The old trick of using beets to treat dandruff is among some of the most controversial home remedies in the playbook. To some, it’s just an old wives tale, but to others, it’s an effective nature-based solution to a primarily cosmetic dermatology issue. Lots of factors contribute to dandruff, and the effectiveness of vegetable juice on this condition is debatable, but some people have found this treatment to reduce or eliminate their flakes.
Step 1: Cut Up Beets
In the first step of this treatment, you are simply cutting up the vegetables, just as you would for any kind of culinary work. Smaller pieces are generally better, since they take less time to soften in boiling water.
Step 2: Boil Beets
Next, get a pot of water to a boil, and stir in the beets. Lots of home remedy enthusiasts recommend letting the beets boil for a good half-hour or more, in order to get their essence infused into the water. This “beet water” is what you will use as a topical treatment for your flakes.
Step 3: Massage Beet Water Into Scalp
Take the resulting beet water and carefully massage it into your scalp. Through all of the steps of this process, it’s important to remember that beet juice can really stain surfaces. You’ll see this when you start cutting up the beets: purpleish “dye” goes everywhere. Take care to avoid making a mess of your kitchen, or staining your pillow and sheets with this natural pigment. It is actually a good idea to sleep on plastic, if you can bear the crinkling noises.
Step 4: Sleep On It
Sleep with the beet juice mixed into your hair. It may not be the best sleep you ever had, but that’s not really the point. In the morning, rinse the beet juice from your scalp, and you might see a reduction in the white flakes that constitute regular dandruff.
Some doctors point out that a specific kind of dandruff called seborrheic dermatitis is often an indication of an underlying health problem. In these cases, there may be other particular causes and more effective treatments for your condition. Always talk to your family doctor before treating dandruff or any other condition. Getting good qualified medical advice from a physician helps to get you the best chances of reducing or eliminating dermatology problems. It’s also good to share your family medical history, as well as a list of known allergies.
If the beet juice cure doesn’t work, there are other options for treating dandruff effectively. Different kinds of shampoos are often recommended, not just by doctors, but by stylists and barbers who tend to be experts on scalp health. Some of them recommend a tea tree oil product, where using the shampoo aggressively will many times reduce flakes. A “tar” based shampoo is another option. Again, you can get the best choices for your dermatology needs by consulting a specialist in dermatology.
