Does it strike you as being odd how our modern world approaches everything from a “once you’ve got a condition, they have some chemical or drug to fix it?” But do they really? And is it also wise to approach every condition, such as dandruff, from the angle of, “what can I use to make it go away?” Rather than, “hmmm, why did it happen in the first place?” and correct the problem at the “root” of the cause.
Dandruff has been blamed on a multiplicity of causes, including dry skin, oily skin, too much or too little hair washing, diet, stress or hygiene. However, the real cause of dandruff is actually a yeast-like fungus, Malassezia globosa, which lives on your scalp, feeding on skin oils.
Dandruff is shedded skin; dandruff sufferers shed skin much more rapidly than other people. This happens because the fungus uses enzymes called lipases to metabolize the oils, which creates a by-product called oleic acid. The acid penetrates your skin and triggers skin cell shedding.
In the words of Dr. Mercola: “This is another classic example of blaming an infectious agent for the ’cause’ of a disease.”
Scientists have come a little closer to understanding the mysteries of dandruff, a condition as ubiquitous as it is embarrassing.
In the past, dandruff has been blamed on dry skin, oily skin, washing the hair too often or not enough, on diet, stress or simply a lack of personal hygiene.
“Dandruff on the collar” = a man careless of his personal appearance!
Perhaps, the real blame for dandruff lies not in neglect, but in a yeast-like fungus, Malassezia globosa, which lives on the scalp in millions and feeds on the oily products of the sebaceous glands.
Finally, scientists have decoded the complete DNA of the fungus, which could provide clues on how to combat this little bugger more effectively. The scientists involved work for Procter & Gamble, manufacturers of Head & Shoulders, a successful anti-dandruff shampoo and laden with chemicals! The fungus is one of the simplest ever sequenced, with just 4,285 genes, 300 times fewer than its human host.
Ketoconazole is a synthetic antifungal drug used to prevent and treat skin and fungal infections, especially in immunocompromised patients such as those with AIDS. Due to its side-effect profile, it has been superseded by newer antifungals, such as fluconazole and itraconazole.[1] Ketoconazole is sold commercially as an anti-dandruff shampoo, branded Nizoral®, by Janssen Pharmaceutica.
Ketoconazole is very lipophilic, which leads to accumulation in fatty tissues. The less toxic and more effective triazole compounds, fluconazole and itraconazole, have largely replaced ketoconazole for internal use – YUCK! Internal use!!! Ketoconazole is best absorbed at highly acidic levels, so antacids or other causes of decreased stomach acid levels will lower the drug’s absorption when taken orally.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2000 Feb;44(2):467-9.
The in vitro activities of ketoconazole, econazole, miconazole, and Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil against Malassezia species.
Hammer KA, Carson CF, Riley TV.
Department of Microbiology, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia. khammer@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
The in vitro activities of ketoconazole, econazole, miconazole, and tea tree oil against 54 Malassezia isolates were determined by agar and broth dilution methods. Ketoconazole was more active than both econazole and miconazole, which showed very similar activities. M. furfur was the least susceptible species. M. sympodialis, M. slooffiae, M. globosa, and M. obtusa showed similar susceptibilities to the four agents.
Yikes, that’s a mouthful. Not to mention, a body full of yet more toxic chemicals!
You know how I’m always talking about therapeutic-grade essential oils and how they can kill probably every bug, virus, germ, and so forth that we don’t want?
Lavender Signature Series
It seems to me that the Young Living shampoo’s, which contain therapeutic-grade essential oils would do the trick. If on their own they didn’t, I’d simply add several drops of Thieves essential oil to the shampoo.
Not to knock the Melaleuca species… but, I have at my fingertips 150 different Young Living essential oils and I can honestly say that it is NOT one of the oils I turn to when I have a serious problem – why? It’s not potent enough. I have four different species of Melaleuca in my essential oil case and I haven’t touched any of them in the past 4 years, simply because I have other essential oils that do the job better, a lot better!
If I had a bad case of dandruff, you better believe I’d turn to my Young Living Thieves, Oregano and Lemongrass essential oils! I use the Young Living shampoo/condition all the time and hand even used the Thieves Foaming Hand Soap as a shampoo for myself and my dog – it works great!
Young Living has 3 different shampoo’s and conditioners, none of them contain toxic ingredients.
Get Young Living chemical-free shampoo here!
Why would anyone choose a toxic product when there is a 100% pure nontoxic solution available?
Omega Blue Softgels
Most of the population is deficient in Omega 3’s. It’s amazing the results one can have by simply adding a little mercury-free fish oil to their diet.
Omega Blue™ (fact sheet) is a clinically proven dose of omega-3 (EPA, DHA) fatty acid nutrients. Critical for heart, eye, brain, and joint health, Young Living’s® Omega Blue™ pure fish oil is free of heavy metals, PCBs, and dioxins, and offers the benefits of our Omega Enhance™essential oil blend to ensure freshness and stability.
Omega Enhance combines legendary blue chamomile and myrrh oils to support a healthy inflammatory response, lemongrass oil to provide cardiovascular protection and support healthy cholesterol levels, and clove and myrrh for added antioxidant support.*
Get shampoo, conditioner, and Omega Blue here!
* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
6 comments
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July 2, 2008 at 11:18 pm
anne
pls i want to get my hair free from dandruff/itchiness
July 3, 2008 at 10:58 am
Evelyn Vincent
Anne,
I’d try one of the 3 Young Living Shampoo’s (Lavender, Lemon-Sage, or Rosewood), the Omega Blue softgels, and a bottle of lavender essential oil from Young Living (don’t even waste your money on others brands as their essential oils are junky quality).
April 27, 2009 at 12:22 am
Eileen
This article was an excellent source of information. I think I am much closer to understanding why my scalp has become sore and tender to the touch. My hair has been falling out like crazy in the last yr or so, so I dont’ wash it as much as I used to being that it falls out even more in the shower. I wear a shower cap and wash my body but I only wash my hair twice a week. I was unaware that there is even such a thing as scalp fungus before now and it totally makes sense that if you are not washing your hair as often as you used to that you would probably develop some sort of fungal growth and it could in fact make your scalp sore. Good information to know. I am relieved to know that there is a way to combat my tender scalp. Thank you.
July 4, 2009 at 1:16 pm
GUEST
i have been struggling with dandruff for years. i have used head and shoulders intensive treatment and it does not work. i honestly do not know what else to do. i hate the dead flaky skin that falls rapidly. how do i get my old hair/scalp back?
October 18, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Tea Tree Essential Oil
I had an itchy, flaky, red scaly scalp problem from the time I was about 15 through to age 35. It was a real problem for me and I always treated it as bad dandruff. There was only one shampoo I could use that gave me relief (albeit temporary – I had to wash at least every second day to keep the problem at bay) and it used to cost $15 per bottle which, back then, was a lot of money! After almost 20 years of that shampoo and recurring problem, I came across a similar article to yours, and re-thought the whole thing through, deciding that perhaps my problem was not dandruff, but tinea (athlete’s foot, ringworm). I treated it with neat, organic Tea Tree essential oil for a period of about 2 weeks, where I would put the tea tree on a cotton tip and rub it all over my scalp, concentrating on areas that were always the biggest problem. I would leave the essential oil on my scalp overnight (yes, my pillow stank!) and wash it off with shampoo the next morning. I did that about 4 times in the 2 week period and would you believe that it completely cured my scalp?! Imagine, 20 years of this problem and just 2 weeks of tea tree oil completely cured me. Obviously the problem was fungal and I never even realized (nor did I even know it was a possibility!). Although I wouldn’t recommend neat essential oil on the body, this was the one time when it very definitely was called for, and truly worked.
Hi,
Thanks for your story, I’m glad to hear you got rid of your scalp fungus issue. I’ve seen tea tree work well for some, and not others. I’ve seen the Young Living blend called Melrose work faster and for more people. I would imagine it’s because of a synergistic effect in the blend that makes it more powerful than tea tree alone. Melrose smells a lot better than tea tree too. ~ Evelyn
October 23, 2009 at 6:56 am
Roxanne
Is this treatment safe for infants? My son has had this fungus since birth. It has played havock on his immune system and caused sores all over his body until it was properly diagnosed. We are still treating him now 11 months but the fungus is still very much alive. Do you have any recommendations.
Thank you for your comment and question. There are many studies showing that pregnant moms and women who are breast feeding who have adequate amounts of Omega 3s in their diet have children who are healthier, particularly in regards to the child’s brain function. Be mindful that many Omega 3 suplements are not high quality. If it were me, for starters I’d be taking my Young Living fish oil supplement daily (Omega Blue); I take Omega Blue all the time anyway even though I’m not nursing or pregnant. I also get all of my fish from Vital Choice, they have the best quality I’ve ever come across.
As for shampoo, Young Living does have a shampoo for children, KidScents Shampoo, which can be found in the product list on my website – it’s a very nice shampoo (no chemcals or other harsh stuff that’s bad for kids). I even use it sometimes myself and I’ve used it many times on my dog.
KidScents® Shampoo contains:
Natural Ingredients and Therapeutic-grade essential oils. No mineral oils. No synthetic perfumes. No artificial colorings. No toxic ingredients.
Deionized water, Declypolyglucose, (MSM) Methylsulfonylmethane, Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis) Extract, Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis) Gel, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Kiwi (Aleurites moluccana) Nut Oil, Jojoba (Buxus chinensis) Oil, Citrus Seed Extract, Grape (Vitis vinifera) Seed Extract, Dimethicone Copolyol Meadowfoamate, Tangerine (Citrus nobilis)†, Lemon (Citrus limon)†, and Blue Tansy (Tanacetum annum)†, Hyaluronic Acid, Wheat (Triticum Aestivum) Germ Oil, Keratin, Linoleic Acid and Linolinic Acid.
†Young Living Therapeutic Grade™ essential oil.
All of the Young Living shampoo’s are very concentrated so you will only need a small amount. As such they are less expensive in the long run. Particularly the conditioner’s – I only have to buy two bottles of conditioner a year, which only costs me about $40 a year, and I have very long hair. And, the best part is… there is NEVER any build-up on my hair. The savings and not having to switch brands all the time is amazing.
I hope this helps. ~ Evelyn