Dry scalp relief.
What this actually is
A flaking scalp is usually one of two things, and they want opposite treatment — which is why so many people get it wrong for years.
A genuinely dry scalp is short of oil. The flakes are small, white and dry, the scalp feels tight, and it often comes with dry skin elsewhere and gets worse in winter with heating and hot showers. Seborrhoeic dermatitis — which most people call dandruff — is the opposite: an inflammatory response to a yeast that lives on everyone's scalp. The flakes are larger, yellowish and greasy, the scalp is often itchy and pink, and it comes and goes in flares.
The mistake is treating dandruff as dryness. Oiling a scalp that is flaking because of yeast overgrowth feeds the problem. The reverse mistake is treating dryness with a strong anti-dandruff shampoo, which strips further and makes it worse.
Wash regularly either way. The common belief that washing less will calm a scalp is backwards for the dandruff type, and irrelevant for the dry type. And treat the scalp as skin, because it is — the same rules about lukewarm water and not scrubbing apply.
Persistent, painful or bleeding patches want a GP.
A routine that suits it
Where we would start. Build it up one step at a time rather than all at once.
- Identify which one
Small dry white flakes with a tight scalp is dryness. Larger greasy yellow flakes with itch and redness is dandruff. They want opposite products.
- Wash
Regularly, lukewarm, massaging with fingertips rather than nails. Washing less rarely helps either type.
What we use - Treat
Matched to the type — a soothing treatment for dryness, an anti-fungal for dandruff. Give it a month.
What we use
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Frequently asked
- Is it dry scalp or dandruff?
- Look at the flakes. Small, dry and white, with a tight-feeling scalp and dry skin elsewhere, is dryness. Larger, yellowish and greasy, with itching and pink skin underneath, is seborrhoeic dermatitis — dandruff. It matters because oil helps the first and feeds the second, and a harsh anti-dandruff shampoo will make genuine dryness considerably worse.
- Will washing my hair less often help?
- Usually not, and for dandruff it is actively counterproductive — you are leaving oil and yeast in place longer. Regular gentle washing suits both types. What does help is lukewarm rather than hot water, fingertips rather than nails, and rinsing thoroughly, since leftover product sitting on the scalp is its own irritant.
- When should I see a doctor about my scalp?
- If it is bleeding, painful, spreading in well-defined thick plaques, or has not improved after a month of the right treatment. Psoriasis, fungal infections and eczema all show up on scalps and all need something a salon cannot supply. Sudden patchy hair loss alongside flaking should be seen promptly rather than waited out.