We all know about the importance of hair care, whether it be using the correct shampoo for your hair type or to utilize the best styling technique and styling tools to protect your hair from damage. However, when it comes to achieving stunning, healthy hair, you need to do more than take care of your hair strands. Oftentimes, the key to stunning hair doesn’t involve your hair at all, but rather the proper maintenance and care of your scalp and hair follicles!
You see, an irritated and damaged scalp can quickly cause all sorts of disastrous hair-related issues. When the scalp is irritated or inflamed, it can severely impact the hair follicles, which leads to impeded hair growth and potentially a significant amount of hair loss. When the hair follicles on our scalp aren’t functioning properly, our hair fails to grow out as thick and strong as it should normally.
In addition to caring for your hair follicles for proper hair growth, poor scalp maintenance can also lead to a myriad of scalp issues such as fungal infections, bacterial growth, dryness, and dandruff.
Clearly, taking care of your scalp is a massive priority! Thankfully, there are a number of ingredients that have been proven to positively boost your hair’s health and prevent scalp conditions. One of the most powerful of these ingredients is zinc, which can be a true scalp care superstar!
Dandruff Treatment and Prevention
Zinc pyrithione, a complex created with zinc and a number of other molecules, is a potent anti-fungal and anti-bacterial ingredient that is featured in a number of popular anti-dandruff shampoos. This ingredient is extremely effective at preventing and treating the types of bacteria and fungi responsible for creating the dry, scaly dandruff conditions that are so frustrating and uncomfortable to deal with. Apply a shampoo with a high concentration of zinc pyrithione to the scalp regularly to keep your dandruff in check and prevent inflammatory scalp conditions.
Prevent Oily Scalp
If you have issues with an overproduction of sebum at the scalp, you’re more than familiar with the greasy, oily hair that is created as a result. If you have a dysregulated scalp, it may produce too much sebum and lead to a greasy, oily mess. Zinc pyrithione has fantastic sebum regulating properties, allowing it to reduce the production of sebum by your hair follicles and leave your hair less greasy and more easy to manage and style. Try incorporating an anti-dandruff shampoo with zinc pyrithione into your hair washing routine once weekly to help regulate your hair’s oil and grease production!
Prevent Hair Loss
It’s common knowledge that hair loss is largely caused by internal factors including genetics and hormones. For this reason, when it comes to treating hair loss, oftentimes the most effective course of treatment is one that tackles the issue internally. For many, hair loss can also be caused by nutritional deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, causing the decrease in hair growth production and leading to eventual hair loss. One of these valuable nutrients is zinc, which has been linked to hair loss in zinc deficient individuals. While scientists are yet to understand why zinc deficiency is linked to hair loss, it’s speculated that this may be due to the body’s use of zinc in creating proteins that build the hair strand. Without zinc, the body could potentially be left without a vital nutrient required to produce the hair strand, causing decreased hair growth and increased hair loss. If you notice a sudden loss of hair or a decreased rate of hair growth, it’s possible that you’re suffering from a zinc deficiency. In any case, make sure you are injesting the proper amount of zinc, whether it be through zinc rich foods such as nuts and red meats or via a zinc supplement.