How can I control Dandruff? - Dreadlocks FAQ's

I've always had dandruff and  had to use dandruff shampoo to control it, what can I do now that I have dreads?

-OR-

I've never had dandruff before but since getting dreads I've had some. What can I do to prevent it.

No worries. Each cause of dandruff has a preventative solution. Sometimes dandruff just happens and it has nothing to do with any of this stuff but that's more rare than you'd think. Usually these steps take care of it within a few days.

The most likely cause of dandruff is washing too infrequently. If you're in the first month of having dreads and you're washing less than every 3 days, try washing every 3 days, be consistent. If you've had your dreads 1 month or more try washing every other day and be consistent. Our residue free dread soap is really ideal because it doesn't leave anything on the scalp that can irritate it. This is usually all it takes.

If your whole scalp appears dry and you are washing regularly you may be getting it a bit too clean. Some scalps are very sensitive to this, they prefer to have more natural oil than others. Try using less dread soap when you wash your dreads. It may be easier to add a bit of water to the dread soap bottle and shake it up. This will have the same effect and it will make it easier to get good even coverage.

If you tend to get dandruff right at your hair line try massaging this area gently while you're rinsing your dreads. Then dry your hair line well with a towel right after your shower. This works by helping the dead skin exfoliate, something that combing/brushing used to do. We have a tool called a Head Honcho which works great for this. It's like a hair pick but it has rounded tips and the right spacing so it allows you to lightly rub your scalp beneath your dreads. It feels great and helps the cells exfoliate.

If nothing works, maybe you've always struggled with dandruff and the dreads didn't help, you can almost always take care of it with Nizoral. Available at Amazon, walmart, cvs, etc. It's very effective. You'll probably only need to wash twice with Nizoral before the dandruff is gone. Then you can resume a regular washing schedule with a residue free soap and you should be good to go!