maintaining a healthy scalp

Did you know that your skin is the largest organ in your body – and one that’s constantly replenishing itself?

It’s made up of four layers. New cells are created at the base layer and move up through the four layers over a period of 25-30 days. When they reach the surface, we shed the cells.

This never stops: each day, you shed thousands of microscopic flakes of skin known as ‘squames’. Over a year, these add up to around 4kg in total!

As an area of skin, the scalp is a bit different. It produces the most visible hairs – you’d find between 100,000 – 150,000 if you counted them. And if you were to measure shoulder-length hair as a single strand, it would stretch up to 30km!

This warm, sheltered environment made up of loose skin flakes and hair makes an ideal home for micro-organisms. And here’s where the scalp differs again: it has a natural defence system against these organisms called sebum, a lightly greasy substance.

However, one organism, has adapted to live off sebum. It’s as a consequence of this that it causes the shedding process to speed up – as quickly as four days in extreme cases. When this happens, the small flakes clump together and we see them as the flakes associated with dandruff.

So while your scalp is pretty efficient at looking after itself, it sometimes needs a little help. And that’s as easy as using head & shoulders regularly.

head & shoulders starts working right at the scalp. Our HydraZinc formula cares for your scalp, and helps restore it back to health , before working its way through to the ends of your hair.

Along the way, it eases the symptoms of dandruff, such as flakes and that tight, itchy feeling. And regular use will also help prevent future dandruff outbreaks.

So even if you’ve never seen flakes, head & shoulders will help you with some unseen symptoms such as itching, and irritiation.