Current Treatments & Household Remedies for Dandruff

You can easily remove dandruff flakes from your hair by simply washing them away faster than they can shed and be replaced. Regular shampooing can reduce the number of visible flakes, even with shampoos that are not marked to treat seborrheic dermatitis. By washing the hair regularly, dead skin is removed before it can build up into larger, more noticeable flakes. Unfortunately, some people mistakenly avoid washing their hair, because they believe that the shampoo will dry their scalp and worsen their dandruff.
 

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A very common household remedy to get rid of dandruff is apple cider vinegar, as well as salt or lemon juice. You should apply the liquid to the scalp, then allow it to remain before shampooing and rinsing clean in the shower. You may want to start with leaving the liquid on the scalp for several minutes, and increase the time to get better results to several hours, or even overnight. Be careful not to irritate the scalp, though. You can simply poor the solution over the head, but using a spray bottle can help with better coverage. You can also use apple cider vinegar as a rinse after shampooing. The vinegar acts as a fungicide to fight the Malassezia fungus that is a cause of dandruff, and it also acts as a rinsing agent, to will rinse clumps of skin away before they appear large enough to be visible.

Another commonly used and household remedy is the use of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol applied directly to the hair and scalp. It is usually best to apply the alcohol while in the shower, and massaged it into the scalp for a few minutes, then rinse clean. Be careful and do not get the alcohol into your eyes. The alcohol gives an additional benefit by "stripping build-up" from the hair, which leaves the hair extremely soft.

Another antifungal treatment that has been found useful is tea tree oil.

Dandruff commonly occurs on the scalp, and can range from slight to severe. Severe cases of dandruff, should be treated by a dermatologist, particularly if accompanied by flaking or scaling on other parts of the body. Dandruff can occur in conjunction with more severe skin conditions psoriasis and eczema.

There are various over the counter (OTC) shampoos that treat dandruff. Because dandruff varies from person to person, you should try various shampoos with different active ingredients (selenium sulfide, tar, salicylic acid, zinc pyrithione, ketoconazole) to find the one that works best for you. You may want to alternate shampoos, too. For example, coal tar tends to treat the symptoms of dandruff but does not actually fight the Malassezia fungus; in addition, there are health concerns about extended exposure to coal tar. Since treatment as a shampoo generally involves very brief exposure to the coal tar, the FTC permits its use for this limited purpose but caution is always advised.

You may find that alternating between different treatments helps fight dandruf better, because sticking with a single treatment can become less effective over time.

Source: Wikipedia:Dandruff