How to Get Rid of Dandruff (And Prevent It Coming Back)
Dandruff can happen because of too much oil, not enough moisture, or a handful of other reasons. Here’s how to find balance.
June 03, 2024
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Knowing how to get rid of dandruff starts with understanding why it starts in the first place. That way, you can change the habits or products that might be perpetuating the itching and flaking.
And then, of course, there are specific active ingredients to seek out in the products you do use, sometimes altering for cases of dry, itchy scalp or for overly oily conditions. You can also use these shampoos and scalp treatments as a preventative measure.
Don’t make haste, either: The itching, inflammation, and visible flakes are extremely unpleasant, and any long-term persistent inflammation can start to accelerate hair loss, too. (If yours persists, see a dermatologist ASAP. You could have an underlying condition, such as seborrheic dermatitis, eczema, or psoriasis.)
Let’s start with the core causes of dandruff, then we’ll get into the best dandruff solutions.
The Best Products for Dandruff
These dandruff products appear as recommendations throughout the article below, but not necessarily in this order.
- The Best Shampoo for Dandruff: Nizoral A-D Dandruff Shampoo with 1% Ketoconazole
- The Best Dandruff Shampoo for Dry and Sensitive Scalps: Head & Shoulders Bare Hydrating Dandruff Shampoo
- The Best Salicylic Acid Shampoo for Dandruff: Neutrogena T/Sal 3% Salicylic Acid Shampoo
- The Best Tea Tree Shampoo for Dandruff Prevention: Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo for Oily Scalps and For Dry Scalps
- The Best Hydrating Scalp Mask for Dandruff Prevention: Prose Custom Pre-Shampoo Scalp Mask
- The Best Humidifier, to Prevent Scalp Dry Scalp: Levoit Top-Fill Humidifier 2.5L
- The Best Co-Wash for Oil-Induced Dandruff: Hairstory DEEP New Wash Co-Wash
- The Best Dry Shampoo to Prevent Oil Buildup: Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo (Dark Tones / Light Tones)
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Causes for Dandruff
There are a few different ways that dandruff happens.
- Excessive oil: Maybe your scalp goes out of whack at the height of summer’s sweltering heat, when too much sweat and oil create a lovely environment for fungus. You could also have a perpetually oily scalp and are in need of a proper balancing act.
- A lack of moisture: Or, the opposite happens during the doldrums of a bone-dry winter, when your dry scalp turns you into a human flaky snow globe. Of course you might also just have dry scalp on the regular.
- Shampooing too much: This can cause dryness, irritation, and flakes.
And then the pendulum swings…
- Not shampooing enough: If you don’t shampoo enough and have an oily scalp, or your hair product builds up (dry shampoo in particular)… well, guess what? It’s also a recipe for dandruff, by creating a breeding ground for those fungal infections.
I don’t mean to imply that dandruff is going to track you down one way or the other; rather, I want to emphasize that everyone is at risk, regardless of where you fall on the oil spectrum. You might change from one season to the next, or on a single weekend getaway (if environmental conditions, hygiene habits, or hair care products change abruptly).
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How to Prevent Dandruff
Dandruff prevention combines an audit of your products as well as your environment and habits.
Habits + Environmental Factors
While things like dry winter air and egregiously sweltering summers can induce dandruff, I want to emphasize that some of the biggest “environmental factors” come from inside the house. This is also where the habitual things show up: Long showers, hot showers, and excessive showers are common culprits. But perhaps the biggest environmental woe is the use of air conditioning or lack of humidity throughout your workday (be it your office or home), and especially while you sleep.
Use a Humidifier
A humidifier is one of the best investments you can make for your scalp, and your skin in general. Every person will have to find his or her own balance of using it and not overdoing it (too much humidity can obviously create a swelter, and even attract things like bed mites or mildew), but proper ventilation throughout the day (even that air conditioning) will help maintain order—and washing sheets + pillowcases regularly, too. (Wash pillowcases weekly, please!)
I digress: For humidifiers the brand I always always always endorse is Levoit. They have multiple volumes available, and probably the best reputation across the web, too. As a bonus, your morning breath will be much less foul, too, since your mouth can stay more damp while you rest.
The Best Products for Dandruff Treatment (Excluding Shampoos)
Since much of dandruff treatment and prevention focuses on dandruff shampoos, let’s start with the other go-to treatments. (Scroll to the next section for shampoos.)
For dryness: A weekly conditioning scalp mask or hair mask will go a long way to counter dehydrated skin up top. For scalp treatments in particular, key ingredients tend to be detoxifying (like charcoal), stimulating and purifying (like eucalyptus), and hydrating (like panthenol/provitamin B5). Prose has one that I love best; they can even tailor the ingredients to fit with your hair type and goals—which means they don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach (thank god).
For oil-induced dandruff: Try a co-wash on the days you don’t use actual shampoo; it’s basically a heavily conditioning “rinse” that helps nourish scalp and strands alike. Hairstory has a terrific clarifying co-wash that tempers oily scalps without parching your hairs. Again, this isn’t your substitute for shampoo; it’s just the thing you use in-between wash days, since dandruff shampoo can be extremely drying. It’s a great product for general dandruff prevention, too, once flakes subside.
Be sure to rinse your hair before bed every night to avoid buildup, and consider dry shampoo every other morning (on the days you plan to shampoo in the evening). Dry shampoo’s powder base will absorb excess sebum (and by extension, prevent fungus from proliferating more), and it’ll also prevent your hair from getting too greasy and weighed down. I love recommending brands that have dry shampoo options for light and dark hair tones—since the regular ones can leave a powdery white residue, it’s great to have a darker option if you have brown or black hair. Moroccanoil is clutch here.
Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo (Dark Tones / Light Tones)
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The Best Dandruff Shampoos for Men
I encourage every person to have a dandruff shampoo in their shower or medicine cabinet. (Yes, even if you don’t experience dandruff very often.) I use a dandruff shampoo once a month, and substitute it in for my regular shampoo just as a way to detox up there, especially as an oily-scalped person. And, in the event I do experience some flaking, I have that product ready so I can get rid of the flakes in a couple days’ time. (I even use it to scrub other fungal-prone parts of my body when the weather has been particularly humid or sweat-inducing.)
I’ll start with the key naturally sourced defenses against dandruff, before getting into my favorites—the medicinal solutions.
Be sure to rinse your hair before bed every night to avoid buildup, and consider dry shampoo every other morning (on the days you plan to shampoo in the evening). Dry shampoo’s powder base will absorb excess sebum (and by extension, prevent fungus from proliferating more), and it’ll also prevent your hair from getting too greasy and weighed down. I love recommending brands that have dry shampoo options for light and dark hair tones—since the regular ones can leave a powdery white residue, it’s great to have a darker option if you have brown or black hair. Moroccanoil is clutch here.
Shampoos with Natural Ingredients to Fight Dandruff
I much prefer the commercialized dandruff shampoos to natural remedies like baking soda and apple cider vinegar. More power to you if you insist on the natural route, but I put my faith in cosmetic chemists with these things, especially given the margin for error when you’re slathering DIY baking soda paste all over the scalp.
Still, if you insist on a “natural-ish” active ingredient in your dandruff shampoo, then opt for either salicylic acid or tea tree oil. Salicylic acid will exfoliate dead skin cells, neutralize fungus, and mitigate oil production. Tea tree oil will also temper oil production, plus balance out dryness and kill off any microbes. Both ingredients are better suited for general prevention and for treating mild dandruff.
For mild cases and monthly prevention:
Get Neutrogena’s T/Sal 3% shampoo. It’s a bit too strong for regular shampoo use, but will satisfy mild cases caused by oil or dryness.
If you want a regular-use shampoo for dandruff prevention:
For ongoing dandruff prevention, get a shampoo from Paul Mitchell’s tea tree lineup. He has one for oily scalps and one for dry scalps, specifically.
Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Lavender-Mint Moisturizing Shampoo (for Dry Scalps)
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Heavy-Duty Dandruff Shampoos: The Most Effective Dandruff Ingredients
If you are treating something more severe, then you really do need more aggressive active ingredients. Here’s where you’ll opt for ketoconazole or pyrithione zinc, especially for fungal/oil-related dandruff. Pyrithione zinc is gentler than ketoconazole, so use that on a sensitive scalp. However, most dermatologists I’ve spoken to consider ketoconazole as the primo option for obliterating severe dandruff.
You can find both ingredients in 1-2% formulas. 1% should suffice for most, but double the dose for extreme cases. Use them daily while treating dandruff, and then taper off as soon as you’re in the clear; these aren’t ingredients you want your scalp to build a tolerance to. Anything that persists for 2+ weeks should be seen by your dermatologist. There are other common ingredients in dandruff shampoos, like selenium sulfide, piroctone olamine, and coal tar (like, for real), but they take a backseat to the above two (I say this having interviewed dozens of dermos on the topic over the years—and from my own success with the aforementioned best ingredients).
For severe dandruff and oil-induced irritation:
Absolutely use Nizoral A-D Dandruff Shampoo with 1% ketoconazole. Find me one dermo who doesn’t agree. If your case is extremely severe, the dermo can even get you a prescription-grade option.
For sensitive scalps and dryness-induced dandruff:
Go for a pyrithione zinc option that also promises to nourish the scalp. Head & Shoulders’ Bare Hydrating Dandruff Shampoo balances scalp pH while 1% pyrithione zinc tidies everything up on the fungal front.
How to Use Dandruff Shampoo
Let the dandruff shampoo set on the scalp for a minute at least before rinsing, so that the active ingredients get time to work. Give yourself a scalp massage meanwhile, to lift up any dead skin.
Most dandruff shampoos will completely parch your hair, so please double down on your conditioner use, each time you shampoo with these harsh products. After washing, let the conditioner set in the strands for 2-3 minutes (up from 1-2 minutes in normal use cases), which should revive the hair and smooth its cuticles. You can even massage some of that conditioner onto the scalp to nourish it as well.
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