Every since I can remember washing my hair, I’ve always had a problem with my scalp becoming dry and itchy. The vivid memories of taking piano lesson as a youth, complaining to my late mother Alice of how my head use to itch still strike a chord in my head. Although, my itching scalp did not get me out of piano lesson, eventually “Head & Shoulders” came to the rescue relieving my dry and itchy scalp.

I usually wash my hair once a day unless a workout demands otherwise. With Head & Shoulders there is no need to lather your hair more than once. Daily washing is going to keep your hair plenty clean, plus lathering your hair twice may be a little to harsh despite Head & Shoulders dry scalp protection. Of course, if you’ve been covered in suntan lotion all day, probably a lot of it has ended up in your hair and two latherings may be in order.

The sun dries my hair making it more porous allowing my natural oils to escape. When this happens the few hair strands and follicles I have left have become brittle and thin. The damage usually shows up at the top of my head where my hair is getting thinner and thinner resulting in a light circular pattern resembling a huge bald spot. (Yikes!) That’s one of the reasons why I collect and wear baseball caps; they give me total protection from the sun. Plus, it’s my own hidden indistinct belief that my baseball caps will prevent male pattern baldness. Yea Right!

Seriously, if you have really oily hair then Head & Shoulders may not the shampoo for you. Head & Shoulders tends to leave a coating that can make your hair limp; at least that’s what it did to my youngest daughter’s hair. If you have very hard water and your hair is oily, by all means avoid using Head & Shoulders. The citric acid in Head & Shoulders reacts with the hard water and somehow makes it very difficult to rinse the oils and dirt out of your hair. Even just after shampooing, your hair can look dirty and stringy. Trust me as a father of girls, I’ve done a lot hair washing.

If you decide to use Head & Shoulders, I recommend that you avoid blow-drying your hair as much as possible. The heat of the blow dryer can be as damaging just like too much sun, canceling out Head & Shoulders ability to relieve your dry scalp.

Honestly, I don’t have much hair; I usually wipe off my head with my showering towel like a shining bowling ball. Although I don’t have a lot of hair, I still like to keep what’s in good condition.

My final warning is to those with processed hair, unless the label says the product you use on your hair is safe and you test it first, this dandruff shampoo may not be for you. The chemicals in this shampoo can cause damage and sometimes irritate your scalp.

My hair is extremely short, it’s so short that I gave up using combs altogether and only use a soft bristle brush. Head & Shoulders works well for me leaving my hair and head smelling and feeling good. I’m rubbing my hands through my head right now and it feels fantastic. (For some strange reason some women enjoy rubbing my peach fuzzy head?)

The bottle of Head & Shoulders I have spouts that it’s the “NEW FORMULA” which includes the Active Ingredient: 1% Pyrthione Zinc and Inactive Ingredients: Water, Ammonium Laureth, Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Glycol Distearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Cocamid MEA, Frangrance, Polyquatemimum-10, Sodium Citrate, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Sodium Benzoate, Trimethylopropane Tricaprylate/Tricaprate, Citric Acid, Ammonium Eylenesulfonate, Ext. D&C Violet No. 2, FD&C Blue No 1, Benzyl Alcohol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, and Methylisothiazolinone.

My old bottle of Head & Shoulders has the Active Ingredient is 1 % Pyrithione zinc which is right on tract with the “NEW FORMULA”. However the Inactive Ingredients appear to be a little different. For example the old Head & Shoulders has are Water, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Lauroyl, Sarcosinate, Sodium Sulfate, Frangrance, DMDM Hydantion, Disodium Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Lauryl Alcohol, Peg-600, Polyquaternium-10 and FDC blue #1.

However the “NEW FORMULA” has Benzyl Alcohol while the old has Lauryl Alcohol. And as you can see from both dandruff shampoo’s are similar yet there are minuscule difference between the old and now “NEW FORMULA” . Both the “NEW FORMULA” and old formula burn your eyes, if you are like me and have a tendency to open your eyes while showering. The biggest difference I think consumers will notice is the smell, the “NEW FORMULA” smells better almost fruity.

Both formulas of Head & Shoulders are for external use only so kept it out of your eyes and away from the kiddies!

The container comes with a small flip top that makes dispensing somewhat easy is you keep your bottle upside down. If you keep it right side up, you’ll be squeezing the soft plastic container for the appropriate amount, as with anything squeezable container you run the risk of putting too much in your hand.

The shampoo is light green and has the consistency of the standard semi thick lotion styled shampoos. The opening is not very big which means excess shampoo can collect around the opening. (yucky) Although the container is plastic the writing on the front tends to bleed but the soft plastic container is fairly sturdy. I use my 13.5 ounces bottle at the gym and at home.


If you need additional information about Head & Shoulders please visit their website at www.headandshoulders.com or call 1-800-723-9569. This shampoo is distributed by Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.




Recommended: Yes