Etiology and treatment of dandruff according to Persian medicine

Scalp dandruff is one of the most common complaints of patients visiting dermatologic clinics. It has significant influence on the self-confidence and social image of the individuals it affects. The current study aimed to analyze this problem from the viewpoint of Persian medicine. This paper is a literature review in which the text of selected books on Persian medicine is investigated using content analysis based on the theoretical sampling method. The studied keywords in the Persian medicine books included Hozaz, Ebrieh, and Ghooba. Relevant points were extracted from the text of papers selected from PubMed, Scopus, and SID and analyzed further. Persian medicine considers the incidence of scalp dandruff to be an output of the interaction between internal and external factors and concentrates more on disorder in the process of waste removal through the skin and its role in the development of scaling diseases. In order to dandruff treatment, Persian medicine sages considered nutrition, personal hygiene, status of the digestive system, and the health status of other organs in addition to topical treatment. Clinical examination of Persian medicine hypotheses, especially how the quality of skin secretions affects the development of scaly skin, can improve the treatment of scalp dandruff and other scaling skin diseases.