Tar-based shampoos are often used to treat dandruff. You may want to avoid them if you have light-coloured hair (blond, gray or bleached). Although effective for the scalp, they can discolour your hair and darken or stain your skin or clothes. Other medicated antidandruff agents include pyrithione zinc, salicylic acid, sulfur and selenium sulfide. Each of these ingredients work in a unique way to reduce the flaking. The tar-based shampoos slow cell production, while salicylic acid-based shampoos promote the shedding of dead cells before they accumulate. Pyrithione zinc and selenium sulfide reduce cell turnover. Since one of dandruff’s most persistent causes is a fungus, a medical ingredient like pyrithione zinc can effectively kill the yeast that’s responsible. Clinical studies indicate that the combined use of a shampoo and conditioner with this medical ingredient provides an enhanced and improved antidandruff effect by doubling the dose of the active agent received by your scalp.
