Oleic Acid – What Is It and How Does It Cause Dandruff?

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Youll find it in everything from avocados to olive oil, and it also causes dandruff. Find out what oleic acid is and how it causes dandruff.

Dandruff is caused when three things come together:

  • Malassezia globosa- A naturally occurring microbe on the scalp

  • Sebum -the natural scalp oils your scalp produces

  • Oleic acid -the byproduct created when malassezia breaks down sebum

Oleic acid forms in the last step in the process and is the thing that triggers the irritation, flakes, itching and dryness we associate with dandruff.

More about the cause of dandruff

1 in 2 people are sensitive to oleic acid
Whether you suffer from dandruff or not, youll have all three of these things on your scalp, including oleic acid.

For 50% of the worlds population, those factors cause dandruff because their bodies treat oleic acid as an irritant.

If youre sensitive to oleic acid, your body will respond by attempting to shed the irritant:

  • It triggers an itch response on the scalp

  • Skin cells renew faster than usual, causing dead skin cells to accumulate as flakes

  • The scalps natural moisture defenses become damaged, causing a dry scalp

  • Your scalp can become inflamed and red

How to treat dandruff

If youre one of the 50% of people sensitive to oleic acid, the best option is to treat the symptoms to keep dandruff away.

Thats because its a recurring condition. Malassezia and oleic acid will always be present on your scalp, so you need to treat the flakes, itching and dryness.

Thats where anti-dandruff shampoo comes in it tackles the irritants that cause dandruffand is proven to work on:

  • Flakes

  • Itching

  • Dryness

  • Irritation

So even if you are one of the billions of people who have dandruff, you dont have to suffer from it.

In fact, keep using Head & Shoulders regularly (every time you wash your hair) and you can keep the symptoms at bay.

Youll keep your defenses against dandruff up so you can stay up to 100% flake-free for life1.

More about dandruff

More tips and advice from the experts:

  • Symptoms of dandruff
  • How to get rid of dandruff
  1. Visible flakes, with regular use