What Makes Hair /Scalp Smelly?

So, what
After a night out at a smoky party, or a long run on a hot and humid day, it’s quite normal to find that your hair gets, well... a bit smelly.As with any other body odors the scalp odor is often caused by sweat interacting with bacteria on the skin.
It’s nothing that a proper shampoo and rinse can’t solve.
But what if, despite washing your hair every day — and even minutes after stepping out of the shower — your hair still seems to be giving off a nasty niff?
You could be suffering from what experts have dubbed Smelly Hair Syndrome (SHS).a condition which can leave the sufferer both acutely embarrassed and at a loss for either the cause or the cure.
Exactly what does cause it? Different trichologists (hair and scalp scientists) have different theories. ‘There’s a sebaceous gland attached to each hair follicle and that produces oil,’ explains Glenn Lyons, clinical director at the Philip Kingsley Trichological Clinic. ‘The more oily your hair, the more prone it is to picking up environmental pollutants, such as smoke, cooking odours and other strong scents, that will make it smell.
‘The scalp is densely populated not only with these oil glands, but also with sweat glands. In the same way that, regardless of what deodorant they use, some people are more prone to sweating and body odour than others, so too you’ll find that some people’s scalps are more prone to oiliness and odour than others.’
Glenn points out that people with certain types of hair may also find themselves more susceptible.
‘If you have quite coarse hair, it will soak up a lot of the oil,’ he explains. ‘But people with finer hair may find that the oil — and therefore the odour — is more of a problem. Equally, if you tend to use a lot of products, such as serums or mousses, in your hair, these, like oil, will attract odours and lock them into the hair.
However, there is another, rarer, condition that causes that lingering sour smell that people find so hard to shake, and it’s actually a fungal infection. There are two types — endothrix infections which attack the inside of the hair, and ectothrix infections that attack the outside of the hair
These types of fungi are known as zoophilic fungi, as they grow naturally on animals. And it’s close contact with animals, such as cats, dogs and horses, which can be the initial cause of the infection, as fine spores from the fungus are transferred from the animal to the human.’
Warm, damp conditions are the perfect environment for the fungi to breed in, which is why frequent hair-washing alone won’t solve the problem — and may even seem to make it worse — and why you might be able to smell that sour smell the minute you step out of the shower.
If you suspect you’re suffering from a fungal infection, a trichologist should be able to confirm it by taking a sample of hair or scalp skin, which is sent away to a laboratory to be cultured.
Once you know a fungal infection is what’s causing SHS (Smelly Hair Syndrome) , a double-pronged attack is often the best way to treat it, attacking it internally and externally.
An anti-fungal pill will be prescribed and that should be used alongside an anti-fungal shampoo. Some suggestions are coal tar shampoos, such as Alphosyl or T-Gel. But don’t expect things to change over night.
He says: ‘Sometimes the fungus is so deeply embedded in the hair that it can’t actually be killed off in this way. The hair itself is dead so, unlike live tissue, doesn’t contain any white blood cells that can help it fend off an infection itself.
‘As a result, in really serious cases patients will need to continue taking anti-fungal medication and using anti-fungal shampoos over a period of time.
‘What this does is ensure that any new hair is free of the fungus. But the patient won’t be entirely free of the infection until every infected hair has naturally fallen out of the scalp.’
Of course, there are hair refreshers, fragrances and deodorants you can use to disguise the smell while you’re waiting for the treatment to be effective.