There’s nothing more annoying than scratching your head and seeing a mist of nasty dead skin cells showering down before you. Welcome to my life. I’ve been using dandruff shampoos for at least six or seven years now and have managed to control it fairly well. This summer, however, I noticed that it was really getting out of hand again. This is a review of what I’ve learned.

Head & Shoulders, Pert Plus: For many years I just used Head and Shoulders or Pert Plus along with some conditioner and that kept the flakes under control. When my scalp needed some variety, I would switch it up a bit. Eventually neither of these seemed to do the job.

Selson Blue: For the past couple of years I have been using Selson Blue and have been pleased with it. I’m a dry scalped guy but the Blue seemed to keep it in check. I used it every day and then conditioned afterward. This has been all fine and dandy until about six months ago when the Blue just wasn’t cutting it.

Denorex: Thinking that my scalp may have grown accustomed to Selson Blue and perhaps needed some shock therapy, I bought a bottle of Denorex. I used it for several months and noticed that my dandruff only seemed to get worse. It got really bad. Itch my head all night kind of bad. Wipe my shoulders every two minutes kind of bad. Could make a black sheet of paper turn white with a few scratches kind of bad. Anyway, I was none too impressed with Denorex. It sits in my shower caddy still, unused, unwanted.

Neutrogena T-Gel: After doing some internet research I learned that some others have had success with Neutrogena’s T-Gel shampoo. I tried it out and have been using it for about a month now. I’m pleased to announce that the dandruff is mostly controlled now. It’s not totally gone but it is better.

Nizoral: My next step is to move to Nizoral if the T-Gel doesn’t completely cut it. Nizoral has a patented ingredient proven to be effective against dandruff and the early disposing of skin cells. I think it’s more expensive than the others but they’re all pricey if you want the good stuff. At this point, I’ll happily pay $15/bottle if it means not having do deal with the flakes.

LESSONS LEARNED

• Keep it Fresh - Your scalp (or at least mine) tends to grow somewhat immune to certain shampoos. Changing things up once in a while might do the trick.
• Not Just Your Scalp - Your scalp is not the only thing effected by Pityrosporum ovale, or P. ovale (the wee little fungus that causes dandruff) - it can effect your face (especially by the nose), neck, shoulders and chest, too! I have dry flaky spots on my face on either side of my nose and sometimes just above my nose. These have been almost directly correlated with my dandruff but I never made the connection until reading this article. So if you’ve got dry spots that are dandruff like, but not on your scalp, use the dandruff shampoo on them, too!
• It Takes More than Shampoo - Many things can contribute to dandruff including stress, lack of sleep, poor hygiene, diet and many more. In my case, I only sleep about four or five hours a night and I can’t just fix that. I’m a busy guy. So I hope to overcome the effects of improper sleep by finding the right shampoo - if that’s even possible.
• Let it Tingle - If you’re in the habit of applying shampoo, lathering it in and then quickly rinsing it out, break the habit. In order for dandruff shampoo to work effectively it needs time to work its magic. Let it sit for a few minutes. Sing a song. Repeat your daily affirmations. Shave something. Do whatcha gotta do to let the stuff work.

If you have any insightful advice or experience to share please leave a comment. Like so many others, my quest to conquer dandruff is far from ended.

-Nils

Tags: random insights //