Six Rules For a Healthier Scalp (2024)

A healthy scalp is one of the best ways to grow healthy hair—it's the soil where your hair sprouts. And just like a malnourished plant can’t grow to its full potential, neither can your hair if its scalp is out of whack.

First things first, though: While a compromised scalp can hinder hair growth and accelerate pre-existing hair loss, the scalp itself is almost never the cause of hair loss. That’s something your dermatologist and/or trichologist will make sure you know, but they will also ensure that any scalp problems are mitigated in order to create the most optimal growth environment for the follicles—one balanced and void of bacteria, fungus, itching, flaking, inflammation, and so forth.

What’s a trichologist, you ask? This is a scalp professional. Trichology is the study of scalps and hair, and how they relate to one another. Trichologists specialize in the root cause of hair loss, since, again, it all starts right there in the scalp. They aren’t doctors like your dermatologist, but they are specialists on this particular topic, and thus have a long list of tips, tricks, and tried-and-true remedies whereas a dermatologist might otherwise be quick to throw a prescription at the problem and call it a day.

I’ll be the first to admit that, when I talk about my own hair loss experience with readers and friends, I'm quick to suggestmedical remedies as a way to thwart hormonal assault on your follicles, and to boost nutrient delivery. Yes, these and otherhair loss prevention methods work, but it can frequently be mitigated by any number of tactics, says trichologistBridgette Hill. She’s the founder ofRoot Cause Scalp Analysis, a scalp therapy platform that helps clients fully understand their own unique variables affecting hair loss.

“A lot of men simplify their hair loss regimen to finasteride andminoxidil, but there are so many lifestyle changes, as well as holistic and plant-based solutions out there that can help you,” Hill says. “Many men want to think it’s genetic hair loss, but it could be an overbuilding of proteins from their workout regimens. Sometimes it’s inflammation fromover-shampooing. A lot of times, you can end up doing more damage when you treat androgenic hair loss with prescriptions, when you could just treat it holistically.”

Check out the five scalp tips below for more insight into how trichology might help you understand the correlation between your own scalp and hair health, plus a few other ways brands are getting into scalp care.

Five Tips for a Healthy Scalp

1. Get the right nutrients, but not an overdose

There is no shortage of supplements out there that promise infinite benefits to your health. On top of that, more brands are making scalp- and follicle-fortifying supplements that take a natural, plant-based approach to hair retention and fortification. However, a lot of what you’re buying is in excess. It's perhaps smarter to prioritize a balanced diet centered on Vitamins A, B, C, and E (leafy greens, sweet potatoes, berries, nuts), fatty acids (nuts, avocadoes, fish), proteins (eggs, nuts, beans), among other natural, whole foods. If going the supplement route, however, choose one that targets scalp wellness with a specific (and transparent) approach to scalp harmony.

The Best Scalp Supplement

2. Do a weekly scalp scrub

Scalpexfoliation might seem counterproductive: Wait, so you scrub the scalp over and over in order to promote hair growth? Sure, you might lose a few hairs in the process (ones that were bound to fall later that day, before restarting their growth cycles), but doing this scrub also boosts nutrient delivery to your scalp and hair follicles. It even clears the scalp of dead skin cells, excess dirt and grime, as well as buildup of hair styling product. This exfoliation allows follicles to sprout hairs uninhibited, plus it also mitigates fungal breakouts and flaking. And, if you prefer a topical scrub (versus a physical brush), the product might even contain scalp-balancing ingredients like tea tree oil. But it’s important to note that you should only scrub 1-2 times weekly, max. Anything beyond that might irritate otherwise healthy skin cells that aren’t yet ready to buff away.

The Best Scalp Scrub

The Best Scalp Exfoliating Brush

3. Do a weekly scalp treatment, too

Another weekly routine to incorporate is a therapeutic scalp treatment. These can range from leave-on masks to rinse-away treatments, but they all have a similar aim: To neutralize bacterial and fungal buildup, and deliver a high concentration of nourishment to the scalp and hair follicles, often while promoting circulation. Some might prioritize dry-scalp revival, while others may mitigate excessive oil production.

The Best Scalp Treatment for Dry, Itchy Scalps

The Best Scalp Treatment for Oily or Flaky Scalps

4. Blow dry less often, and at cooler settings

The heat from ablow dryer is not just damaging to your hair; it can also wilt the follicles themselves. There’s no recovering from that kind of frying, so keep the dryer on cool, if you must, and pick up an ionic dryer, ceramic dryer, or tourmaline, all of which cause less damage to hairs. (Oh, and take shorter, milder showers, while you’re at it.)

The Most Scalp-Friendly Blow Dryer

5. Apply a scalp serum or tonic daily

Think of these as a bit like skin care for your dome, something you apply daily. These products primarily aim to stimulate circulation in the scalp, thus boosting nutrient delivery to the follicles, thus fortifying and better anchoring hairs from the onset. Other scalp serums and tonics may hinder DHT production (DHT is the hormonal byproduct that can shrivel up your follicles); balance oil production; neutralize inflammation and fungus; exfoliate dead cells; or even resetpH levels. There is no limit to what these products can do, so it’s easy to find one that suits your specific needs or fills a gap in your scalp care regimen.

The Best Stimulating Scalp Serum

The Best Scalp Stimulating Tonic

6. Make an appointment with a trichologist

If you want a better understanding of your scalp—that is,your specific scalp and its nuances and needs—then book an appointment with a trichologist.