These Hydrating Scalp Treatments Can Keep Dandruff at Bay (2024)

ALMOST EVERY hair problem you've ever had originates at the scalp: dandruff, hair loss, dry hair, and limp strands are all due to a scalp imbalance. In fact, the roots of your hair are the only part of your hair that is actually alive—the rest of your hair is dead. It sounds crazy but it's true, and understanding how your hair grows can provide valuable insight into treating and preventing conditions like thinning hair or hair loss.

Heathy hair starts with a healthy scalp, and if you want a healthy scalp, it's time you start treating it right. While using a nourishing shampoo and conditioner can help, adding a targeted scalp treatment to your hair care routine can make an even bigger difference in the health and look of your hair.

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Scalp treatments often provide a deep cleansing scrub to the scalp, which can help unclog hair follicles and remove product buildup from your daly gels and pomades, dead skin, and dandruff flakes.

According to Dr. Kari Williams, a board-certified trichologist and licensed cosmetologist, the benefits of a scalp treatment can drastically improve your overall hair health. "[T]hey can promote healthy blood circulation in the scalp that promotes healthy hair growth; reduces inflammation in the scalp; alleviates scalp discomfort in the form of itching and flaking and also balance the pH of the scalp."

Some scalp treatments are used before or in the shower before your typical wash routine, while others are leave-in treatments designed to reduce inflammation that often comes as a result of scalp irritation.

"A scalp treatment typically involves some form of exfoliation to rid the scalp of excessive build up, flakes and dirt that can create discomfort or interfere with hair growth," says Dr. Williams. "Scalp treatments keeps the skin healthy and creates a healthy environment for hair growth."

Dr. Williams says anyone can benefit from a scalp treatment, even if you aren't experiencing any symptoms of scalp discomfort. But if you suffer from dandruff or a chronic itchy scalp, you'll benefit the most from a regular scalp treatment.

If an itchy scalp is causing you problems, a soothing scalp treatment has what you need to relieve the itch. We've done the work for you by finding the best scalp treatments to heal your scalp and encourage healthy hair below.

This lightweight scalp detox solution is unlike any shampoo or scalp treatment you've tried before. You use it on a dry scalp 20 minutes before showering, massaging it into the scalp to fully penetrate every hair follicle. This pre-cleanse oil brings your scalp back to a balanced state, breaking down oils and removing build up while soothing scalp irritation and inflammation. Use it weekly to help reduces itchy and flakiness.

If you're trying to live a more healthy lifestyle this year, you've probably read that apple cider vinegar is good for your gut, but did you know it's also good for your hair? This daily serum harnesses the power of all-natural apple cider vinegar to exfoliate and unclog hair follicles to help stimulate dormant follicles, which encourages healthy hair growth. It relieves that itchy feeling that you can get from a dry scalp without weighing fine hair down.

An oily scalp is usually due to product buildup, which coats the surface of your scalp and forms clusters of large visible flakes. Your regular shampoo might keep your hair clean for a few hours, but within a day your hair looks like it hasn't been washed in weeks. That's when you need to reach for something stronger. This exfoliating shampoo manually breaks up all those impurities and product buildup to hydrates and rebalance a dry scalp. You only need to use it whenever your feel your scalp getting "dirty" quickly, so one tub will last you awhile.

An itchy scalp is an inflamed scalp, and an inflamed scalp can be downright painful. Shampoos and serums can help in the long term, but healing your scalp takes time. This calming toner instantly soothes an irritated scalp to tackle both the symptoms and the root causes of dandruff. It eradicates stubborn flakes and buildup, restore your scalp’s natural balance to prevent any additional outbreaks of flaking.

Consistent bleaching can severely damage your hair, leading to slow or uneven hair growth. Guys that dye their hair platinum blonde should be extra diligent when it comes to scalp care if they want to keep this high maintenance look up. This scalp supplement delivers a powerful combination of nutrients scalp including pure Alpha Keratin 60ku® (a whole, human keratin protein that repairs damaged strands), B vitamins, peptides, and prebiotic activity. A few drops on your scalp every night is just what your scalp needs to continue growing strong, thick hair.

Salicylic acid is an ingredient you've probably seen or used in skincare, which is why it's no surprise that it made its way over to haircare. You scalp is, after all, mostly skin with a few thousand hair follicles growing out of it. Salicylic acid does the same thing on your scalp that it does for your skin: it unclogs your pores, or in this case, the opening at the base of each hair follicle. This type of gentle exfoliation removes flakes while supporting balanced scalp-oil production for a healthy scalp microbiome.

Oily skin and hair can actually be passed on through your genes, which means for some people, it may just be something you have to learn to live with. This shampoo is a great product to help normalize and rebalance a naturally oily scalp. It provides a deep cleanse to remove excess oil without stripping your strands of their natural moisture.

Augustinus Bader is a leading skin care brand founded by a biomedical scientist of the same name who is one of the foremost experts in the field of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. This scalp treatment takes all of Dr. Bader's cutting edge research the body's self-healing capabilities and applies to the scalp in order to boost hair growth. It targets weak or thinning strands at the root, calming irritation and clearing blocked follicles to reduce hair loss. It contains the brand's proprietary Trigger Factor Complex (TFC8), which supports the body's renewal process to repair signs of damage — and is also what makes this treatment so pricey.

Dandruff is one of those hair problems that you feel like you can never fully shake. Using a scalp treatment that targets dandruff regularly can help soothe scalp irritation and banish dandruff for good. This intensive treatment contains powerful dandruff-fighting ingredients including piroctone olamine and climbazole to remove dry dandruff from your scalp's surface and maintain the healthy moisture balance of hair and scalp. Natural extracts like peppermint and rosemary calm redness and soothe irritation.

For the past three years, we consulted with Men's Health's Grooming editors and writers on the best scalp treatments for men. Experts, including our Grooming Editor Garrett Munce, put a number of scalp treatments to the test and evaluated their effectiveness, texture, scent, and price. We also considered top-reviewed scalp treatments that had over 100 five-star ratings on e-commerce websites we trust.