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ILLUSTRATES Erika Onodera
TdF suggested – Matthew Albuquerque
Yes, although it is rarer. Dandruff is made up of sebum and dead skin cells that slough off the scalp. The problem starts in the sebaceous gland, which produces the sebum that lubricates the surface of the head – it comes out through the hair follicle, the same structure from which hair strands arise. People with a genetic predisposition to dandruff produce more of this fat than normal. Even when the hair follicle atrophies (causing baldness), the sebaceous gland continues to work. When hair thins, it can even increase production! But sebum alone is not enough to cause dandruff. In general, the participation of fungi is necessary, which develop better in warm and humid environments, leading to an inflammatory reaction. The skin flakes off much faster and then we have dandruff. Bald individuals have more oiliness in the scalp, but they have less fungus due to not having hair, so, in general, it is not common to find dandruff in these people.
Curiosity: In male pattern baldness, the follicles do not die, they just produce thinner and shorter hairs.
SOURCES Luciano Barsanti, trichologist and medical director of Instituto do Cabelo, and Tatiana Gabbi, physician at the Department of Hair and Nails of the Brazilian Society of Dermatology
– How does dandruff form?
– How does hair grow?