When your dandruff improves, it's OK to use dandruff shampoo less often. Once a week might be enough to keep flakes off your shoulders. If dandruff doesn't get better after 4–6 weeks, try another shampoo with a different active ingredient.
"Be careful and aware how you use your shampoo." Dr. Davis says most dandruff shampoos need to be left on the scalp for more than five minutes. "Shampoo has a precipitate that once applied takes several minutes to separate itself out to allow it to remain on the skin to become active."
Treatment: Type of shampoo: Frequent washing with a regular shampoo is the most important treatment for dandruff. Use a regular shampoo to remove the scales as quickly as they form. In addition, the detergents in the shampoo will cause smaller, less visible flakes to shed.
For Caucasians and Asian-Americans, the best approach is to shampoo every day but use dandruff shampoo only twice a week. If that doesn't get rid of it, you might try alternating shampoos that have different treatment ingredients. For Black people, it's usually best to use a dandruff shampoo only once a week.
Here are 9 simple home remedies to naturally get rid of dandruff.
Although having dandruff can be embarrassing, it's harmless. It doesn't mean that you're not clean. It's not contagious: You can't catch it or pass it along to someone else. Dandruff doesn't directly cause hair loss, but scratching your scalp a lot could cause temporary hair loss.
Can dandruff be cured? No, but it can be controlled. You'll need to reserve a permanent space in your shower for specialized treatment shampoo containing zinc pyrithione or selenium sulfide. These anti-dandruff ingredients can help slow the rate at which your skin cells die and slough off.
Because everything is happening on your scalp, your hair length won't affect whether you suffer from dandruff. (Balding parts of the scalp may experience less dandruff, though, because the environment is less suitable for Malassezia microbe; it thrives in warm, humid places).