Abstract
Dandruff is a disease of the scalp in which fungi belonging to the genus Malassezia are thought to play an important role. These fungi are also invariably present on the scalp of dandruff-free individuals. The disease results in flaking of the scalp and affects about 50% of adults worldwide. The disease is rarely eliminated but can be controlled using shampoos containing anti-fungal agents. Malassezia species are responsible for a number of other diseases (pityriasis versicolor, seborrheic dermatitis and atopic eczema), but these are less prevalent than dandruff.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Want to Know More?
American Academy of Dermatology https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-and-scalp-problems/dandruff-how-to-treat
Health Service Executive, Ireland https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/az/d/dandruff/
Indian Journal of Dermatology https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2887514/
Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, USA https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dandruff/symptoms-causes/syc-20353850
Medical News Today https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/152844.php
National Health Service, UK https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dandruff/
National Institute for Clinical Care and Excellence (NICE), UK. Seborrhoeic dermatitis. 2019 https://cks.nice.org.uk/seborrhoeic-dermatitis#!topicSummary
Handler MZ. Seborrheic Dermatitis. Medscape from WebMD, 2019 https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1108312-overview
Janniger CK, Schwartz RA. Seborrhoeic dermatitis. BMJ Best Practice, BMJ Publishing Group, 2018 https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/89
Saunders CW, Scheynius A, Heitman J. Malassezia fungi are specialized to live on skin and associated with dandruff, eczema, and other skin diseases. PLoS Pathogens. 2012;8(6):e1002701. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1002701. Epub 2012 Jun 21.
Tucker D, Masood S. Seborrheic Dermatitis. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing LLC; 2020 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551707/
Turner GA, Hoptroff M, Harding CR. Stratum corneum dysfunction in dandruff. International Journal of Cosmetic Science. 2012 Aug;34(4):298–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2494.2012.00723.x. Epub 2012 May 17.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wilson, M., Wilson, P.J.K. (2021). Dandruff. In: Close Encounters of the Microbial Kind. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56978-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56978-5_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-56977-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-56978-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)