Can Wearing Hats Cause Dandruff?

It's strange, no matter how popular hats might get, someone's always trying to tell you something negative about them. They make you go bald. They cause dandruff. How can there be so many supposedly bad things about something so fashionable, so popular, and so likable? Yet both truths and myths abound where hats are concerned. Today we are going to look at one claim in particular: Wearing hats causes dandruff. Does it, really?

So Many Hats

From beanies to cowboy hats and from fedoras to fitted baseball caps, wearing hats is on the upswing. Even long-ignored styles of headgear are seeing increased popularity. Whether you wear a hat to keep your ears warm or just to top off your style, in certain cases, consequences you may not have seen coming could result. If you have dandruff, it might worsen with the constant wearing of hats or wearing the wrong hat.

Dandruff

To understand the relationship between hats and dandruff, we must first look at dandruff itself. A microbe referred to as Malassezia lives on all of our scalps. The natural oils of our scalp are what it survives on. That's pretty much the end of the story for many of us. A byproduct of Malassezia – oleic acid – is a problem for some people however because they're allergic. For these individuals, allergy symptoms may include:

• Irritated, red scalp
• White flakes in their hair
• Itchiness

In a word – dandruff. Today, there are numerous products on the market to help soothe allergic symptoms and control dandruff. For those with dandruff, however, hats may present a problem.

The Human Scalp

What makes up the covering of a human head? There's more than just hair and skin where your scalp is concerned. It's an environment that's relatively complex and susceptible to outside factors – hats, for example.

A humid, warm microclimate can be created on your head if, for lengthy periods of time, you wear a non-breathing hat. Moisture gets trapped as your head heats up. Eventually, the perfect mix of moisture and humidity creates an ideal environment for Malassezia and other microbes.

This environment can worsen existing dandruff or cause a flare-up. If you were wearing a hat to hide your dandruff in the first place, you can see how this would be a problem. But the actual cause of dandruff is not due to wearing a hat. You will be absolutely fine if you are not oleic acid sensitive.

Dandruff Shampoos

While we don't specifically promote any one brand, we took the time to check out the top-rated dandruff shampoos on the market today and have, for your convenience, listed some of them here:

• Best for guys: BosleyMD Scalp Relief Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
• Best for ladies: Biolage RAW Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
• If you have oily hair:  Neutrogena T Gel Shampoo
• If you’ve got extra money to spend on shampoo: Oribe Serene Scalp Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
• Good if you're on a budget: Selsun Blue Medicated Shampoo
• The best, more or less: Nizoral AD Shampoo

 Though many of these may be available at drugstores and department stores, they are also readily purchasable through convenient online sources such as Amazon.

So… What's the Bottom Line?

Do hats cause dandruff? They do not outright cause itchiness and those white flakes. If you already have dandruff, however, wearing a hat may aggravate the situation somewhat. Get out there and get yourself one of the top-rated dandruff shampoos/treatments! Once you have your dandruff under control, you might be able to better enjoy your collection of hats again. Or at the very least, your absolute favorite breathable, mesh snapback cap.

Now that you know dandruff isn't actually caused by wearing hats, it's time to shop Hat Heaven for your new favorite baseball cap. Got questions? Feel free to email us at customerservice@hatheaven.com.