Why does the thickness of dandruff increase?

Why does the thickness of dandruff increase?

You can notice the white or pale yellow flakes in your hair or on your shoulders. These are dandruff’s hallmark symptoms. Dead skin cells that fall off your scalp are known as dandruff flakes. Your scalp may feel itchy or irritated, appear scaly or red, or both when you have dandruff. The flakes come off when your head is scratched or rubbed. When you wear dark clothing, you might catch them more easily.

Dandruff is the most common condition and affects almost 50% of the world’s population. Its progression is through several stages and starts from the growth of a dandruff fungus called Malassezia. Dandruff doesn’t mean that your hair is dirty, it is because of a dry scalp, oily scalp, and scalp psoriasis.

Dandruff can come and go, but in several cases, it stays more than expected and the flakes start to thicken. Now, what is the reason behind this? What is the internal cause of dandruff? This is what we will be going through in this article.

Changes in epidermal morphology due to dandruff

Dandruff is a relatively common scalp ailment that is characterized by flaking and pruritus with no obvious indications of inflammation such as redness and erythema. Dandruff is assumed to be a complex disorder, with both microbial colonization and host factors like sebum production playing a role. There is evidence of epidermal morphological alterations in dandruff patients’ scalp skin, with claims of increased mean thickness and more nucleated cell layers.

Furthermore, there is an increase in the percentage of epidermal Ki67- positive cells that leads to epidermal hyperproliferation. The Ki67-positive cells are the ones that rapidly grow and decay. This causes an increase in the number of dead cells on the scalp, leading to dandruff. Hyproliferation means an abnormal increase in rapid cell division, and Ki67-positive cells are the ones rapidly undergoing division.

How does dandruff grow thicker?

However, one of the most significant contributors is the presence of a fungus known as Malassezia.

Multiple studies have discovered a link between Malassezia and scalp health, with dandruff scalps regularly exhibiting an increase in Malassezia abundance. Malassezia, like all organisms, flourishes when fed, and one of its favorite nutrients is the saturated fatty acids contained in sebum. An oily scalp, then, provides the ideal environment for the growth of Malassezia.

Malassezia which grows too quickly disrupts natural skin cell renewal. Scalp skin cells congregate and form white flakes. As a result, modern dandruff treatments concentrate on anti-fungal chemicals aimed at removing Malassezia. 

Due to the oily nature of the scalp, the colonization of Malassezia dandruff increases, and dead cells on the scalp increase. This leads to the clustering of the dead skin cells which leads to a thick pale yellow dandruff layer on the scalp.

Understanding dandruff

Dandruff flakes are really dead skin cells that fall off the scalp naturally – even more so if you scratch. Many people associate dandruff with a dry scalp, however, either a dry or overly oily scalp can cause extra cells to clump and fall off, resulting in dandruff flakes. A variety of skin disorders and other factors can produce a flaky scalp.

Some of the factors that can enhance the likelihood of dandruff include

  • Heredity
  • Hormonal changes, such as puberty
  • Drinking too much alcohol
  • Consuming high-sugar, spicy, or salty foods
  • Deficiency in nutrients such as fatty acids and vitamin B
  • Weather variations
  • Stress

Mechanism of dandruff formation

The dandruff scale is a cluster of corneocytes that have kept a high degree of cohesiveness with one another and detach from the stratum corneum’s surface as a result. A corneocyte is a protein complex composed of small keratin threads arranged in an organized matrix. Scale size and abundance vary from one location to the next and across time. Dandruff is frequently composed of parakeratotic cells. Their numbers are proportional to the severity of clinical signs, which may be altered by seborrhea.

Wrapping Up

Dandruff starts with the exemplary growth of Malassezia fungus, which leads to an increase in the accumulation of dead skin cells on the scalp. Furthermore, the oily nature of the scalp thickens the dead skin layer on the scalp. With this progression, there is dandruff may further transform into serious conditions like psoriasis. Hence, it is important to treat dandruff at an early stage.
To read more about dandruff, click here.

About Author

Dr. Anish M Kurias

Dr. Anish M Kurias has more than 20 years of experience and is a gold medalist from Ashwini Ayurveda Medical College, Davanagere, hails from a 131 years old traditional ayurvedic toxicology family in Kerala.

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