A new study has found that keeping your hair tidy is key to keeping your scalp dry.
Posted April 15, 2018 15:30:32A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology suggests that keeping hair neat helps to prevent dry skin and scalp from developing.
“I think it is a very good thing to do,” said dermatologist Professor Michael G. Foy, who led the study.
“When you have a dry scalp you are going to be at risk of having dry skin on your face, or the inside of your nose.”
The skin underneath that hair is also going to get dry.
“So having your hair neatly folded and tidy will help keep the skin from drying up and the scalp from getting too dry.”
The study, which involved over 30,000 Australian women, found that people who were less tidy than those with dry skin had higher levels of the enzyme ceramidin, a key part of hair follicle repair.
“If you have dry skin, you tend to have less hair on your scalp,” Dr Foy said.
“This enzyme is important in repairing hair follicles.”
Dr Foy is part of a team studying the role of ceramids in repairing skin.
“What we are doing here is trying to identify ceramides that may be responsible for the ability of the hair follicular system to repair damage,” he said.
The study found that women who were more tidy had higher concentrations of ceraminic acid, a type of ceramide found in ceramics such as keratin and silk, and that those who had higher ceramidation levels had a reduced risk of developing dry skin.
“I would say the more tidy your hair is, the more ceramins are coming out,” Dr Goy said of the findings.
“But the more you tidy your scalp, the less ceramin you have.”
Professor Foy says that when ceramidal ceramide levels increase, so do the risks of dry skin developing.
He says that while it may not be the ideal time to tidy your skin, there are ways to keep it tidy.
“You can keep your scalp clean by washing it regularly, you can also clean it out by using a shampoo and conditioner, and if you’re using a lot of conditioners and detergents, you may need to use them at night,” he explained.
“It is important to be careful with what you use to keep hair tidy.”
Dr Goy says a study published this month in the journal PLOS ONE found that a simple haircut that involves a hair brush and a cotton swab can help people maintain a clean, tidy scalp.
“In fact, in one study, the people who had a clean haircut had less dry skin than those who used a shampoo or conditioner that contained chemicals that were also bad for your hair,” he added.
Dr Gow said that keeping clean hair can also help reduce the risk of scalp cancer.
“For people with skin cancer, it is very important to maintain a good scalp,” he told AAP.
“[But] for the average Australian, they do not have that option, so if they want to do that clean haircut, then they can do it with a cotton brush.”
Topics:health,clinical-trials,health-policy,health,dermatology,hair,derm,hair-and-beauty,carpet-and_pillows,haircutting,hairdressers,hairsource: australia,newcastle-2300,qld,tas,nsw,vietnamFirst posted April 15.
