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Your hair can be your crowning glory — or a source of frustration and discomfort. Specifically, if you live with dandruff, the skin on the top of your head could be itchy, flaky, or have other obvious signs of irritation.

If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. Somewhere around 50% of the adult population lives with this dandruff and related conditions.

The good news: Effective care can help you keep your dandruff at bay. Here at our Rapaport Dermatology offices in Beverly Hills and Culver City, California, Vicki Rapaport, MD, and our team have extensive experience treating seborrheic dermatitis, a leading cause of dandruff.

In an effort to help you keep a comfortable, healthy scalp, we also want to help you understand what causes dandruff in the first place.

Why People Get Dandruff

While dandruff can be caused by an allergy to a hair care product (contact dermatitis) or a scalp fungus, most cases of dandruff come from seborrheic dermatitis. This skin condition develops in areas where your body makes a lot of oil, which means it often affects the scalp but can also occur on the eyebrows, eyelids, or chest.

It causes red patches of skin that get scaly and flaky. If you have persistent dandruff that has not responded to over-the-counter dandruff shampoos, it is likely seborrheic dermatitis.

Certain health conditions can also heighten your risk for dandruff caused by seborrheic dermatitis, including:

• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Epilepsy
• HIV/AIDS
• Parkinson’s disease
• Psoriasis
• Rosacea

Ultimately, though, no matter what is causing your dandruff, Drs. Rapaport and our team here at Rapaport Dermatology can help you keep it at bay.

Keeping Dandruff Under Control

To treat this stubborn and common cause of dandruff, you need to take a multi-pronged approach. Effective treatment soothes the irritated and inflamed skin while controlling oil and yeast production on your scalp.

For that, Drs. Rapaport customize a treatment plan based on your hair, your lifestyle choices (like how frequently you wash your hair), and other factors specific to you. Generally, to keep dandruff at bay, our treatment plans include some combination of:

• Topical treatments like shampoos, creams, lotions, and soaps
• Medication
• Light therapy
• Lifestyle changes

Regularly washing your hair and avoiding potentially irritating hair care or styling products can go a long way here.

All told, you have options for keeping your dandruff at bay. If you are ready to say goodbye to flakiness, itchiness, and redness on your scalp or other areas of your body, do not wait to talk to our team. We work with you to develop a dandruff care plan that works for your specific needs.

To get started, call either of our Rapaport Dermatology offices or book an appointment online today.