Dyed Hair & Dandruff: The Ultimate 2020 Treatment Guide

by Ross Goodhart

The harsh chemicals in hair dyes can wreak havoc on your scalp, leaving it dry and flaky. In some cases, hair dyes can even cause hair loss and long-term damage to your hair follicles. 

It’s not uncommon to find white flakes on your shoulder after dying your hair, especially from less-premium dyes. 

Think you might have developed dandruff after dying your hair? In this guide, we’ll discuss how the effects of dying your hair could lead to dandruff  - and how to treat scalp irritation from dyed hair effectively as possible.

Dandruff 101: The Basics

So, you’ve dyed your hair and noticed a few white or yellowish flakes on your shoulders, car headrest, or office desk. (Well, maybe more than a few flakes.) If this sounds like you, then you may have a case of the post-hair dye blues, otherwise known as dandruff. 

Dandruff is an extremely common condition that affects the scalp. The symptoms of dandruff include mild or severe itchiness, redness, and flaking from the top of the head. Sometimes, dandruff includes chronic inflammation.

Dandruff is typically not due to hygiene. Instead, it’s related to the overgrowth and flaking off of skin cells, which is caused by both genetic and environmental factors. The onset of dandruff occurs usually around puberty and tends to drop off by the age of 50. 

Although there’s no cure for dandruff, there are proven methods of managing the symptoms. There’s hope for those suffering from dandruff - whether or not it’s related to hair color damage.

Signs and Symptoms of Dandruff

The two dead giveaways of dandruff are an itchy scalp and flakes. Most of those who suffer from dandruff only start taking the issue seriously after discovering white or yellowish flakes on the shoulder of their clothes. 

Those aren’t the only symptoms of dandruff, however. Below, we’ve listed some of the lesser-known signs that you may have dandruff:

  • Recurrent eczema
  • Beard or eyebrow rash
  • Oily scalp
  • Hair breakage
  • Redness and inflammation
  • Itchiness

If you’ve noticed any combination of the symptoms listed above, you may have dandruff or a related condition. 

The Causes of Dandruff

There’s no clear reason why dandruff occurs in most cases. However, what we do know is that poor hygiene rarely has anything to do with it.

Generally, dandruff is exacerbated or made worse by the following conditions:

  • Dry skin or scalp
  • Failure to regularly shampoo or condition hair
  • Allergic reactions
  • Pre-existing conditions (e.g., psoriasis, eczema)
  • Fungal infections (Malassezia)
  • Irritated skin or scalp

There are also a few key risk factors for dandruff, including:

  • Illnesses: A history of autoimmune disease is associated with dandruff
  • Age: Most cases develop during adolescence or young adulthood

Hair Dye and Dandruff

The ingredients in hair dyes don’t directly cause dandruff. However, manufactured hair care products and commercial dyes can remove protective oils from your scalp. Over time, this can cause serious damage by drying out your scalp, curbing hair growth, and damaging your hair shafts.

Once dyes have dried out your hair, your scalp becomes a breeding ground for potentially harmful bacteria and fungi that can cause dandruff. Similarly, a chemical in certain dyes, called paraphenylenediamine (PPDA), can cause nasty allergic reactions that produce flakes.

What Can You Do About Hair Dye-Induced Dandruff?

Only scientifically formulated dandruff shampoos can repair damaged hair and bring your scalp back to full health. However, most dandruff shampoos on the market are not safe for color and chemically treated hair. In fact, some dandruff shampoos could actually ruin the treatment and strip the color right out of your hair. Jupiter is scientifically formulated to be safe for color and chemically treated hair. We intentionally leave out harsh surfactants (detergents) to ensure that you can safely and effectively treat your dandruff while keeping your color and chemical-treatment locked in. 

There’s a lot of information floating around online about natural home remedies for dandruff caused by color-treated hair. Unfortunately, most of these claims are simply untrue. 

Everything from essential oils, almond oil, tea tree oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, aloe vera, lemongrass oil, argan oil, baking soda, and apple cider vinegar have been touted for their anti-dandruff properties. Although they may provide some relief for itchiness, only scientifically formulated dandruff shampoos can repair damaged hair and bring your scalp back to full health. 

Next time you wash your hair, cleanse your dried-out locks with Jupiter’s Balancing Shampoo that contains Zinc Pyrithione - a dandruff medication that has been proven safe and effective. And follow up with our Nourishing Conditioner packed with vitamin E and colloidal oatmeal to soothe and moisturize your scalp.

If you have color-treated or chemically-treated hair, Jupiter is formulated with clean ingredients like coconut oil and algae extract to give your scalp the gentle care it needs to recover and thrive. We know you’ll love it.

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