What is your scalp type?
Your scalp type is a description of how your scalp behaves between washes: whether it gets oily quickly, stays dry, sits in the middle, or flakes. Knowing it helps you choose how often to wash and which products to reach for.
This quiz asks four questions and gives you the closest description. It describes your scalp; it does not diagnose anything. It runs in your browser and nothing is saved.
The four types
- Oily. Roots look greasy within a day of washing. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says people with an oily scalp may want to shampoo every day, and lists oily skin as one of the reasons dandruff can develop.
- Dry. The scalp rarely looks oily and can feel tight. Washing less often and conditioning every time usually suit it.
- Balanced. The scalp gets a little oily between washes without feeling tight or flaking much.
- Flaky. Flakes show up often. Dandruff, which the AAD describes as small pieces of dry skin flaking off the scalp, is the most common reason.
How the quiz decides
Frequent flakes count most, because they are what most needs attention, then oil, tightness and how long you can go between washes. The answers point toward one type, ties go to balanced, and the result says how clearly your answers agree. The weights are ours.
Flakes: dandruff or something else?
The AAD says mild dandruff can usually be treated at home by washing regularly, and if that is not enough, with a dandruff shampoo containing an ingredient such as zinc pyrithione, salicylic acid, sulfur, selenium sulfide, ketoconazole or coal tar. Follow the instructions on the bottle; some need to stay on the scalp for a few minutes.
Flakes can also come from not shampooing often enough. If they do not clear, or get severe, see a dermatologist, who can tell whether they are a sign of a condition such as seborrhoeic dermatitis, psoriasis, a fungal infection or eczema. Our guide to dandruff and dry scalp explains the difference.
Caring for your scalp type
- Oily: wash often, shampoo the scalp, and keep conditioner to the ends.
- Dry: shampoo when needed and use conditioner every time.
- Balanced: wash when your hair starts to feel oily.
- Flaky: try regular washing, then a dandruff shampoo, then a dermatologist.
Our wash frequency quiz gives a starting point for how often to wash.
When to see a dermatologist
See a dermatologist if your scalp is red, sore or very itchy, if flakes do not clear with regular washing and a dandruff shampoo, or if you also notice hair loss.
See your scalp zone by zone in the HairLens app
The HairLens app scores scalp oil, redness and flakes zone by zone from your photos, with heatmaps, and builds a routine around them.