Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2017
Ok, full transparency, I think I've been suffering from Seborrheic Dermatitis for years and just never knew it. Initially, when I started getting dandruff when I was a teenager, I just thought it was due to a dry scalp or product build-up that never washed out. Not the worst thing in the world, but still irritating. Getting older, however, it got much worse. Itching, redness, scaling all around my hair line (front and back), it was awful. Pieces of my skin would peel off at my temples and the flakes would be very noticeable. I hated it so much. And sadly, not once did I think to ask a dermatologist about it.
So,here we are years later, I still had horrible dandruff, itching, redness, the whole shebang. And then, my mother says one day, "Well, you've always had eczema ever since you were a baby." ... I never knew that. No one had told me that before. But in hindsight, yeah, it made so much sense. I just never considered that the case since I never noticed it anywhere else on my body that wasn't easily explained away. A little dryness here and there was nothing compared to my head. But that knowledge ultimately didn't help the scalp issue. Until, surprisingly enough, a YT ASMR video mentioned eczema/dermatitis and ketoconazale as a topical treatment for the hair. Interesting...
Now, this past week, I feel like my scalp has been the worst it had been. Scaling and redness, itching pretty much non-stop, and that was after a shower using Head & Shoulders shampoo. So, I looked around and did some research on ketoconazale. It's a topical treatment for fungal skin infections like athlete's foot, jock itch, and yep, seborrhea (aka dry, flaking skin) and dandruff. Looking up the best rated shampoos with this main ingredient led me to Nizoral. And I am extremely happy to have found it.
Again, full transparency, I've only used this shampoo today (day of writing this) and already I see an improvement. MAJOR improvement. I bought the 4 oz bottle, as I didn't want to commit to a larger one before trying it out, and a Scalpmaster Shampoo Brush (THIS IS KEY!!!). So, as soon as I had the bottle in my hands, I'm running for the shower. I used only Nizoral as my shampoo with Aussie Conditioner at the end. I used the brush to really scrub at the scaling and flakes all the way around my head, and it felt amazing. I've tried before with my nails to get the scales off, but this brush is 1000X better at it. I "lather, rinse, repeat" using the brush both times and I could really feel a difference in how my scalp felt. Sure, Head & Shoulders might have a better scent (I think this Nizoral shampoo is practically unscented or at least extremely mildly scented, not really noticeable), but this along with the brush helped my head and hair feel really clean. It lathered nicely, especially the second time, didn't make my hair feel too squeaky and stripped like some products do, and I don't notice any film or residue either now that my hair is mostly air-dried.
After, when inspecting my head and feeling along the hairline, I can see the proof. No flakes!!! At little redness, but that was expected, but no huge scales or flakes stuck to my scalp, no patches to be felt behind my ears or at the nape of my neck, NOTHING!!! I... I am so happy to find this shampoo. If this happens every time I use it, I might be a customer for life. I'll add an edit in about 2 weeks to see if the product really held up or not.
*** Edit:
Okay, it's been 48 hours and I'm still very impressed. The itching across my scalp was cut down at least 80% or more. Very rarely did I feel an itch or try to scratch. Looking around my hairline again, I see a few tiny flakes, but that was mostly around the skin near my temples, my admittedly worst place for the scaling and irritation.Checking around the back of my neck and behind my ears saw massive improvement, I can't feel any patches or bumps at all around my hairline. My hair feels soft without any remaining residue to change its texture. It is a bit frizzy though, but that's mostly my own fault for not straightening it like I would normally, so I count that as non-related to the product.
Overall, for a first time application and test, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I knew it wouldn't be an overnight cure-all for my problem, but the improvement I've seen in 48 hours over the past week is amazing! I'll add another update after a few more days.