Potential herbs for treatment of dandruff: A review

Dandruff is a generic scalp disorder that is associated with itching, excessive scaling, redness, and hair fall. Most commonly this condition is caused by the Malassezia genus, while other fungal strains may also be responsible like Pityrosporum. Dandruff affects more than 50% of humans, and cannot be completely eradicated but can only be impeded and controlled effectively. In usual practice, two means are adopted to medicate dandruff, which include chemical and herbal treatments. Chemical agents like ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, zinc pyrithione, climbazole etc, show various after-effects like hair loss, irritation, itching, headache and nausea. This review describes extensively, the anatomy, hair physiology and problems particularly types, causes, symptoms, and prevailing treatments for dandruff. A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify traditional herbs used to treat dandruff and other skin diseases. Herbal remedies have been in vogue since ancient times for hair care, especially to cure dandruff. We summarize the discernings of research which were centralised to assess the anti-dandruff activity of medicinal plants such as Neem powder, Tulsi, Henna, Guava leaves, Tea tree oil, Rosemary, kesumm leaves, Pomegranate, Pudding pipe tree, Garlic, hibiscus, Bhringraj, Mountain tobacco, Sage and Thyme.