Monday, October 1, 2012
Mineral Oil And Dandruff Update 2012
I wrote about mineral oil (cosmetic or USP/BP) being recommended for cradle cap previously. Now there may be another reason to use it, to not exacerbate dandruff. The same way mineral oil does not support bacterial growth and go rancid, it cannot feed the yeasts that cause dandruff, like vegetable and other organic oils are able to do.
This research article that made the news in August of this year, makes sense to me.
Using a dandruff shampoo or treatment and then oiling the hair from root to tip with a vegetable oil to deep condition it, or as an addition after conditioning may also be counterproductive, given this evidence. The same would apply to using any products containing vegetable oils to condition or style hair, while such dandruff or other scalp problems are present. It is about the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the oils.
Update in reply to recent blog emails: Any oil that is overused, lightweight or otherwise, can make hair greasy, in spite of marketing claims to the contrary. Mineral oil is harder to overuse than vegetable oils because it spreads so easily and usually does not need reapplication between washes. Mineral oil can need reapplication to make up the difference if enough has not been used the first time (on areas of hair that have been missed). It has proven superior longer lasting moisturizing effectiveness, compared to silicone and vegetable oils. I added a reference regarding this topic, specific to vegetable oils.
Using a product as often as every day on hair between washes to keep it moisturized and oiling, accelerates build-up on the hair and that is counterproductive to hair being moisturized. Using a drying oil on its own that frequently, creates build-up that usually requires clarifying out of the hair.
References
Labels:
dandruff,
mineral oil,
vegetable oils,
yeasts