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How to Get a Healthy Scalp, According to Hair Professionals
We've asked experts from across the UK for their must-have scalp health tips.
Like your face, your scalp is covered in living, breathing skin that deserves dedicated care. And just like all skin, it can get oily, dry, irritated, flaky or sensitised. It's also home to around 100,000 hair follicles, so its condition shows up directly in how your hair behaves.
Ignore it, and even the most expensive haircare routine won't quite perform as promised. Look after it, and you'll build the perfect foundation for healthy, luscious locks.
Our Experts
Jade Summers
AIT, Trichologist, Colour Specialist and Davines Guest Artist
Melissa Timperley
Award-Winning Hairdresser, Salon Owner and Founder of MT MasterClass
What does a healthy scalp look like?
A healthy scalp is one of blissful stasis. Not oily enough to look greasy by day two, and not dry enough to flake or itch.
"Think of your scalp as an extension of the skin on your face, it deserves the same level of care and attention," explains Jade Summers AIT, Trichologist, Colour Specialist and Davines Guest Artist."A healthy scalp is what provides the best environment for healthy hair growth. The scalp is made of living tissue, whereas the hair fibre itself is not."
Melissa Timperley, Award-Winning Hairdresser, Salon Owner and Founder of MT MasterClass, likens the relationship between hair and scalp to that of plants and soil. Imagine your scalp as the soil and your hair strands as the plants. Without healthy soil, your hair isn't growing anywhere. "Your scalp needs good circulation, the right level of moisture and a healthy balance of natural oils to create the best environment for hair to grow,"she confirms. "Looking after your scalp creates the foundations for stronger, healthier looking hair over time."
Naturally occurring oils are a big part of this balance. Tiny glands under your skin secrete a pale, waxy fluid called sebum, which is made of fats, wax and squalene. It prevents moisture loss, keeps skin soft and conditions the hair, but too much can tip into inflammation or dandruff.
Signs you're not quite there yet? Tightness after washing, flaking, redness, itching, oil back within a day, or more hair in the plughole than usual.
What type of scalp do you have?
Most scalps fall into one of five types, and working out which one you've got is the difference between a routine that helps and one that quietly makes things worse.
Balanced Scalp
A balanced scalp doesn't call attention to itself. It's not oily, not dry, not itchy. It holds up well between washes (typically every three or four days) and responds predictably to products. If you've never really thought about your scalp, there's a good chance it's balanced.
Dry Scalp
A dry scalp feels tight and itchy, and it flakes. Climate and ageing can both bring it on or make it worse, and if this is you, you can probably go a week or longer between washes.
Dry scalp flaking isn't the same as dandruff, though, and the two need opposite treatment. More on telling them apart in the next section. Browse ourdry hair products for formulas that help.
Combination Scalp
Oily roots and dry ends at the same time, which makes choosing a single routine tricky. The scalp may need cleansing every other day, but the lengths can't handle that frequency without drying out. Focusing shampoo on the scalp and conditioner on the mid-lengths and ends is the practical solution.
Sensitive scalp
A sensitive scalp reacts easily to products, weather, water quality or stress. Redness, stinging, itching and tightness are the typical signs. Medical conditions like dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema can cause or worsen scalp sensitivity, so if symptoms persist, raise it with a professional rather than switching products. Browse oursensitive scalp products for gentle formulas.
Oily Scalp
If you can't go more than a day without accumulating grease on your roots, you likely have an oily scalp. You might notice the hair clumping together, and if you blot your scalp with a piece of tissue paper, it will leave a wet patch. Browse our oily hair products for formulas designed to manage excess oil without stripping the scalp.
Dry scalp or dandruff? How to tell the difference
Both flake, but the causes are opposites. A dry scalp is short of moisture. Dandruff has too much oil, plus an overgrowth of a yeast that lives on all of us.
"One of the biggest misconceptions is that all flakes are the same,"notes Summers. "In reality they can have very different causes. A true dry scalp is typically the result of a compromised skin barrier and lacks moisture, whereas dandruff is associated with excess sebum and an overgrowth of Malassezia yeast, leading to inflammation and increased skin cell turnover. Although both can present with flaking, they require completely different treatment approaches."
Which matters, because treating one as the other might even make things worse. Pile moisture onto a dandruff-prone scalp and you feed the problem. Use an anti-dandruff formula on a genuinely dry one and you strip it further
A rough guide, if you're not sure. Dry scalp flakes are small, white and papery, your scalp feels tight, and the skin elsewhere on your body is probably dry too. Dandruff flakes are bigger, yellowish and a bit greasy, the scalp is often itchy and slightly red, and your roots turn oily fast.
And if you're still not certain, that's the point at which a professional saves you months of guessing. Browse our dandruff products if you know which you're dealing with.
What causes scalp problems?
Most scalp problems trace back to one of five things. What you put on it, how you style it, the water you wash it in, the air around it, and what's going on inside your body.
Stylists spend most minutes of most days staring at scalps. If anyone's going to know what a struggling scalp looks like, it's them. Sophie Trinder, co-director and stylist at Trinder Hair Studios in St Albans, says the concerns she comes across most often are "dandruff, dryness, excessive oil production, itching, sensitivity, weak hair, dry hair or excessive shedding and thinning."Timperleyadds that she sees scalps struggle during big life changes like the menopause.
Stress plays its part too. Cortisol affects mood, sleep and can send a sensitive scalp into overdrive.
Environmental factors are also key, with the likes of central heating and cold snaps annoyingly whisking away precious moisture. Even pollution can settle into your scalp and make your hair feel brittle, while hard water, which covers most of the UK, leaves behind a mineral build-up that might throw your scalp into a state of disrepair.
And let's not forget styling habits. Tight ponytails and frequent heat styling put mechanical and thermal stress right at the root. Dry shampoo, while great in a pinch, becomes a problem when it's used as a substitute for washing rather than a quick refresh between washes. Product build-up will leave your scalp congested, itchy and less likely to respond well to your favourite hair products.
So if you're a stress-head who works in the city and blow-dries your hair every day, it might be time to overhaul your scalp health routine.
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One of the biggest myths I still hear is that washing your hair too often is bad for it..
How to improve scalp health
Wash as often as your scalp needs
Wash when your scalp needs it, not to a schedule. Every three or four days suits a balanced scalp, up to daily suits an oily one, and once a week is plenty if yours runs dry.
"One of the biggest myths I still hear is that washing your hair too often is bad for it," says Summers. "In reality, if your scalp feels oily, sweaty or dirty, it's time to wash it."She also warns us not to get too overzealous with dry shampoo, and says there's no such thing as being able to "train" your scalp into needing fewer wash days.
Today's shampoos are also far more sophisticated than they were decades ago, when formulas may have been harsher or more alkaline. Modern professional formulas are designed to cleanse without disrupting the natural skin barrier.
Choose products for your scalp, not your lengths
Pick your shampoo for your scalp and your conditioner for your lengths, because they're often telling completely different stories.
"The shampoo's primary role is to cleanse the actual scalp, so choose one that suits your scalp type, whether that's oily, dry, sensitive or prone to dandruff," says Summers. "Then tailor your conditioner to your hair lengths and ends."
Scalps prone to dryness or sensitivity generally do better with milder surfactants. That's a question of matching the formula to your scalp rather than working from a list of ingredients to avoid. Our shampoo ingredients guide explains the differences in more detail.
Don't overload the scalp with products
Keep the rich stuff off your roots. Piling on conditioners, masks, oils and leave-in formulas at the scalp can have the opposite of your desired effect, especially when the products are designed for lengths or ends.
"Don't leave oils or styling products sitting on the scalp for prolonged periods without washing," Summersconfirms. "Product build-up can contribute to scalp issues."
You can, however, use formulas made specifically for the scalp. The Davines Naturaltech ELEVATING Scalp Recovery Treatment is a delightful leave-on treatment made for sensitised, dehydrated scalps.
Loosen tight styles
Less slick backs, more scalp health. As cute as they are, tight hairstyles cause problems when worn every day.
"Repeated tension from slick buns, tight ponytails or braids can contribute to traction alopecia over time," says Summers.
Alternating between a tight style and something looser gives your hairline a break, and the hairline is where the tension shows up first.
Use sun protection
Scalps get sunburnt too, particularly along partings. Not only is this uncomfortable, but it can lead to flakiness and stunted hair growth, so a hat or a parting spray earns its place in summer. As for your actual strands, protect them too withSU/ Hair Milk, a lightweight leave-in spray with UV filters that shields hair from sun damage.
Eat for your scalp
Because the scalp is just skin, it responds to the same basics as the rest of your body, notes Trinder. Hydration, a varied diet with enough protein, iron, zinc and omega-3s, and managing stress where you can, as cortisol and scalp sensitivity are linked. No single food or supplement will transform a scalp overnight though, so be wary of anything that promises otherwise.
Treat yourself to a massage
Two or three minutes with your finger pads, working in small circles, is enough. Often seen in South Asian cultures, scalp massages help boost circulation and help active ingredients to absorb properly. Treat yourself to a massage moment either in or out of the shower, or even rope in a parent, partner or pal to do it for you.
Don't go to bed with wet hair
Wet hair breaks more easily than dry, and a damp scalp overnight is an invitation to the yeast behind dandruff.
"Wet hair is more vulnerable to stretching, friction and breakage," warns Summers. "A damp scalp may encourage malassezia overgrowth in those prone to dandruff or seborrhoeic dermatitis." Malassezia is a naturally occurring skin fungus that feeds on skin oils and can result in uncomfortable skin conditions.
Building a scalp care routine
You don't need a ten-step process. A good scalp routine is four steps on wash day, plus a couple of habits in between.
Step 1. Pre-cleanse: If your roots feel coated, a pre-wash treatment breaks down sebum and product build-up before your shampoo even gets involved. Apply it to your scalp on dry hair, leave it for the stated time, then shampoo as normal. Once a week is plenty, and skip it altogether if your scalp runs dry.
Step 2. Cleanse and massage:Apply shampoo to your scalp rather than your lengths, and work it in with your finger pads for two or three minutes. Your lengths get cleaned by the water running through them anyway. Use warm rather than hot water, and rinse until there's nothing left behind, because residue sitting on the scalp is itself a common cause of irritation.
- Step 3. Exfoliate: A gentle scalp scrub once a week clears away dead skin and stubborn build-up. Worth doing if you use a lot of styling product, live in a hard water area, or get flaking. Worth skipping if your scalp is already sensitised or irritated, where exfoliating will make things worse rather than better.
Step 4. Treat: A lightweight leave-on treatment is where you tackle a specific concern, whether that's dryness, oil balance or sensitivity. Applied to damp or dry skin after washing, it stays put rather than being rinsed away, which is what makes it a treatment rather than a conditioner.
Between washes
Loosen those tight styles, keep dry shampoo for genuine emergencies rather than as a stand-in for washing, and protect your parting in strong sun. None of it takes any time, and it undoes less of your work than you'd think.
When to see a professional
Book a proper scalp health check if flaking, itching or soreness sticks around for more than a few weeks, if you're shedding noticeably more than usual, or if changing your routine hasn't made any difference.
No article, including this one, can diagnose a scalp. Dryness can look like dandruff. Sensitivity can be mistaken for a reaction to a product that's actually fine. What looks like thinning can have half a dozen different root causes.
"It can be really difficult to diagnose your own scalp because you simply can't see what's going on," says Timperley. The back of your head is a blind spot, and what you can see is easy to misread.
Hair loss is the clearest case for getting someone else involved. It can point to a medical condition, a stressful period, or a nutritional shortfall, and it can show up as even thinning or as distinct patches. Early intervention generally leads to better outcomes, so it's not one to work through alone.
A trained eye tells the difference between concerns that look alike and need opposite treatment, then builds a routine around your scalp specifically. If a change of routine hasn't helped, the next step is a dermatologist or trichologist.
Caring for your scalp
Scalp care isn't instantly gratifying. There's no single wash that transforms things overnight, but that's rather the point. Treated consistently, alongside sustainably sourced, biodegradable formulas designed to work with your scalp rather than against it, it's one of the more worthwhile habits you can build into your routine. Give it a few weeks and you'll see it in how your hair behaves.
Why not try our Naturaltech range? It's formulated with phytoceuticals, active plant-derived compounds studied for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, with a shampoo mapped to each scalp type rather than one formula stretched across all of them.
And if you'd like tailored advice to suit your hair needs, visit your nearest Davines salon to speak to one of our experts.
Frequently asked questions about scalp health
What does a healthy scalp look like?
Even in colour, with no redness, flaking or visible irritation. It doesn't feel tight after washing, it doesn't itch, and it isn't greasy again by the next morning. Hair growing out of it feels strong at the root rather than fragile.
How can you tell if your scalp is unhealthy?
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How can I make my scalp healthier?
Wash it as often as it needs rather than to a schedule, choose your shampoo for your scalp rather than your lengths, keep heavy products off the roots, loosen tight styles, and protect your parting in strong sun. Consistency does more than any single product.
Why is scalp health important?
Your scalp is living skin and the hair fibre isn't, which makes the scalp the only part of the system you can actually influence. Hair grows from around 100,000 follicles held in it, and their condition decides how strong and shiny that hair is by the time you see it.
What is good for scalp health?
Regular cleansing suited to your scalp type, gentle massage while you wash, occasional exfoliation if you get build-up, a lightweight leave-on treatment for a specific concern, and sun protection on exposed partings. A varied diet with enough protein, iron, zinc and omega-3s supports it from the inside.
What should I eat for scalp health?
Your scalp responds to the same basics as the rest of your skin: enough protein, iron, zinc and omega-3s, decent hydration, and managing stress where you can. No single food or supplement transforms a scalp overnight, so treat anything promising otherwise with suspicion.
What vitamin is lacking if your scalp itches?
Itching is far more often a barrier or microbiome issue than a vitamin deficiency, so a supplement is rarely the fix. Shortfalls in iron, zinc, vitamin D and the B vitamins can affect scalp and hair health, but they need confirming with a blood test rather than guesswork. Persistent itching is worth a professional assessment.
What is the best shampoo for scalp health?
There isn't one, because the right shampoo depends on whether your scalp runs oily, dry, sensitive or flaky. Match the shampoo to your scalp and the conditioner to your lengths. If you're not sure which you've got, the scalp types section above is where to start.
Do I need a scalp health check?
Worth booking if symptoms hang around beyond a few weeks, if you're shedding more than usual, or if changing your routine has made no difference. A stylist or trichologist can see what you can't, and can tell apart concerns that look alike but need opposite treatment.
Can you improve scalp health without changing products?
Often, yes. Applying shampoo to your scalp rather than your lengths, rinsing properly, massaging with finger pads instead of nails, using cooler water, keeping conditioner off the roots and loosening tight styles all help without buying anything. Technique accounts for more than most people assume.
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