Oleic Acid – What Is It and How Does It Cause Dandruff?
You’ll find it in everything from avocados to olive oil, and it also causes dandruff. Find out what oleic acid is and how it causes dandruff.
Dandruff is caused when three things come together:
Malassezia globosa– a naturally occurring microbe on the scalp
Sebum– the natural scalp oils your scalp produces
Oleic acid– the byproduct created when malassezia breaks down sebum
Oleic acid forms in the last step in the process and is the thing that triggers the flakes, itching and dryness weassociate with dandruff.
1 IN 2 PEOPLE ARE SENSITIVE TO OLEIC ACID
Whether you suffer from dandruff or not, you’ll have all three of these things on your scalp, including oleic acid.
For 50% of the world’s population, those factors cause dandruff because their bodies treat oleic acid as a trigger.
If you’re sensitive to oleic acid, your body will respond by attempting to shed the substance:
It triggers an itch response on the scalp
Skin cells renew faster than usual, causing dead skin cells to accumulate as ‘flakes’
The scalp’s natural moisture defences become damaged, causing a dry scalp
Your scalp can become red
HOW TO TREAT DANDRUFF
If you’re one of the 50% of people sensitive to oleic acid, the best option is to treat the symptoms to keep dandruff away.
That’s because it’s a recurring condition. Malassezia and oleic acid will always be present on your scalp, so you need to treat theflakes, itching and dryness.
That’s where anti-dandruff shampoo comes in – it tackles the triggers that cause dandruff and is proven to work on:
Flakes
Itching
Dryness
So even if you are one of the billions of people who have dandruff, you don’t have to suffer from it.
In fact, keep using Head & Shoulders regularly (every time you wash your hair) and you can keep the symptoms at bay.
You’ll keep your defences against dandruff up so you can stay up to 100% flake-free for life*.
* visible flakes from 2ft, with regular use
