The latest study into scaly scalps has found that nurturing particular bacteria on the skin could keep the white flakes at bay.
Researchers in Shanghai took on the dandruff problem with an unprecedented investigation into flaky scalps and the ecosystem of microbes that set up home on the human head, feeding on the lavish menu of dead skin and oily secretions called sebum.
Menghui Zhang at Shanghai Jiao Tong University invited 59 people aged 18 to 60 years old into the lab and gathered dandruff from eight different areas on their heads. All had washed their hair two days before turning up at the centre.
Zhang separated the volunteers into ?healthy? and dandruff groups, depending on the amount of visible skin flakes in their hair. He then looked to see how the populations of scalp bacteria and fungi differed between the two groups, and with individual?s sex, age and physiology.
The researchers found that sebum secretions rose through the teenage years, peaked at 15 to 35 years old, and then declined as people got older. Meanwhile, dandruff became worse as people aged, with the over 40s having more severe dandruff than the younger participants. Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, the authors note: ?Sebum is an important food source for the growth of fungi and bacteria.?
In previous work, scientists had identified a group of fungi called Malassezia as potential culprits in causing dandruff. The yeast eat fatty substances in sebum and produce oleic acid, which irritates the skin and may cause the scalp to flake. But in the latest study, Zhang found Malassezia fungi on the heads of people without dandruff, suggesting flaky skin might be made in other ways.
He found that instead of fungi, the most important factor seemed to be bacteria. The two most common bacteria living on the scalp were Propionibacterium andStaphylococcus. In the ?healthy? group with little or no dandruff,Propionibacterium made up 71% of the scalp bacteria, with Staphylococcusaccounting for only 26%. But in the dandruff group, he noticed the populations had shifted dramatically, with Propionibacterium falling to 50%, andStaphylococcus rising to 44%.
The two types of bugs can restrict each other?s growth, and Zhang suspects that when Staphylococcus gets the upper hand, more dandruff is the result. Scalp sebum, he said, may be a particularly good food source for Propionibacterium, while moisture released from the skin helped the bugs grow. ?We found that keeping the balance of the microenvironment is very important,? Zhang said.
All of which points to bug management as the new way of controlling dandruff. ?Adjusting the balance of the bacteria on the scalp, particularly by enhancingPropionibacterium and suppressing Staphylococcus, might be a potential solution to lessen dandruff,? Zhang writes in the journal.
How the community of scalp bugs can best be shaped to prevent dandruff is a question Zhang is now investigating, with a view to making better anti-dandruff shampoos. One approach could be to nurture Propionibacterium at the expense ofStaphylococcus, by delivering nutrients to the scalp that benefit Propionibacterium more than its microbial rivals.
But another answer may lie in yogurts that contain Propionibacterium. In 2013, researchers in the US developed a yogurt laced with the bugs to help protect the skin from a hospital superbug, drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Scalp yogurt may be next.
Related News
Manage oily skin in winters with these steps
Everyday Medications You Should Never Take When You Exercise
Natural Herbal Gummies
Soda, pizza and salty food up liver disease in kids: Study
Women found to appear up to 20 years younger if they stay out of the sun
5 Common Mistakes that May Ruin Your Skin
Try these 4 simple yoga asanas to gain weight
10 questions about laser hair removal
Most Read
★The Diabetes Diet
★5 surprising beauty benefits of amla
★The Best Breakfast Foods for Weight Loss
★10 Benefits Of Climbing Stairs ? An Underdog In The World Of Fitness
★10 Signs You are Obsessing About Your Weight
★How mood and eating behaviour are connected
★5 Tips to Take Care of Your Sensitive Skin
★Natural Herbal Gummies
★12 Benefits of Hair Spa Treatment
★Making handloom accessible
★8 Best Foods to Eat for Weight Loss
★5 Effective Baba Ramdev Yoga Asanas To Increase Height
★How to exercise outdoors, when the smogs a killer
★Top Foods for Calcium and Vitamin D
★12 Real Amazing Benefits Of Skipping For Weight Loss
★This is how many calories your tea and coffee habit is adding to your diet EVERY DAY
★Top 10 Unknown Beauty Tips and Tricks
★Guinness World Record for bearded woman Harnaam Kaur
★Recycling temple waste along the Ganges with Help Us Green
★8 Fruits that Burn Fat: Include Them In Your Diet For Great Health Benefits
★Study reveals alarming dangers of anti-ageing jabs
★Why and how exercises reduce the risk of CANCER?
★23 foods that contain NO calories
★Eat more fruit and veg for a longer life
★10 Healthy Twists on Classic Diner Dishes
★5 Skincare resolutions for 2019 that you must keep
★The Key to Healthy Aging
★Does ginger gene offer key to younger looking skin?
★5 Dairy-Free Cheese Options Worth Trying
★7 Healthy Hacks for Your Pumpkin Spice Latte
★Five-second rule for food dropped on the floor approved by germ scientists
★This One Exercise Helps You Become a Better Runner
★5 Exercises to Reduce Belly Fat
★The Benefits of Yoga Beyond Flexibility
★Top 3 Core Exercises While Pregnant
★Yoga Poses for People with Less Flexible Body
★Do you want to be paid for sleeping well at night?
★15 Kitchen Herbs and Spices with Powerful Health Benefits
★The health benefits of popular foods
★Combat the Cold with Fresh Oregano Tea
★Scientists found effective dandruff treatment
★10 Most Effective Weight Loss Exercises For Torching Fat
★Soda, pizza and salty food up liver disease in kids: Study
★Learn How To Do Pearl Facial At Home To Get Naturally Glowing Skin Instantly
★Aerobic training can help reverse ageing
★Why most people use emotional words to persuade others
★A Beginners Guide to Sun Salutations
★5 Yoga Poses that Can Give You a Glowing Skin
★Flex Your Memory Muscle
★Top 10 Homemade Fruit Packs for Glowing Skin