Natural lotion could help keep dandruff at bay, research suggests

May 14, 2016

Dandruff production is linked to the bacteria on our heads, scientists say
Lotion that redresses the bacterial balance could be effective treatment
Too early to say what form it might take but a yogurt hair mask is temprting

Fiona Macrae, Science Editor For The Daily Mail

Published:
20:04 EST, 12 May 2016

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Updated:
19:17 EST, 13 May 2016

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It may sound a tad flaky but yogurt could help keep dandruff at bay.

Scientists say the production of the unsightly white specks is linked to the bacteria on our heads.

And when one species of bug thrives and another one struggles, dandruff is more common and more severe.

Scientists say the production of the unsightly white specks is linked to the bacteria on our heads

The find, by Chinese researchers, suggests lotion that redresses the bacterial balance could provide an effective treatment.

While it’s too early to say what form this might take, the idea of a probiotic yogurt hair mask is tempting.

To get to the root of what causes dandruff, the team from Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University took samples from the scalp of 59 people aged between 18 and 60.

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Dandruff has long been blamed on a scalp-loving fungus called Malassezia. But while the fungus was common in the samples, levels didn’t vary among those with dandruff and the non-sufferers.

But the bacteria on their heads revealed a different story.

People with dandruff had higher amounts of Staphylococcus, and much less of a different type of bacteria, Propionibacterium, than those who didn’t, according to the journal Scientific Reports.

The scalps of the dandruff sufferers were also drier and less greasy.

Solution to dandruff? A probiotic yogurt hair mask could be an effective treatment for a flaky scalp

Finding out more could lead to better treatments.

The researchers said: ‘Adjusting the balance of bacteria on the scalp, particularly by enhancing Propionibacterium and suppressing Staphylococcus, might be a potential solution to lessen dandruff.’

However, Dr Bernie Hudson, of Sydney University in Australia, cautioned that we may not be able to give dandruff the brush off quite yet.

He told New Scientist magazine: ‘Merely altering the concentration of one species of bacteria compared to another may not be therapeutic, because there could be other organisms that are also important.

‘But it’s definitely a good start.’