Becky begs for help: What shampoo is good for a little kid with very greasy hair? My daughter, who’s five years old, gets very greasy hair over the course of the day. I wash it every morning, but by late in the afternoon it’s so greasy and smelly that I have to wash it again. I tried using a dandruff shampoo, and it did make her hair less greasy. But, it also made her scalp flake. I’ve been using a good degreasing shampoo, so the hair is getting clean, but it seems to get greasy again so quickly. What can I do?

The Right Brain responds:
Becky, this case is a bit tricky. Since your daughter’s greasy hair problem did respond to treatment with a dandruff shampoo we suggest exploring that avenue and experimenting a little further. If using a dandruff shampoo every day cured her greasiness, but caused her scalp to flake, why not try using the dandruff shampoo less frequently? We’d suggest using a good dandruff shampoo, like the Head & Shoulders, every other time you shampoo. If you still get flakes then try it every two shampoos. So one day use your regular shampoo, the next day use your dandruff shampoo, and so on. If the problem persists, you’d better see your pediatrician! Let us know if this helps!

What do YOU think? Do you have a greasy hair problem? What have you tried and what’s worked for you? Leave a comment and share your successes with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Susan’s Dissatisfied: I just read your article on natural skin oil and psoriasis. I’m sorry but “phosphatidylglycerol” doesn’t sound all that natural to me. And I don’t even want to know WHERE you get the skin oil to put into the product. Yuck! Isn’t there something else we could use instead?

The Right Brain responds: What’s the matter Suzie? You don’t like the idea of smearing oil from someone else’s skin all over your body? You’ll never get invited to a party at the Left Brain’s place with THAT kind of attitude.

Another natural ingredient that really works

No worries, though, because there IS another natural anti-itch ingredient that just made science headlines. The latest and greatest magic ingredient is… Ta Da! Green Tea!

Ok, I know what you’re thinking: “Didn’t we already know that green tea is good for us because it’s an antioxidant? This isn’t new news!” You’re right, tea has long been known for its beneficial properties. But researchers at the Medical College of Georgia have just discovered a NEW benefit of green tea – it can soothe the kind of dry, red, flaky skin like you get with dandruff and psoriasis.

What causes dry flaky skin?

Both conditions occur when the mechanism that controls skin cell growth goes crazy. The cells don’t die when they’re supposed to and create lesions on the skin. Green Tea can regulate the expression of a protein known as Caspase-14 that controls the life cycle of a skin cell. When the skin cells die off at the right rate, dandruff disappears.

Where Can I Buy This Magic Tea Treatment?

Slow down, there’s a catch. Actually, there are two catches. One, the active ingredient in green tea has to penetrate the skin to work. Two, the ingredient is very reactive and will oxidize before it ever gets on your skin. So there’s no product on the market right now using this technology. But if cosmetic chemists can figure out how to properly stabilize and deliver the ingredient, we could all be living in a flake free world without Head & Shoulders. Woo-hoo!

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.

Faith is Fearful of Flakes: I would like to know what causes my ears to be dry, flaky and itchy. The inner part of my ear and the part behind the lobe gets so dry I can just peel a layer off. I use lotions and oils, but it comes back. What can I do? The Right Brain reassures her:

Ok, I’m going to catch a lot of heat from the Left Brain on this one because it’s based on my personal experience and not a peer reviewed study, but here’s my answer: Wash your hair with a dandruff shampoo and rub some of the lather in your ears and behind them. I did this and after a couple of days the dryness went away.

Why does this work? Normally, the stratum corneum cells (the upper, dead layer of skin) fall off in pieces so tiny that you don’t even see them. But dandruff messes up the cellular adhesion so the cells stick together and come off in clumps or flakes. (Contrary to what you might think, cellular adhesion does NOT mean you should drive around with your phone stuck to your ear. But I digress…)

Dandruff shampoos control cellular adhesion, they speed up the rate at which the skin cells flake off so you get more microscopic flakes that you can’t see and less big white scaley chunks of skin on your little black dress. If it’s a dandruff like condition that’s causing your ears to feel flaky and itchy, the solution may be as simple as changing your shampoo!

(If want to learn more, go read our post on what to look for in a dandruff shampoo.)

So why, you ask, don’t dandruff shampoos advertise that they’re good for itchy ears? Two reasons, really. First, itching can be caused by other mechanisms that have nothing to do with dandruff. And second, since dandruff shampoos are over the counter drugs they’re only allowed to make claims that have been approved in the drug monograph. So even if they do work on ears, they can’t tell you that.

So there you have it - my unproven, but scientifically sound suggestion. There’s really no downside to trying it, so give it a shot and let me know what you think. In the mean time, bring it on, Left Brain!

Conny tells The Beauty Brains she has a very sensitive scalp with fine hair and suffers from hair loss and dandruff. Dermatologists have advised her to use a clear gel shampoo that has to be clarifying or deep cleansing. So, she’s tried Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo, Suave for Men Deep Cleansing shampoo, Neutrogena Anti-residue shampoo, and Prell Classic original formula. She’s not happy with those choices and is asking us to set her straight.

The Right Brain responds:
While we hate to disagree with dermatologists, we don’t understand why they recommended a deep cleansing shampoo when you have dandruff. Deep cleansing type shampoos will remove the surface flakes, but only a dandruff shampoo can control the cause of flaking and itching. So we’d recommend finding a good dandruff shampoo instead of chasing deep cleaning, clarifying and anti-residue products. This may seem confusing to you because the beauty companies tell you there are SO many different kinds of shampoo. But in reality, every shampoo on the market falls into a few basic categories.

There Are Only 4 Different Shampoo Types In the World

All shampoo can be categorized by their basic functional category. So then why are there eleventy million products on the market, you ask? Because the companies that sell shampoo need to find new ways to talk about their products to keep them sounding new and exciting. There’s nothing wrong with them being creative about their names and claims as long as the companies are honestly depicting what their products can do. But you can be a smarter consumer if you can see beyond the marketing hype and understand the functionality of these 4 basic shampoo types.

1) Deep Cleansing Shampoos

(Also known as Volumizing, Clarifying, Balancing, Oil Control, and Thickening.)

These shampoos are designed to get gunk off your hair and scalp. They typically contain slightly higher levels of detergents so they foam and clean better. They include the examples above as well as salon products like Paul Mitchell Shampoo 2. and Frederic Fekkai’s Full Volume.

2) Conditioning Shampoos

(Aka Moisturizing, 2 in 1, Smoothing, Anti-frizz, Strengthening, Color Care, Straightening, and Hydrating)

This kind of formula is all about leaving a moisturizing agent, like a silicone or Polyquaternium 10, on the hair to smooth it and help straighten hair. It’s very good for dry hair, especially if you color treat or heat style but it can weigh down fine hair. Good examples of this type includes most of the Pantene formulas and some products from the L’Oreal Vive collection and Dove ProCare.

3) Baby Shampoos

(Aka Kids shampoo, and Tear-free)

Johnson’s Baby Shampoo is the classic example but this category also includes Touch Of An Angel and The Little Bath. These are milder, lower foaming surfactant formulas that are designed not to sting or burn your eyes. They’re better for babies but they don’t clean hair as well.

4) Anti-Dandruff Shampoos

(Aka Anti-itch, Flake Control, and Dry Scalp)

Head and Shoulders is the leading dandruff product; other examples include Nizoral and Redken Dandruff Control . These are medicated shampoos that contain a drug ingredient that controls itching and flaking. In the United States these are considered to be Over-the-Counter (OTC) Drugs.

The Brains Bottom Line:
Hopefully, this helps you better understand the marketing hype around shampoo names. We’re not saying that all shampoos are the same, or even that all shampoos in a given category type are the same. There are real performance differences, so it’s important that you shop around and find a product that performs the way you like at a price that you can afford. But just don’t get too hung up on the names the companies use to describe the products. That’s the marketing part of the industry, not the science part.

Maaiki Is Feeling Flakey:
I was wondering what your opinion is of Burt`s Bees Feelin` Flaky shampoo. Looking over the ingredients list, it looks like they did a good job of avoiding skin irritants (except for the tea tree oil), but since it all gets washed off after a few seconds, I don`t know how much good it could do.The ingredients are, Vegetable glycerin, lemon fruit water, sucrose cocoate, decyl polyglucose, willowbark extract, peppermint leaf extract (organic), willow leaf extract, burdock root extract, nettles leaf extract, yucca schidigera extract, cedar leaf oil, tea tree oil, lemon oil, rosemary oil, juniper oil, peppermint oil, xanthan gum (natural thickener), glucose & glucose oxidase & lactoperoxidase.

The Left Brain Gets Indignant:
You’ve discovered one of the shampoo scams that REALLY makes The Beauty Brains mad - false and misleading anti-dandruff claims. Some companies make it APPEAR that their products will control dandruff but they really won’t. The way companies do this may not be strictly illegal, but it certainly is unethical in my opinion. Let’s look at this Burt’s Bees product as an example.

Burt’s Bees Feeling Flaky Shampoo

According to Drugstore.com, the full name of the product is Burt’s Bees Doctor Burt’s Herbal Treatment Shampoo with Cedar Leaf & Juniper Oil. Doctor Burt, huh? I know that the reference is tongue-in-cheek, but that sure sounds medicinal to me! Strike One.

Below the name it describes the shampoo as Feelin’ Flaky? with a question mark. In the context of cleaning hair and scalp, “flaky” is generally the term used to describe a symptom of dandruff. (Itchiness is another symptom.) Hmmm. Strike Two.

And finally the use directions: Wet hair, lather, rinse, then lather and rinse again. Shampoo at least three times a week for maximum effectiveness.” Maximum effectiveness? Again, sounds like they`re promising some kind of sustained effect. If they`re not talking about dandruff, what effectiveness are they talking about? Just getting your hair clean. That`s lame - Strike 3!

While this product, and others like it, don`t overtly claim to control dandruff, they are CERTAINLY making that implication. And that’s the same as lying to consumers.

What’s In A Real Dandruff Shampoo

The truth is, dandruff shampoos contain active ingredients that treat the physiological causes of dandruff. How can you tell if a shampoo is really effective against dandruff? In the US, look for active drug ingredients like Zinc Pyrithione (also known as ZPT.) In Europe and a few other countries, look for Octopyrox on the label. If you don’t see some kind of legitimate active ingredient listed it’s not really an effective dandruff shampoo. Don’t believe everything the cosmetic companies tell you!

The Brains Bottom Line:

You ask “how much good” this product will do for you. Well, it will certainly get your hair clean. The primary surfactants (sucrose cocoate and decyl polyglucose) will see to that. And it won’t dry your scalp out either, those are pretty mild cleansers. But that’s about it. It’s not a medicated shampoo so it won’t help against dandruff.