruff?

Dandruff is a common, non-contagious condition making the skin on the scalp start to flake. A few possible causes are Malassezia yeast, a preexisting seborrheic dermatitis, or chemical irritants that can trigger a cascading inflammatory reactions which produces the symptoms of dandruff. Because of the flakes usually dropping onto one’s clothes, dandruff is often embarrassing and difficult to treat.

Dandruff is a mild form of seborrheic dermatitis and does not just appear on one’s scalp. Skin flakes may also appear on the skin, eyebrows, beard, or mustache.

When people have dandruff, the scalp may look scaly or red on top of feeling itchy and raw. When you scratch or rub your head, it loosens the flakes, hence the dropping on your shoulders. Dandruff signs and symptoms may be more severe if you are under stress and tend to flare up during cold, dry seasons as your skin, in general, gets drier.

What Causes Dandruff?

Among the causes of dandruff are irritated or oily skin, dry skin, a yeast-like fungus that feeds on oils on the scalps of adults, sensitivity to hair care products like shampoos and conditioners, and other skin conditions like psoriasis or eczema.

There is not always a connection between the amount of dandruff on the scalp and on the hair. Dandruff does not mean that your hair is dirty. However, the way you style your hair or the products you use might cause a flaky scalp. Some hair coloring and styling products can leave a flaky, dry residue or trigger a skin reaction that looks like dandruff.

Thus, always bleaching or coloring your hair might not cause dandruff. They can, though, weaken the hair and scalp if done frequently enough.

Treating Dandruff

Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

Studies have shown that using certain shampoos and hair care products has proven effective in treating dandruff and addressing what causes dandruff. This was the case with a 2012 study that used a combination of anti-dandruff actives and silicones that were meant to treat dandruff and deliver superior sensory properties to hair. This combination of anti-dandruff agents and conditioning silicones provided subjects with superior anti-dandruff efficacy and desired end sensory benefits ensuring compliance and longer-term dandruff removal.

Herbal

Aside from chemical-based antidandruff shampoos, dandruff treatment is also possible with herbal antidandruff shampoos. These shampoos contain antibacterial and antifungal ingredients like ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, zinc pyrithione, etc. Many herbal shampoos are now more readily available in the market with ingredients like plant extracts and essential oils.

While effective against dandruff, anti-dandruff shampoos may cause side effects such as hair loss, increased scaling, itching, irritation, nausea, etc. Herbal extract formulations are viable alternatives to synthetic drugs.

Hair and scalp products, both medicated and nonmedicated, are available as solutions, foams, gels, sprays, ointments, and oils.

Learn more about Scalp and Hair Health here.