Dandruff is one of the most common hair complaints both among men and women. Biologically, dandruff is formed when excessive dead skin cells are shed by the body. Even under normal conditions, dead cells on the scalp are continuously replaced by new ones. But in case of people who complain of dandruff problems, the life period of the skin cells is drastically reduced to about a quarter of the normal. So, they die early and thus are shed off as tiny white particles in huge numbers.

Dandruff can be treated easily in majority of the cases. However, in some cases dandruff might be indicative of more serious diseases like psoriasis, fungal infection and other skin infections.

Though it’s fairly difficult to diagnose the precise causes of dandruff, there are some common ones. Here is a list of few of them-

1. People with dry skin are more prone to dandruff problems. In fact, fry skin is one of the most common causes of dandruff. Dandruff arising out of dry skin tends to worsen during the winters as the moisture is sucked out of the skin by the harsh conditions.

2. Simultaneously, even people with excessively oily skin can have dandruff. This condition, called as seborrheic dermatitis is a skin ailment wherein various parts of the body are rich in oil glands. The dandruff flakes produced in this case are larger than the ones formed due to dry skin.

3. Dandruff can also be a result of a fungal growth in the scalp region. Fungi similar to yeast grow on the scalp, usually thriving on the oil released by certain glands. Contrary to popular belief, fungal growth is not related to personal hygiene. Even a cleanliness freak can have fungal infections.

4. Skin infection or Eczema is also a common cause of dandruff. If other parts of your body suffer from eczema, your scalp might also develop this skin infection, thus increasing the chances of dandruff.

John is a blogger who has been writing online for the past 3 years. His latest blog is about wooden rowboats. Check it out here:

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