DARE TO ASK: Dandruff is dandruff, by any color

By PHILLIP MILANO, The Times-Union

Question:

Do black people get dandruff? And if they do, what color is it? I've asked my black friends this, but they think I'm joking and just laugh.

Clint, 32, white, Jacksonville

Replies

I have to admit, I laughed, too.

E.D., 48, black female, Kansas City, Mo.

Hold onto your shorts, junior; here's a fact that may shake your world loose: When you look at somebody's skin, you're looking at a layer of colorless cells. The skin pigment is deeper than the surface. When this layer dries and flakes off, it appears white.

Nick F., Seattle

Are black people not human?

Peter, 21, black, Jacksonville

Yes, black people get dandruff. It is more a gray color because a black person's skin gets a grayish hue when it is very dry (which is where the term "ashy" comes from). Most blacks put "grease" on their scalps to avoid this. In case you are wondering, I didn't know any of this until I met and married a black man.

Darby, 33, white, New York

Our dandruff looks like tar flakes. Just kidding, it's white and flaky.

Cris, black female, Michigan

When I get dandruff, it looks white on my black clothes and dark on my white clothes.

David, black, London

We may not get it as often because we don't wash our hair as often, but I know we get it. I have some right now.

Monika, 27, black, Houston

Because of the texture of our hair, the dandruff usually stays in our hair, instead of falling onto our clothing.

Alisha, 36, black, Charlotte

Expert says

We don't mean to get under anyone's skin, but apparently some black people do, in fact, have chips on their shoulders.

Relax, we're talking about seborrheic dermatitis here, after all.

Monica Farrow of Jacksonville, an expert on African-American hair, confirmed it.

"The skin is an organ that sheds, and we all have skin," said Farrow, who runs OurHair.net, which offers care solutions for African-American and ethnic hair. "Dandruff is nothing more than shedding skin. If you're human, you do get dandruff."

But it may be harder to see on some people.

"A lot of black people use moisturizers with oil on their scalps because black hair can be more naturally dry," she said. "The oil tends to disguise the fact that the dandruff is there [because] when oil is on the scalp, the flakes that can fall become translucent."

Because oils attract dirt, many African-Americans are experimenting with "no-oil routines," using emulsions and creams that are higher in water content, Farrow said.

Still, nothing can fully guarantee against an occasional bout of the scaly scurf.

"Oh yeah, we get it," she said. "When I grew up, we had Selsun Blue in the shower."

Phillip Milano, author of I Can't Believe You Asked That! (Perigee), moderates cross-cultural dialogue at Y? The National Forum on People's Differences. Visit www.yforum.com to submit questions and answers. Send general column comments to phillip. milano@jacksonville.com. You can also hear his podcasts.