Seborrhea (seborrhoea, sebum from Latin is tallow, + rhoea, from Greek is outflow) - a medical term applied to describe an accumulation on the skin of the normal sebaceous secretion mixed with dirt and forming scales or a distinct incrustation. On the head, where it is commonly seen, it may interfere with the nutrition of the hair and cause partial baldness. Seborrhea is a pathological condition of the skin that occurs because of changes in the normal composition of sebum secretion and sebaceous glands. Depending on the decrease or increase of these changes seborrhea is divided into oily and dry. Both forms of this disease are accompanied with a lot of dandruff, very strong itch and most of the time increasing and irreversible hair loss.

Oily seborrhea (Seborrhea oleosa) develops if skin flakes (dandruff - white or yellowish) are not peeling off the surface of the skin. Most often this occurs during adolescent puberty nad normally associated with increasing hair loss due to a disrupted metabolism of hair follicle that changes hair cycle and slowes hair growth. The disease is caused by an increase in secretion of the sebaceous glands, which is related to increased levels of androgens, while changing the composition of sebum, which leads to a decrease of sebum antibacterial properties and create a favorable environment for fungus development and skin lesions. The skin thickens rapidly, becomes polluted and has a shiny grayish-yellow tint and increased porosity. Initially, seborrhea mostly appears on the face and then struck the hairy skin of the head and body. Hair fairly quickly after washing become greasy, stick together in shiny strands, while the scalp skin formes oily dandruff flakes, which peel off easily if scratching with nail. The disease is accompanied by strong itch. Gradually increasing hair loss results relatively quickly (within 3-5 years, sometimes longer) in a severe and most of the time irreversible hair loss. People with oily seborrhea disease, due to aesthetic considerations, usually frequently shampoo their hair, however this doesn't give much relief as the hair get greasy quite fast again. In addition, frequent washing makes hair hydroscopic and makes them even more attract the moisture and fats, thereby encouraging the sebaceous gland to produce more sebum intensely. Sometimes oily seborrhea may be a result of an yeast fungus, «settled» in sebaceous gland sebum, activity. With such condition greasy dandruff flakes mix with the secret of the sebaceous glands and stick to head skin. If you are not careful when removing this dandruff from scalp and blood appears, you should definitely see the dermatologist or trichologist. Too hot water for hair and head skin washing should never be used. In any case, this disease should be always treated in conjunction with a change in diet. Food should be enriched with vitamins (especially vitamin A and B group vitamins), fatty, spicy and canned foods shall be avoided. Too hot water for hair and head skin washing should never be used. Lots of fresh air, short duration sun bathing and sea swimming are preferable.

Dry seborrhea (Seborrhea sicca) develops when the skin sebaceous gland secretion is insufficient. The lack of a natural layer of sebum on the hair make them look delicate, shineless, colorless and sensitive, skin surface has grayish dandruff, very thin and looks like having a layer of dust. The sebaceous gland sebum has an abnormally thick consistency, quickly dries on the skin and gets removed in the form of flakes combined with dead epidermis cells. With this pathology hair get gradually thinner and lose their natural shine, the structure of the hair becomes brittle, breakable, hair tend to fall and hairtips split. The head skin is itchy, dandruff apeears to crubmle easily in form of dry and whitish scales, however new scales are forming fast again. When combing the hair comb irritates skin easily and it becomes wet in irritation points and than dries off with a completely solid crust with yellowish tint. Sometimes similar dandruff may appear when the skin is very dry and irritated by not suitable shampoo or other hair cosmetics, careless handling of chemicals, or simply due to very dry air in the room. But this dry dandruff often quickly disappears by itself as skin irritation is over. With dry seborrhea head is very itchy and has lots of small white flakes in the hair. Most dry dandruff and respectively seborrhea occur due to the weakness of skin, low blood flow, violations of hormonal activity and emotional state, and sometimes failure of elementary rules of personal hygiene. Attempts to remove the dry dandruff with more frequent washing with hot water and soap or shampoo does not solve the problem, but on the contrary increases the main symptom is skin dryness, as, by all means degreases head skin and hair. In such cases it is recommended to wash hair with very gentle shampoes and use on a daily basis special antiseptic treatments and preparations for the improvement of the scalp condition.

Both forms of seborrhea (oily and dry) can have an infectious basis and can be spread from person to person when using the same combs and brushes or other things of personal hygiene. Everyone should always adhere to basic rules of personal hygiene. If dandruff has fungal origin, it spreads very quickly and the fungus infects an entire head skin rapidly. This condition is called an yeast seborrhea and is quite contagious, it shows with enormous amounts of dandruff across entire surface of the hairy head skin. An idea to cure and get rid of it only with the help of cosmetic products is virtually impossible as seborrheic processes are caused by a combination of various factors. First and foremost, you need to have it diagnosed and examined and only after that an individual program of treatment can be identified by the specialist and the rational use of cosmetic and medical skin care treatments prescribed. Any seborrhea treatment is a quite lengthy process, multivitamins and hormonal drugs are normally being used for cure. In addition, you must pay attention to the diversity of the diet, reducing the consumption of fatty products. All these diseases are being accompanied by a severe hair loss unfortunately, so if you do not take additional care of your hair during the treatment of these diseases you may develop baldness.