Background: Various sebum levels can be detected in dandruff-affected scalps. However, few studies have compared the biophysical characteristics of dandruff scalps categorized based on sebum levels.
Aims: To investigate and compare the biophysical characteristics of dandruff-affected scalps categorized based on sebum levels.
Methods: Fifty-four Korean women with dandruff and 30 healthy Korean women underwent physiological measurements, including evaluation of sebum and hydration levels, pH, and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) in the scalp. The levels of the biomarkers of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and kallikrein 5 (KLK5) and corneodesmosomes were investigated in the stratum corneum (SC) of the scalp.
Results: Dandruff was categorized as dry (low-sebum, n = 25) or oily (high-sebum, n = 29) based on a sebum cutoff level of 97.82 μg/cm2 . Both dry and oily dandruff-affected scalps showed significantly decreased hydration levels and increased pH and TEWL compared with healthy subjects, with hydration levels being lower in dry dandruff-affected scalps. IL-8 expression was significantly increased in the oily dandruff-affected scalp. In addition, both dry and oily dandruff-affected scalps showed significantly increased KLK5 levels in the SC, with the levels being higher in oily dandruff-affected scalps. Altered distribution of corneodesmosomes, present on the entire surface area of the corneocytes, was notable in oily dandruff-affected scalps.
Conclusion: The biophysical characteristics of the two types of dandruff represent the influence of different characteristics, including hydration levels, expression of IL-8 and KLK5, and corneodesmosome distribution. Thus, strategies to reduce dandruff levels should differ according to sebum levels.
Keywords: corneodesmosome; dandruff; interleukin-8; kallikrein; sebum.
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