Though the hair on the scalp offers varying degrees of protection, the scalp ages in the same way the skin does - involving both biological factors and damage-related factors, including external stressors such as wear and tear from washing, combing, styling, exposure to heat, chemical processing, UV damage from sun exposure and environmental pollution. And internal stressors, which can increase due to physical and emotional health, can also have an effect, setting in motion complex and multi-layered processes in our body involving hormones, microbial populations and free radical activity which ultimately, also affect the scalp’s microbiome and may leave it imbalanced and prone to irritation.

Cumulative damage is shown in various ways; an unbalanced scalp microbiome ultimately leads to inflammation and even dandruff and oxidative stress can result in structural changes to the hair fibre that make it dry, brittle, and difficult to manage. Free radicals can also cause follicle and scalp cells to die or mutate, which can result in premature hair fall and loss of coloration / greying.