Hair and scalp disorders

About this chapter ...

In this chapter we look at common disorders of the hair and scalp. Some of these, like dandruff and head lice, can be treated satisfactorily. For others, like the common baldness that affects up to 50% of men by the age of 50, there seems to be no effective treatment even though any number of remedies - both the seemingly logical and the completely illogical - have been proposed.
    We need to understand the true causes of these problems. And it is just as important to know that some of the suggested treatments have no scientific basis at all.

'Nits' - which are in fact the eggs or the young of the head louse - are one of the commonest of disorders of the hair, especially in children. The 'nits' seen here are the empty eggs, after the lice have hatched. Lice love long, clean hair, and do not like male hair after the teens