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8 yr old with dandruff

My daughter is 8 yrs old and I've noticed since last yr that she has been getting dandruff, tiny little white flakes. I give her showers every 2-4 days, mostly every 3 days but lately every other day cause of her flakes. I help her with washing her hair. Her scalp is no longer ichy since I've switched her over to my hair products (Paul Mitchell Tea Tree and Matrix Biolage Scalp Sync antidandruff), they are working somewhat but her flakes are still present and I'm not sure if these products may be too harsh for a kid. If anyone can give me advice for her I'd greatly appreciate it. I don't know if it makes any difference but she has dry skin and her hair is very thin. Also her father and I are very prone to dandruff too.

8 yr old with dandruff

hey ... I think you should try applying a few drops of lemon on the 8 yr olds scalp and then apply yogurt all over the scalp and leave it for like 30 mins with cling film to make sure the yogurt doesn't touch anything. After you wash it off, the dandruff will dissapear. Tried it on me and my husband and it worked. great. Let me know if it works.

RE: 8 yr old with dandruff

Hey there! First, I agree with the other comment about making sure she’s really getting to her scalp and rinsing well! I told a little girl I know (who was dealing with a similar issue) that not scrubbing and tuning your scalp well, is like only ever washing the comforter on your bed and never washing your sheets. And she’s improved since! Secondly, if she is washing correctly and the problem still occurs, I would 1.) switch her to washing her hair every 2-3 days and with Luke Warm water! If she can’t handle the cooler temp, tell her to take a bath with normal bath temp and only rinse her hair with the cooler temperature. 2.) a hot oil treatment once a week with coconut oil, olive oil, or jojoba oil mixed with a little apple cider vinegar and let it sit for 10-15 minutes and have you rinse her really well! 3.) if she isn’t already, shower/bath in the evening and let her hair air dry

Re: 8 yr old with dandruff

Beauty products may cover up, but will not solve a medical problem.  According to my doc, garden variety dandruff is a fungus.  He said the best thing for it is head and shoulders or  products with the same active ingredient.  (Sulfur, and there are others) BUT that would be the first thing I would try.  It is gentle and effective.   Steroids will stop the itch but not treat the problem.  Moisturizers will make it worse.  Do not treat a medical problem with cosmetics.  If in doubt, see a dermatologist, but trying Head and Shoulders will not hurt.

RE: 8 yr old with dandruff

I’m assuming your daughter washes her own hair when she showers/bathes? It might help to make sure she’s washing her hair and scalp thoroughly and rinsing thoroughly. It’s pretty common for girls that age to end up with dandruff when they don’t quite shampoo and condition as well as they should. My daughter is 10 and I still have to scrub her head once a week or so due to dandruff build up from not washing well. My niece went through the same thing at this age for the same reason. It’s so much easier for my boys to keep their scalps healthy lol.

Yes I agree boys are much easier lol I still help her sha...

Yes I agree boys are much easier lol I still help her shampoo and rinse everytime she showers but try to let be do it too so she can learn. I thought I was the only one to have problems with her hair, it's good to know I'm not the only one.

Re: 8 yr old with dandruff

@NinaNee I just recently went to the dermatologist because I was dealing with an itchy flaky scalp (sorry, I get grossed out just talking about it). I drink plenty of water, I take vitamin supplements. I tried dandruff shampoos and regular shampoos. I tried shampoos without sulfates and silicones. I tried washing more often. I tried washing less often. Nothing helped.

 

The doctor told me I have seborrheic dermatitis (fancy blanket term for dandruff, cradle cap, etc...) but gave me a prescription for a steroid foam that I've been using for exactly four days. My scalp has turned around like you wouldn't believe! I'm not itchy anymore and the flakes have subsided considerably.

 

Moral of the story: if it bothers you and it bothers her, it might be worth a trip to the doctor. There are lots of things it could be like psoriasis or eczema. Or it could be just garden variety dandruff. But it's probably best to check it out to be certain.

 

As for your scalp being flaky, too, it could just be the dry shampoo you've been using. If you don't brush it out thoroughly you can get build up. Just a thought. Good luck!

Oh thanks so much for all the info. If nothing seems to w...

Oh thanks so much for all the info. If nothing seems to work for us we may have to take a trip to the dermatologist.

Re: 8 yr old with dandruff

I’m a cosmetologist and one of the things I try to teach my clients is that beauty starts from within. Being so little I wouldn’t try anything too harsh as far as products, I would keep your routine up of every other day, but also do a weekly scalp treatment. You said her skin is dry. Considering she is also experiencing the dandruff (two types of dandruff one caused by an overly oily scalp or an overly dry scalp), I will say she’s not only prone to dry skin but dehydration. 

 

Is is she drinking enough water? If not then Up her water intake add a multi vitamin as well.

Thanks so much for the info. I greatly appreciate it. I a...

Thanks so much for the info. I greatly appreciate it. I admit shedoesn't drink too much, I'll have to up her water intake. With her being in school til 4 she drinks almost a whole bottle of water while there (that's what make her take incase she is thirsty) and milk for lunch. When she comes home she usually likes a glass of milk with dinner and she may drink half a bottle of water while home after school. She also takes multivitamins daily. Her skin being dry like you said is most likely from the the water intake, I lotion her daily to combat the dryness. As for me I have an oily scalp. I didn't know that, that can be associated with dandruff. As a teen to early 20's I didn't know that it wasn't good to wash my hair daily. I've been really trying to train my hair so I've been using dry shampoos every other day instead of washing it daily. Only thing with dry shampoo is that it makes my dandruff more noticeable cause u have to tousle the product into the hair. I try to drink more water, I drink about 5-7 cups a day. I'm trying to get to 8 but I'm not much of a drinker either. Is there anything you can recommend for hair care products or anything for me? I have an oily scalp with dry ends and dandruff. I don't take multivitamins, so I'll have to start that. And anything else I could be doing for my girl?

Thank so much for all the info! It's been very insightful...

Thank so much for all the info! It's been very insightful. I use to have thick hair before kids but now my hair is half of what it use to be. I have very straight, flat and long asian hair. I get alot of split ends. Thanks so much for all the info. Will definitely take everything you said into consideration.

Re: Thanks so much for the info. I greatly appreciate it. I a...

Definitely try a moisturizer masque for her scalp once a week, once she’s been drinking enough water for a steady 21 days you should see a significant improvement. 

 

For you, one thing a lot of my clients have a misconception about is shampooing. Girl wash your hair if you need to wash your hair! If you gotta wash it everyday it’s fine. What makes it bad is the products used. 

 

When you think of ingredients in products readily available at Walmart, you’re really just getting a tiny bit of what they advertise and a whole lot of filler. It’s mainly comprised of water and other petroleum bi products (the leftovers that mega oil companies sell to a lot of beauty companies) basically the stuff that isn’t even good enough to run through your car as gasoline. 

 

So with oily scalps there’s two things that can cause it to be oily, your glands naturally produce too much oil or your scalp is dry and your scalp is over compensating.

 

The oily scalp products depends on your hair type, I suggest switching to a conditioning shampoo if you have curly, medium to think hair. Never apply condition directly to your scalp no matter what type of hair you have. 

 

Do a claryfing cleanse once a week. I use the Sunday Shampoo by Bumble and Bumble. 

 

Now I have thick hair but it’s coarse and dry. Here’s my issue, if I use thinkgs meant to moisturize they tend to weigh my hair down and make the hair itself greasy. I hate that.

 

so I tend to use a basic shampoo like aveda shampure, or something meant for damaged hair (less harsh) or fine hair. Followed by the hairdresser invisible oil conditioner by Bumble  on my mids to ends. I use the hairdresser invisible oil primer spray whether I air dry or heat style, only on my ends.

 

once a week I use the Sunday Shampoo and the Aveda smooth infusion masque (only on my mids to ends). 

 

I suggest you start by detox with the scalp revival mask by Briogeo. For every day use their Scalp Revival Shampoo, your choice of conditioner depending on your hairs needs. 

 

also remember it can take your skin and scalp up to 21 days to adjust to new products. Your cells naturally regenerate and you have to give your body enough time to adjust. Like with skin care when you try a new cleanser or product and you go through a “purge breakout period”. Your scalp will probably freak out at first, it may not, just as a pre warning, give yourself time to adjust. If it doesn’t improve in that time period then that’s not the right product for you. 

 

 

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