Debunking Hair Myth - Dandruff isn't Caused by Dry Scalp

Have you ever been told that when you cut your hair often, it is prone to grow more? As a child I was always told this thing, and it became even more emphatic when I started developing beards and people would advise that I cut my beards so it grows more. At the end, this isn't true and it is just a myth that could have originated from either from one culture or the other.

With that said, I am going to be discussing some dermatological myth but before we continue, dermatology is the study of our skin, our hair, our scalp, and our mucus membrane. That said, let me continue with the hair growth myth. You see, our hair grow about half an inch monthly and cutting it will not influence its growth in any way. On our body, different hair follicles undergo different hair growth stage at the same time which means when one is in the telogen phase, the other can be in the catagen phase and so on. Talking about hair growth cycle, we have Anagen (the growth phase), Catagen (the transition phase), telogen (the resting phase) and exogen (the sheding phase).

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Another myth that I will be so happy to burst is that of dandruff. Some days ago, I was at a shop where a woman said her child had dandruff and another woman responded that it was because her child's hair was always dry but the woman went on to say that she makes sure her child's hair was always oily. So who is correct and who is wrong?

The saying that dandruff is caused by dry scalp is completely false rather it is even oil related. Dandruff is caused by a yeast on the scalp known as Malassezia yeast, and this yeast loves oil because they are lypophilic which means that the more oil on the scalp and skin, the more they grow. Actually, treating dandruff is quite an easy one and it can be treated by applying dandruff shampoo, scalp toner, scalp mask, and dietary changes is also a treatment method.

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I have gone to the history of Nigerian Presidents since after democracy and I have seen that they usually grow grey hair and this led to people saying that the presidency is so stressful that presidents grow gray hair. Well, there is an atom of myth and truth in this. This is because firstly gray hair is genetic which means that if your parents had gray hair, there is a high chance that you would have gray hairs as well but then stress can speed up the process. Hair color is determined by the melanin produced with blonde hair having less melanin high and dark hair having high melanin but when this pigment stops being produced, gray starts to show up.

One hair myth I have seen a lot of people buy into is that Oils make hair grow faster. For goodness sake, I see a lot of people purchase hair growth oil from shelves but in reality, oils do not make hair grow faster or longer. It is not advisable to put oil directly on your hair, it is better to use cream that have these oils or consume oil in food.

Read More

_{https://dermnetnz.org/topics/what-is-dermatology
https://trichologists.org.uk/the-great-hair-myths/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9917549/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499948/
https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/hair-scalp-care/scalp/treat-dandruff
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dandruff/
https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/traits/haircolor/
https://www.research.colostate.edu/healthyagingcenter/2022/03/30/the-science-of-gray-hair/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6290285/}