Hello guys,
This might be my third post since February or something when I joined the community. The support someone gets by just reading others post is great!, It's kinda feeling at home when reading others!
Anyways, my inquiry today is about Beard Dranduff (or however it is spelled, once again, english not my main language). I have a full beard since one year ago, I always kept it pretty short but when I decided to let my hair grow (about 9 months, but with several visits to the hairdresser to "trim" it and blow some valious centimeters/inches. 4 months without visiting those butchers!) I decided to let the beard grow a little bit too, pretty short on the sides and more volume over the lips and the chin.
And I'm getting dranduff!. I wash it with Head and Shoulders (an anti-dranduff shampoo), I wash off the shampoo extensively and I towel-dry it. But sooner or later, is I play with my beard those little white flakes appear over the shirt!. It's not much but it is noticeable when I scratch my beard.
What can I do to prevent it?. Any tips?.
I'm still about to post some pictures of my hair growing, but I just moved and the camera must be lost in some boxes. I'll post pics as soon as I can!.
It's properly spelt "Dandruff".
You might have better luck with different shampoo. Also, if you where a white shirt, the dandruff flakes won't be as noticeable.
Now I know how to write it! Dandruff :P
Thanks BurningPi, I have a thing for blue clothes, but while I solve the problems I might use some white ones!
Restav
Maybe you have just a dry complexion. The head scalp produces oil, but beard probably doesn't so much. You could try some moisturizing cream on your beard complexion (at least two times per day), just try to not grease your beard.
Uhm... I never thought of that!.
Will keep that in mind!, Thanks Naex!
Thx for your reply Jann, but Im sure it is not seborreah, its just on the beard, not the eyebrows, nor the scalp. Something to know for sure, if I start to get flakes somewhere else besides the beard!.
This is something I've wrestled with over the years. Here's the thing. Skin grows and then dies. When it dies, it sloughs off. With no hair, it's not usually noticeable. However, hair prevents the normal falling of dead skin.
The best thing that works for me is to be thorough at washing time. Massage the area thoroughly before washing. This loosens any dead skin that should come off and stimulates the follicles to produce oil. The problem with massaging a beard is that we're used to massaging muscle over bone, and there is a large part of a beard that isn't over such a structure (below the chin and throat). Don't let that keep you from massaging, though. The idea is to massage the skin, not the muscle under it.
When washing, wash thoroughly with water. Then shampoo lightly and condition if you like. Finally, rinse thoroughly. The final rinse is important to keep chemicals from potentially irritating sensitive skin.
The worst case of dandruff I ever had was after a course of antibiotics. It killed everything, including normal healthy bacteria in my skin. Warnings on the antibiotic listed death as a potential side-effect (YIKES!) due to overgrowth of harmful bacteria after the antibiotic subsides. So I made sure to take plenty of acidophilus and yogurt while on the antibiotics.
It took its toll, though, and I suffered from dandruff on my eyelids for about three months.
Victor wrote: "Here's the thing. Skin grows and then dies. When it dies, it sloughs off. With no hair, it's not usually noticeable. However, hair prevents the normal falling of dead skin."
Yes Victor, thats pretty much like what it's happening to me!. I never thought about massaging the beard when washing it!. I'll give it a try!. And you are right about rinse it carefully since I got the idea that perhaps it was the shampoo residues that caused the flaking!.
Thank you for your Reply!
Restav
I get this occasionally, too. Before I shower, I comb thru the beard with a fine tooth comb to loosen any flakes. Then I wash with soap and water, making sure to scrub the beard with my fingertips, and rinse THOROUGHLY with warm water. When I dry it, I make sure not to leave it damp. This clears it up in a day or 2. As long as I remember to do this at least once a week, I don't have any trouble at all with dandruff.
Hope this helps!
Good luck!
Lon
Thank you Lon!
I'll try the massage tip from a previous reply with combing. Uhm... I guess you can massage with a comb!.