Is using dandruff shampoo as a face cleanser the solution for acne?

Thanks to zinc pyrithione, your anti-dandruff shampoo could be an ally in your fight against acne. But what do the professionals think?

What if your good old bottle of Head & Shoulders was the answer to the little acne pimples that squat your pretty face with impunity? It boasts a Tiktok video released a few weeks ago, which today has more than twelve million views the advantages of anti-dandruff shampoo to purify the skin. But do you have to send your usual facial cleanser to hell? Dermatologists enlighten us.

@elisemyers

Do you ever look at a word for so long that it starts to look like a made-up word? my brain started convincing me that “zinc” was not the correct spelling at the end of editing this. 😂

♬ original sound – Elyse Myers

“Wait a while before you spend a fortune on your skincare products. Buy a bottle of Head & Shoulders and wash your face with it. I have been using a generic of this brand as a cleanser since middle school because a dermatologist told me that the zinc in the formula was great for the skin.

My skin has always been flawless and it’s only since I stopped using multiple high-end products sent for free by brands that I have pimples. I stopped everything three days ago and bought a bottle of anti-dandruff shampoo and my skin is already clearer. Try to see! “

Using a dandruff shampoo to clean your face, a good idea or a bad idea?

That said, the idea seems surprising. Yet it doesn’t come out of nowhere, as the ingredients commonly found in dandruff shampoo formulas can actually have an effect on some types of skin blemishes.

To the magazine rhythmcosmetic formulator Ron Robinson explains:

“Anti-dandruff shampoos are over-the-counter medications typically formulated with two FDA-approved ingredients: zinc pyrithione and selenium sulfide. Both ingredients work on dandruff due to them antifungal and antibacterial properties. If applied to the face, they could help reduce acne breakouts. “

However, if TikTokeuse Elyse Myers swears on her bottle of Head & Shoulders to keep her complexion fair, this advice wouldn’t suit everyone:

“People with folliculitis who have acne may respond well to zinc pyrithione and selenium sulfide because their acne is fungal in nature or has fungal infiltration in the sweat glands,” dermatologist Mobiha Tareen tells our sister. Conversely, this same treatment would not work for acne caused by P.acnes bacteria or other bacterial acne. “

In addition to very rough effectiveness, dandruff shampoos contain washing agents that can be irritating and dehydrating for sensitive facial skin.

Unless you’re sure you have fungal acne (the other little folliculin no), then it’s best to stick to a more classic cleanser. Salicylic acid, glycolic acid, zinc and niacinamide are among the preferred active ingredients for an anti-blemish action.