What Actually Causes Dandruff?

This fungus lives on your scalp and may affect the genes you express.

When I started this project, I wasn't sure what caused dandruff and I also didn't think much science would go into making a shampoo like Head & Shoulders. So what I learned really surprised me:

There are hundreds of scientists working on this shampoo. They run crazy-sounding experiments like hanging hair near Tokyo highways to understand how real-world environments deposit dirt on hair. They use sophisticated scientific techniques like electron microscopes, nuclear magnetic resonance and gene sequencing to study dandruff on the molecular level.

In fact they sequenced the entire genome of Malassezia globosa in 2002, one year after the human genome project. Their findings are published in international refereed journals. What they have found is that the Malassezia fungi create free fatty acids as byproducts of their digestion, which for some people create irritation and lead to hyper-proliferation of skin cells, flaking, histamines, inflammatory cytokines, and blood proteins reaching the surface of the skin. These findings indicate the unhealthiness of dandruff scalp and suggest a possible remedy - controlling the metabolism of the Malassezia fungi. This is achieved using different active ingredients in different products and different parts of the world, including zinc pyrithione, selenium sulfide, and piroctone olamine. With the reduction of irritants, the scalp actually expresses different genes, producing a signature more similar to a non-dandruff baseline scalp.

[rezwanul]

I've been seeing Head & Shoulders ads all my life but this was the most convincing one

[Redshift]

I just voluntarily watched a nine minute head & shoulders ad.

[Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

About another year of me doing 100 push ups, 100 sits ups, 100 squats, and a 10 km run every single day, and I won't have to worry about any of this.

[abydosianchulac]

Like many, have had dandruff all my life. Went to a dermatologist for some similar flaking and irritation on parts of my face, and she diagnosed the whole kit n kaboodle as seborrheic dermatitis caused by this yeast, and gave me a prescription strength ketoconazole shampoo to use on my head and skin twice a week. 1 week later, my skin is cleared up, and I haven't seen a flake of dandruff in the last 2 months of using it.

Update, 1 Month Later: Stopped using the antifungal shampoo about 3-4 weeks ago, and still haven't seen any recurrence of dandruff. Still keep the shampoo on hand for whenever/if ever it starts to come back.

[ranjan_v]

This has the be the longest Head and Shoulders ad in existence.

[moabs]

When you skip a 15-second video ad to watch a 9-minute video ad.

[ifergot]

There are so many causes, it really depends on each person. Some people just have dry skin and either need to stop washing their head as often or use a moisturizer. Other people have bacteria problems and need medicated shampoos like head&shoulder, a tea tree oil one, or something like sulfate shampoo. There's also very specific medical conditions like psoriasis on the scalp which means it'll never go away, you can only reduce it with medication.

[OhHeyItsShan]

I've had dandruff for as long as I've known. As a kid, my mum used to put Head and Shoulders to try and get rid of it. I used H&S for 2 decades and I'm sorry but it never did anything to reduce the dandruff that I had. Someone introduced me to Neutrogena T-Gel - wow what a difference. While it didnt get rid of it permanently, I could go like a week before it started to show again. So I just had to use it like every 6-8 days to keep it at bay. I still keep using it now and will continue to do so.

[JorgeGonzalez-uhek]

“It’s on everyones head, as long as you have hair”

Bald people: I’ve won, but at what cost?

[saranshgothi]

*Clicked* for
Video starts with dinosaurs
*Rechecks caption*

[AndrewJano]

Why am i getting this video recomended to me like 15 times a day?

[greasesmear]

Being recommended this feels like a personal attack

[KingSizeKyle]

When he said "So I put my head in here?" he really missed an opportunity to say "Now, where do I put my shoulders?"

I'll see myself out.

[smartereveryday]

I really enjoyed this. I had no idea dinosaurs had dandruff.

[Jamwave-ojuo]

WHY IS THIS ALWAYS ON MY RECOMMENDED PAGE??? JUST STOP YOUTUBE

[claudiog.vaquerisaz]

Wait, so no one its going to mention the amazing shot at 4:20 min into the video?. I mean hell man, thats dope af

[ninjanerdstudent]

This was the longest head and shoulders ad I have ever watched.

[linkpkc]

This is the most in depth head and shoulders ad I’ve ever seen.

[keirak]

Anyone else here because you’ve had this video on your recommended feed for months?! 🙋‍♀️

[kp]

Video Title: "What actually causes dandruff?"

*"160 million years ago in China, Dinosaurs walked the earth"*