Meg’s brushing up on dandruff: I just bought copper-infused hair brush that supposedly gets rid of dandruff. Will it really work?
The Left Brain’s flaky reply:
Meg is talking about the Goody “Styling Therapy – Reduce Dandruff – Copper Infused” hairbrush. It claims to be “Infused with copper-plated bristles, this brush: kills 88% of the fungus that causes dandruff and dry, flaky scalp; destroys bacteria and fungus associated with common scalp conditions. Copper is proven to kill the leading cause of dandruff.”
I can’t find any credible research to show that a brush made with copper can fight dandruff. But there is a kernel of truth behind their claims. It is well known that metal salts of pyrithione are effective dandruff control agents. Zinc Pyrithione, for example, is widely used in commercial dandruff shampoos. There have been studies (see Nature and Pubmed) that show copper salts may have some effect, but zinc salts are by far the most effective. If a copper version worked better, trust me, big companies like P&G would find a way to sell that in a product.
Even if copper ions are effective, it’s highly unlikely that a copper brush could provide enough scalp contact to deliver any sort of anti-fungal effect. I say you’re much better off using products like Head and Shoulders, Selsin Blue, or Nizoral.
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This product worked wonders for me i have tried every shampoo under the sun and this is the only thing that has given results. The only propblem is the copper wears of the edges and i need to replace every 9 months or so. It you have itching burning scalp you will notice a change in about 24 hours and by a couple days my dandruf is gone. Cant say enough about this product.
I’m a marine biologist. I developed seborrhic dermatitus of the scalp when I worked in the everglades. Cutting my hair to allow sunlight to hit my scalp fixes it. But in the winter of new jersey, I had to do something as it only got worse. Zinc pyrithione works, but makes my hair horrible. So i started to research the yeast and chemistry today, and I thought that I might become a millionaire with the idea of a copper comb that I derived today, but apparently someone already thought of the same idea….
All of the treatments for this dandruff condition consist of chemicals that are put into wood in order to keep marine life growing on them. Selenium, zinc, coal tar, creosote, and copper. Copper disrupts the major metabolic pathways of invertebrates. I don’t think that the copper is what is responsible for the death of the yeast that causes dandruff, it is the selenium that naturally occurs in elemental copper deposits. The selenium is what is found in selson blue and shampoos like it.
Other possible cures may be a comb made from the lead-free brass used for plumbing (for the same reasons as what I suspect for the copper comb) or a comb made from the dense creosote tree, which is impregnated with resins that kill microbes like this.
I really hate how the beauty industry has us “hooked” to cures that have to be replenished regularly. I want a comb, (not a brush, which is plated with copper) as I only want to buy my solution once. The same thing happened with tampons, apparently women all used natural rubber cups http://www.divacup.com/ at one point, but reselling pads and tampons every month was a more profitable solution to an issue that was already solved.
Yes the brush works! I still use dandruff shampoo but have several brushes and definitely notice when I haven’t used the “dander” brush as we have deemed it in my house. I’m currently shopping on line for a new one because the bristles are getting a bit twisted and haven’t found one at a local store recently.