mans headDandruff can often be embarrassing and a source of much discomfort for many people. It is often stigmatised as a symptom of poor hygiene and sufferers of chronic dandruff may feel very embarrassed by it and may even not want to go out and be a part of normal society because of it. Though it is more common than we all think and it is often very easy to treat. Dandruff occurs after puberty and is actually most common in people in their early twenties. It is far more common in men than in woman and is very uncommon in pre-pubescent children.

All of us will experience the symptoms of dandruff at some stage in our lives - that is, we will all experience the shedding of dead skin cells from our scalp. Though for people who actually have dandruff, this natural shedding of dead skin cells occurs a lot more rapidly than for people without dandruff and therefore those suffering from dandruff have the tell tale signs of white flaky bits of skin over their clothing and often a red and itchy scalp.

There are various degrees of dandruff - from a mild form of dandruff that merely causes for an increased loss of dead skin cells. This can be mildly embarrassing - especially when wearing a lovely black shirt or black suit! To chronic Seborrhoeic dermatitis - which can be very disabling indeed, with symptoms of very itchy and sore scalp, a red rash around the scalp, ears or forehead that sometimes weeps. Greasy white or yellow scales that can also be accompanied by red patches of skin and most devastatingly hair loss.

There are many various causes of Dandruff and often it's hard to pin point the one true cause of why you might be suffering from it. Generally someone who is suffering from chronic dandruff will have a very itchy scalp, but it's not the dandruff itself that is causing the itchy scalp - the dandruff and the itchiness is merely the symptoms of the problem. Itchy scalp and skin can be caused by the excessive chlorine in our water or other contaminants in our shower water. We are exposed to this water every single day for extended periods of time in a very hot steamy environment (our showers!), in this environment our pores are far more open than usual and we absorb a lot of these chemicals. This chemical exposure may be the factor which is causing our dry itchy scalps and also our dandruff.

Other causes of dandruff range from Hormone imbalances, excessive perspiration, allergic reactions, stress, lack of sleep to some maybe more obvious things such as wearing a hat that is too tight and doesn't let your scalp breath.

A fungal infection either of the outer layers of the skin or in the deeper layers caused by fungi such as moulds and yeast can be the cause of dandruff as well. A type of yeas called Malassezia that lives on skin can also cause the excessive shedding of skin. We should remember here also that a good shower filter will kill any bacteria or fungus that is in our water supplies.

Some sufferers of Dandruff also note that in different seasons their dandruff may get better or worse. Whether it be excessively hot weather or excessively cold weather - the seasons and your contact with various weather conditions will certainly have an impact on dandruff.

The primary medical technique of reducing dandruff is to use medicines to slow down the reproduction of skin cells. Though in many cases this is akin to bringing a canon to a knife fight! It is important to understand why we're getting dandruff before taking any medications which will inhibit the body from functioning normally. In many cases dandruff can be a reaction to the environment we are living in, so it is important to eliminate any of the causes of dry skin or itchy scalp (such as chlorine in our shower water or the types of shampoo we may be using) before we take the route of using medications.

Medicated shampoos like Head and Shoulders are probably the most common type of treatment for dandruff, they contain sulphur or salicylic acid combined with sulphur. Zinc pyrithione is a antifungal treatment which reduces the production of yeast and selenium sulphide is an anti-infective ingredient that relieves itching and flaking of the scalp and removes dry flakes.

If you have dandruff - you should not feel stressed about it or try to over think it (as stress is a key factor in it getting worse). Instead - before reaching for the medicine cabinet, look at your surroundings and your environment. Are you being exposed to anything that could be giving you an allergic reaction on your scalp? Are you eating well and having enough rest? Do you filter your shower water? Are you wearing a hat that doesn't allow your head to breath? Sometimes keeping a diary of the days when your dandruff is worse and the days when your dandruff is better and what you did on those days will also help you pin point what is the cause of your dandruff. In the end, medication may stop the symptoms of dandruff temporarily - but generally dandruff medication will only be a temporary fix and when the symptoms return you will need to remediate. So do a thorough analysis of your environment and your lifestyle, once this is done - you probably will find that making a simple choice like getting more sleep or not wearing that baseball cap all day or even installing a shower filter will be the key in combating dandruff.

Don't forget to install a shower filter to remove chemicals, limescale and heavy metals in your shower water. Protecting yourself and your family!

The pureshowers team

Please visit our shower filter on-line store at http://www.pureshowers.co.uk.