Having an itchy scalp can sometimes be very embarrassing. Let’s say, for example, you’re meeting someone new and you’ve put on your most fabulous outfit, you’re looking your best, and you’ve just spent 45 minutes getting your hair done to make it look perfect. Imagine that you are sitting at the dining room table across from the person who could very well be ‘the one’ and then suddenly your scalp feels itchy. What is your job? do you scratch it? Do you try to ignore it and try to keep thinking about colorful conversations at the table while feeling a burning sensation in your head that is dying to scratch? If you scratch once, it might go unnoticed, but if you keep scratching your head throughout dinner, it will surely get noticed, and not in a positive way.
Considering that itchy scalps are extremely common in adults (most of us suffer from some kind of itchy scalp at some point), there is still a huge stigma around scratching your itchy scalp. Perhaps this goes back to the days when we were on the playground and having itchy scalps made us social outcasts because it was a symptom of head lice. Fortunately, in the adult world of itchy scalps, it usually doesn’t mean we have lice, but can actually be indicative of a lower condition our scalp may be suffering from.
Itchy scalp can be caused by a variety of conditions, to get to the bottom of how to solve the problem, we will look at the two most common causes of itchy scalp.
Seborrheic dermatitis
This is the most common reason why we have an itchy scalp. This type of dermatitis most commonly affects the areas of our body where we have a lot of sebaceous glands (those glands that produce natural oils to keep hair and skin healthy). So this type of dermatitis is not actually localized specifically to the scalp, but the scalp is one of those areas of the body that produces a lot of natural oils, so it’s very common to have seborrheic dermatitis there (other parts of the body that this type of dermatitis can form is around the face and torso). Seborrheic dermatitis on the scalp will cause an itchy sensation and the skin affected by the dermatitis will become scaly, red and may even cause hair loss in some people around that area. Skin that is scratched a lot around that area may flake slightly, and this can contribute to dandruff. A known cause of this type of scalp dermatitis is a fungus called Malassezia Globosa. This fungus is known to grow on the scalp and produce toxic substances that can irritate and inflame the skin. The best way to treat seborrheic dermatitis on the scalp is to use a medicated antifungal shampoo that can kill the fungus that is causing the dermatitis.
Eczema
Many people experience eczema on various parts of their bodies. From the feet to the scalp, eczema can be prevalent anywhere. Eczema is an inflammatory skin condition that, unlike seborrheic dermatitis (which usually only affects the areas where the sebaceous glands are located), eczema can appear anywhere, including the scalp. When eczema is localized to the scalp, this can be extremely problematic for sufferers because one symptom of eczema is the continual overproduction and shedding of dead skin cells. This can cause some extremely adverse effects on appearance because people with scalp eczema can look as if they are suffering from very bad dandruff with lots of white flaky bits all over their hair and falling on their shoulders. This gives the impression that the person is dirty, but in reality it is just that their skin cells are being overproduced and shedding, and it has nothing to do with their cleanliness. Modern science has yet to find the exact cause of eczema. But there are some critical factors to help people manage their eczema. One of these factors is making sure that people with this condition reduce skin irritation whenever possible. People with eczema have sensitive skin, so they shouldn’t take long hot showers, just bathe in lukewarm water. They should install a shower filter to remove irritating chemicals like chlorine and soften the water so it doesn’t irritate the skin on the scalp.
When drying off after a shower, they should also pat their hair dry, rather than excessively rubbing their skin. Also, people with eczema should avoid chlorinated pools at all costs, the chemicals in the water will irritate the skin and cause accelerated shedding.
Having an itchy scalp or excessive dandruff does not mean that a person is dirty or unhealthy, it just means that they may be suffering from treatable forms of skin conditions on the scalp. So the next time you are on a special occasion with someone and you scratch your head too often. You can be safe in the knowledge that most adults will go through exactly what they are going through and you don’t need to judge them for it.