Characterized by dry, white flakes of skin and an itchy head, dandruff is a scalp problem also known as seborrheic dermatitis. This condition may affect both children and adults. Although dandruff may cause your child embarrassment if another child teases him about the flakes, the Mayo Clinic notes that the condition does not have serious side effects and isn’t contagious. Help your child reduce dandruff with a routine featuring products and cleansing techniques designed to combat the scaly scalp.
Step 1
Buy a specialty shampoo designed to control dandruff. The FamilyDoctor.org website recommends a brand featuring an ingredient to treat the oily and scaly scalp, such as salicylic acid, zinc pyrithione or selenium sulfide.
Step 2
Shampoo your child’s hair with the dandruff shampoo daily when you first begin to treat the condition. Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics recommends brushing the hair before washing it to check the severity of the dandruff and to remove flakes. Once you begin to see less dandruff, the hospital notes that you can switch to shampooing every other day.
Step 3
Apply the shampoo properly to ensure the treatment affects the scalp. The University Health Service of the University of Michigan suggests scrubbing the shampoo into your child’s hair to create lather. Rinse out the shampoo and lather it again—ensuring you massage the shampoo into the scalp—and allow it to sit on your child’s hair for five minutes so the anti-dandruff ingredients can take effect before washing the suds out.
Step 4
Reduce the amount of hairstyling gels, lotions and sprays you use on your child’s hair when you style her hair after shampooing. The Mayo Clinic reports that mousse and hairspray, for example, can coat the scalp, leading it to become oilier and potentially increase the dandruff problem. Products can also build up on strands of hair and flake off to make your child look like she has additional dandruff.
Step 5
Monitor your child’s diet for foods that may increase dandruff. The Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center College of Medicine reports that yeast and sugar can worsen a case of dandruff. Conversely, foods rich in B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids and zinc may combat dandruff.
Tips and Warnings
- The University Health Service of the University of Michigan stresses that you should call your physician or dermatologist if your child’s dandruff doesn’t begin to decrease after using dandruff shampoo. You should also discuss the situation with a doctor if your child’s scalp begins to itch more or shows signs of infection, such as increased redness or swelling. The Mayo Clinic notes that a professional can recommend a prescription-strength product to treat the scalp condition.
- If your child suddenly develops what appears to be a case of dandruff, scrutinize the strands of hair and your child’s scalp for lice. Lice nits—the hatched and unhatched lice eggs—attach to the hair near the roots and resemble dandruff, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. If you can’t easily brush the flakes off, your child may have lice since nits cling to hair until you scrape them off.
Things You'll Need
- Dandruff shampoo
