The Importance Of Scalp Health

The secret to healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. Women often prioritize their appearance over anything, including having beautiful hair. Therefore, we spend heavily on hair products and creams, serums, oils, and so on to have lustrous hair. But we often forget the vital part, which is our scalp.

The scalp could either cause your health problems or the reasons behind your long, healthy, and lustrous hair. Guy Parson, a certified trichologist, likens the scalp to “the flower bed and soil from which your hair grows.” So, that means the hair will be unhealthy if the soil is unhealthy.

In this blog, we will discuss the importance of scalp health for healthy hair, and share what defines a healthy scalp and how to care for it.

What Defines A Healthy Scalp

Dr Sanusi Umar, a dermatologist and medical doctor at Dr. U Hair & Skin Clinic, defines a healthy scalp as one that is free of acne, cysts, excessive hair loss, flakiness, irritation, itchiness, and pain. If your hair passes all of these criteria, then you can ascertain that you have a healthy scalp. But if otherwise, we will look at ways to make your scalp healthier.

What Is The Importance Of A Healthy Scalp?

As we said earlier, your scalp is “the flower bed and soil from which your hair grows.” Therefore, poor soil will affect plant growth. The human scalp contains over 100,000 hair follicles, each containing a single hair. In addition, hair follicles also produce an oil known as sebum that keeps the scalp moisturized and nourished.

However, the sebum is produced in excess, it can lead to the disruption of the scalp micro-biome and can lead to issues such as atopic dermatitis, clogged hair follicles, cysts, dandruff, scalp acne, seborrheic dermatitis, and weakened hair roots. Therefore, it’s essential to have a healthy scalp.

Tips To Getting A Healthy Scalp

The most important key to maintaining a healthy scalp is keeping it free from irritants. However, if none of these tips makes your scalp healthier, then you should consult a dermatologist.

1. Wash your hair when necessary.

As a rule of thumb, I recommend washing your hair every two or three days, but this depends on your hair type and texture.

• Fine hair: three times a week
• Oily hair: three or four times weekly
• Curly hair: once a week or once in two weeks
• Dry scalp: two or three times a week

For individuals with oily hair, it’s natural to think that washing their hair daily will make it less oily. However, this is not true. Washing your hair daily will strip your hair of its natural oils. To compensate, your scalp begins to produce twice as much oil, resulting in a more oily scalp.

2. Use recommended hair care products

Avoid shampoos and products that contain sulfates, ethanol, alcohol, harsh chemicals, or fragrances. Sulfates cause hair to dry out and look fizzy because they strip off the natural oils, making the scalp prone to irritation and itching.

3. Wash gently

The washing process should be soothing and done gently. Don’t scrub your scalp aggressively; massage it. It increases blood circulation and prevents skin abrasions or injuries to the scalp. It also helps to get a scalp scrub. A scalp scrub is similar to a face or body scrub. It functions to get rid of dry and dead skin cells and dandruff on your head. In addition, it causes dilation of blood vessels and boosts hair growth. So many dermatologically recommended hair scrubs are available, but you make yours at home.

4. Eat healthy

You are a product of what you eat. You know, garbage is in, and garbage is out. Eating healthy goes beyond eating three times daily but also eating right. Most of the time, we claim we are right, but after a deep dive into our feeding schedule, we realize we mostly fill our bodies with junk, pastries, and sweets.

Eating healthy includes incorporating fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of antioxidants. They prevent oxidative stress, which is believed to affect scalp health and increase hair loss.

5. Avoid tight hairstyles

Ponytails, braids, and buns are common examples of tight hairstyles that can put a lot of pressure on the scalp. Avoid tight hairstyles to minimize breakage, irritation, redness, swelling, and, in some severe cases, hair loss.

READ ALSO: Everything You Need To Know About Closures

Conclusion

It’s important to care for your scalp the way you care for your hair. Once you notice any of the above symptoms, such as cysts, acne, irritation, redness, itching, or dandruff, it means your scalp has been compromised. It may be a sign of an underlying health problem, hairstyle, routine, or product. It’s best to seek the services of a certified dermatologist.

On the other hand, you can contribute to a healthy scalp by eating well, using recommended hair products, washing only when necessary, and avoiding tight hairstyles.

You can do this!