Inflammation and infections- Scratching scalps can transfer dirt, germs and oil onto your head, which makes your skin vulnerable to infections. It triggers inflammation which can extend into your follicles.
Scraping your scalp to remove dandruff is not recommended. While it might seem like a quick way to get rid of visible flakes, doing so can irritate your scalp, lead to inflammation, and even cause micro-tears in the skin. Instead, consider the following approaches:
Scratching your scalp can damage your hair. While it's a natural reaction to itchiness, scratching your head can cause serious damage to both your hair and scalp. Itch can be a sign that your scalp is unhealthy.
``You should not force the flakes from the scalp, as this can cause trauma to your scalp.'' Scraping could cause more inflammation, bleeding and scabbing, and hair loss the derms warn.
Scratching can make oil glands in your scalp work overtime. Too much oil can jam hair follicles. This makes a good place for bad bacteria or fungi that can make things like dandruff or fungal infections worse. This irritates your scalp more, you scratch more, and so the cycle continues.
Dermatillomania is a mental health condition where a person compulsively picks or scratches their skin, causing injuries or scarring. Also known as excoriation disorder or skin-picking disorder, this condition falls under the category of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs).
Scalp massages feel good for two reasons: one, they promote the release of happy hormones like serotonin, so you'll notice that your mood lifts during treatment. Secondly, a scalp massage stimulates small muscles and blood vessels near the brain, which are highly receptive to touch.
Scalp 101
Have you ever scratched your scalp and noticed white, waxy buildup under your nails? That's sebum mixed with dead skin cells. It's hard for shampoo alone to wash away your oily scalp issues. And issues like stress and weather can increase the scalp's sebum production, making you even oilier.
So that's that – as tempting as it might be to scrape your scalp until it's raw, just don't do it. If your dandruff's not that bad, treat it at home with a specialist shampoo (of which there are many). If it's so severe you want to scrape it all off for clicks, get yourself to a doctor post-haste.
Dandruff and head lice cause similar types of itching, but they are different conditions. Dandruff will appear as white or yellow flakes of dry skin. Lice eggs, also known as nits, look like tiny yellow or white eggs in the shape of a teardrop. Adult lice are darker in color and about the size of a sesame seed.
Inflamed follicles can weaken the hair strands, an outcome of constant scratching. This can reduce the hold that your hair strands have on the scalp and increases hair fall. If you have bleeding and scabbing due to scratching your scalp, it can cause scarring which leads to temporary hair loss.
If you damage your hair follicles after an injury, they can repair themselves and your hair will grow back. It could take up to four years before you see new hair growth out of damaged hair follicles, depending on the severity of your injury.
This is a tactile hallucination known as formication. People with this condition are convinced the bugs are real, even with reassurance from others they are a hallucination. This makes formication difficult to treat for the person and their medical provider.
Seborrheic dermatitis is a common inflammatory skin condition. It causes flaky, white to yellowish scales to form on oily areas such as the scalp, face, or inside the ear. It can occur with or without reddened skin. Cradle cap is the term used when seborrheic dermatitis affects the scalp of infants.
Scalp massage is a simple and effective way to encourage circulation and loosen buildup. Rinsing your hair with apple cider vinegar can also help remove buildup and restore your scalp's pH balance. If you prefer a more intensive exfoliation, you can try a scalp scrub or chemical exfoliant.
You might clear out some of the flakes which are on top and displace some of the dead skin cells. But unless you attack the underlying cause of dandruff, your body will just keep creating more flakes. So you're going to keep using a dandruff removal comb, and never actually remove dandruff from your life.
There are loads of benefits to removing dead skin from the scalp. It can prevent clogged hair follicles, which helps you avoid hair loss, itchiness, and dandruff.
When you scrap away the skin on your scalp, you risk exposing it to infection and making your dandruff worse. If you feel the urge to scratch, use your time to the shower to gently massage your scalp instead. This will give you some relief and not disturb your scalp as much.
These results jibed with a PLOS One brain-imaging study from the previous year, which showed that scratching activates the brain regions involved in the reward circuit, a neural network that floods the body with euphoria-inducing chemicals in response to pleasurable activities (like sex) and substances (like drugs).
Although wet dandruff is commonly associated with seborrheic dermatitis, the symptoms can also occur if you have another type of skin disorder like psoriasis or an infection. It can also occur on its own without any underlying condition.
Rubbing your scalp may help release tension. Massage may also trigger the release of feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin.
It's sometimes called a body-focused repetitive behaviour and is similar to repetitive hair pulling disorder (trichotillomania). It's also related to other obsessive compulsive disorders, such as body dysmorphic disorder, where the person is excessively preoccupied with their appearance.