I started getting dandruff in my late 20’s. I’m 36 now. At first it wasn’t bad and then it got noticeable to the point I was embarrassed. For reference I have really dark brown hair, thick and very long. I had literally tried every kind of dandruff shampoo and conditioner from stores to online to salon recommended. From $5 bottles to $35 plus. The only way they would remotely work is if I used them daily, but by the end of the day or next morning, I’d have the ugly white flaking or white piece stuck in the middle of a strand of hair. If I went two days without using them, it would be enough to notice even with my hair in a bun And headband. And I usually wash my hair every 3-4 days because I never needed to wash it daily.
I randomly searched on Amazon again about a month or two ago for dandruff shampoo because now it was getting itchy and I was so upset every day to see my hair. I found this product with high reviews, Nizoral. I said to myself, I’m desperate and I’ll try anything. I purchased it. When I first went to use it, it was super blue and I wasn’t sure how it would leave my hair, but I scrubbed it all around my scalp, only one wash. Then I used my normal conditioner, Nexxus, not any kind of anti dandruff conditioner (because I have those too). I wanted to see what the Nizoral would do without also having to use an anti dandruff conditioner. And for another reference (there’s a lot of these), I first used it after not washing my hair for about 3-4 days, with only using dry shampoo in between. I got out of the shower and didn’t see white flakes. I let my hair dry naturally as I wasn’t going anywhere and drying it is a 30-40 minute process which I don’t like doing lol. But I love my long hair; it’s a love/hate relationship.
Anyways, back to this magical shampoo, I woke up the next morning and no flakes, no white stuck in strands of my hair, no grossness falling out of my hair onto my sink or clothing when I ran my hands through my hair or brushed it, nothing! I was so excited, but hesitant because I said let’s give this the day test. Checked back at night, nothing. Checked the next morning, nothing. I went 4 days without one single flake before my head was a little itchy because of just needing to be washed.
I repeated the Nizoral shampoo with my normal conditioner again, and same thing. Days and no flakes or itching. I literally cried I was so happy and couldn’t believe the type of sorcery this product had bestowed upon my head.
I am now on month 2 or 3 I think, and I use this once a week with my regular conditioner and the dandruff is just gone. And that is days in between without washing my hair. It also doesn’t make my hair dry or feel gunky or anything. My hair is always soft and smells nice. I was worried something like this would give off a weird medicated kind of smell, but not at all!
If you have dandruff and nothing has worked or your tired of having to use something every day in order for it to work, just stop and buy this. It’s not even that expensive and I have had two months of use from ONE bottle; again with that reference, I have hair down to my bum that takes 40 fricken minutes to dry with a blow dryer because it’s so thick.
Hands down I would literally promote this shampoo anywhere, even though my dandruff has been a really embarrassing condition for me. I wish I had before and after photos, but my dandruff was pretty much gone after the first use. So I couldn’t even get a before picture now and it hasn’t come back.
Seriously, if you made it this far, Just buy it!

** Also, quick footnote, I do shower daily. I just don’t wash my hair every day. It goes up in a tight bun on my hair days off in the shower, which usually will stay up the rest of the day because I work from home and between being a single Mom getting a 7 year old up and ready for school and morning chores and then working for 10-12 hours, I’m too lazy to style my hair. Now, I do use a normal dry shampoo in between hair washes. But I had that routine before I bought this product, so I know 100% the only reason my dandruff is gone is because of the Nizoral shampoo.

*** Second footnote, I’m not being paid to write this nor was this some kind of promotional item I got to use to write about. I’m just that impressed and so happy with the results and I know there has to be someone else out there that is going through that struggle I did and I just want that person to feel the happiness I do right now.

**** This is the longest review I’ve ever written in my life.

Back Story:

So about 2 years ago, I started getting dry skin around my mouth, nose, eyebrows, and occasionally my ears and cheeks. It was pretty mild, so I never went to a dermatologist. However, before this time, never did I have to lotion my skin regularly, so this was a change for me.

When this started happening, I used Aquaphor Healing Ointment (Advanced Therapy), and while it made me look greasy or like I was sweating for a couple hours, lol, it wore off enough, and would leave me looking normal the rest of the day. The only time my skin was really irritated was right after I would shave. However, dryness/peeling would get real bad if I did not at least lotion all those areas of my face after I showered. While I did some minor Googling about the issue, I was clearly too lazy to do anything about it, and the lotion solution sufficed for me. Dumb, I know.

Anyways, fast forward to about 1.5 months ago. I started to notice a white growth under my left thumbnail that started to detach my nail from my nail bed. For some reason, this concerned me more than the dry skin on my face. So after Googling again, I found ti could be a problem with yeast growth under my nail. Then, I remembered reading that yeast growth could be causing my face problems. After connecting the dots, I decided to find a possible solution, to possibly kill two birds with one stone.

After some searching, I stumbled onto Nizoral. After reading all the reviews, I was encouraged. I purchased this product and it has helped me tremendously. I could not be happier. It says to use it only every 3-4 days, which I say you should stick to, because I would use it on back to back days and it would seem to dry my skin out, but that could have been in my head.

My Use:

So, I know this is shampoo, but I almost treat it like liquid soap. I rub it on my skin/scalp and leave it there for 3-5 minutes. For my fingernail, I would lift it, since there was a gap and the nail was coming up. I put Nizarol directly in the ever so small opening between the nail and nail bed, and left it for 3-5 minutes. I am not sure if that was smart for the fingernail, but it worked for me.

Results:

TLDR: It worked everywhere, lol.

Mouth/Upper Lip: This area was the worst of my dry skin issues. Like said, it was especially bad after shaving. Sometimes, my skin would be patchy red and inflamed after shaving, especially on the top of my chin and right below my lip. It would look gross for like an hour. In addition, when I did not shave, but did not lotion my skin, this area would eventually get pretty flaky before the end of the day. I also had issues with the corners of my mouth, especially after eating. My upper lip generally did not have any issues, but sometimes I would in very cold/dry weather.

So, after using this product, I have seen a great deal of improvement. For the first time in almost 2 years, I do not have to lotion my face every single day. The patch below my lip still is not where I want it to be, but it is very much better. My skin feels dry after a shave, but now it does not look red or inflamed. It is getting better, and I think it will continue to get better. The corners of my mouth have issues if I do not lotion for 2 days or so, but they are much more minor to what they used to be. The minor issue above my lip is currently non-existent, however, we have not had any cold weather yet. This was the most noticeable problem I had with my dry/flaky/peeling skin, and I am happy to say, Nizarol has worked wonders. I now can use regular lotion instead of Aquaphor, which I still adore.

Eyebrows: This was my second worse area, and I say eyebrows, but it was actually the area in between my eyebrows would flake worse than my eyebrows. I rub Nizarol into my eyebrows, in between them, and around my eye sockets. Nizarol has pretty much cleared up this issue, and I am thrilled Nizarol has basically eliminated the second worst dry area on my face. If I do not use lotion for several days, it does flake, but in a very minor way. Side note: be careful around your eyes, it burns pretty good if you get the shampoo runoff in your eye, lol.

Nose/Nostrils: This was my third worst area. I would have dry skin on the sides of my nose, the point of my nose, and even on the inside of my nostrils! First off, putting Nizarol in your nostrils may not be safe. If you do do it, don’t huff the Nizarol when it is in your nostrils, breath through your mouth. My nose area has improved, but is now more of an issue than my eyebrows. Still it is much better, and I can go a couple days without using lotion. It is also more of the inside of the nostrils than the outside of my nose. I think if I were willing to put Nizarol further up my nose than just the inside rim, I could eliminate the problem. But, at what cost? Lol. I don’t want to ingest this stuff, lol. Either way, I am still happy!

Head/Scalp: I have never had much of an issue with my scalp other than minor dandruff, for which I have always used Head & Shoulders. Despite this, I use this shampoo, as intended. I can not honestly tell if it is making any difference. Also, I have very short hair, so I cannot tell if this makes my hair coarse like everyone else says. If it does, I would use a conditioner like other reviews suggest.

Ears/Earlobes: So, while it was more rare, but sometimes, my ear lobes and the bottom crease where the ear connected to my face would get dry and flake. I rub Nizarol on my ears, on the inside of my ears, and behind my ears/ear lobes. I have zero issues here now and never have to lotion this area any more.

Forehead/Cheek Areas:These were not really problem areas unless it was cold/dry/windy. We have not had that type of weather, but I really do not think it will be a problem.

Pelvic Area: I know this is a touchy subject, lol, but what I have to say is tame and could help some people. So several months back, something new happened, I noticed my pelvic area was dry as well, after using clippers. I used Nizarol in the creases of my leg, and in in my pelvic area, including directly on my —–. Results? Well, this has virtually eliminated the dry skin everywhere. Even better, I am chaffing less when running, which is awesome! I figured Nizarol was working everywhere else, so what the hell? Luckily for me, this was another minor issue it helped.

Fingernail: Getting back to my fingernail, I had this white chalky/flaky formation under my fingernail. It had got to almost halfway down my thumbnail. It was causing my nail to lift. It did not hurt, but I thought it was unsightly. So I lifted the nail and put Nizarol in there. Again, possibly not safe, but a couple weeks in and my nail is almost back to normal. I eventually started cutting deeper into my nail to get the Nizarol farther back, which has worked. My nail almost looks normal and it looks like it is pushing the last of white to the font of my nail. So the growth stopped moving backward and it has improved. Another win!

Others Uses?: As you can tell, I pretty much use this stuff all over. I put it on my elbows, the knuckles of my toes, and the point of my ankle bone. I think it is helping, but I am not 100% sure. What I can tell you is that it seems that it seems easier to get the dry skin off after applying the shampoo. A pedicure is on the docket and if I remember, I will update this review.

Conclusion:

Nizarol has worked way better than I could have hoped, and I did not even have to go to the dermatologist. I am hoping within a couple months, my skin will go back to normal. I am not sure if that will happen, but I love what Nizarol has done for me. I encourage anyone that has some of the issues I had to give it a try. Again, my issues were mild compared to some of the pictures I have seen, but I imagine if you are struggling with mild to intermediate issues, and you have not gone to a dermatologist, this could help you.
I hope all this helps! Good luck!

****Update: 7/25/2017***

Fingernails: Nizoral completely fixed my nail problem!

Face: So, when I first started using this product, I saw quite a bit of improvement. I no longer have red patches anywhere on my face. The only issue is that there have been diminishing returns. Nizarol has helped tremendously, but I still have dryness and dead skin issues. It is much more mild now, but still exists, however, I am grateful for the continued results.

Scalp: Lol, I still cannot tell if this is helping or not. I still have minor dandruff. Nizarol has had no effect on my scalp as far as I can tell. Not a big deal for me though…

1. Pre-shampoo scalp treatment

Nizoral Pre-Shampoo Scalp… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B8T4R6V2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

2. Shampoo

Nizoral Anti-Dandruff Shampoo… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AINMFAC?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

3. Scalp brush

ecoed Scalp Massager Shampoo… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ6SWP4D?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I used all these together then I got out of the shower and dried my hair. After one use my dandruff was cured. When I say cured I mean CURED. Like 100% effective. I wore a black t shirt to test it out. No flakes. I even used these products on my beard and my beard dandruff was gone. I have continued to use these as directed (once a week for the pre-shampoo, 4 times a week for the shampoo) and I make sure to get a good scrub with both using the brush. I don’t know if any one of these single items alone would do the trick but all together they are a triple whammy. I am leaving this same review on each of the products so hopefully whoever reads this review can replicate my success.

PRO:
Love the smell! Smells amazing and not “medicine like”. It really makes your hair feel clean and fresh. It also has active Ketoconazole which is an antifungle that treats a variety of superficial skin diseases.

CON:
Not the cheapest on the market. If you are worried about sulfates, this shampoo has Sodium Laureth Sulfate. If you are sensitive to fragrance it does have that as well but not an overwhelming amount and it also has artificial dyes.

I’m really happy that I feel like I have finally found the product that works for me. I have had chronic dandruff/itchy scalp *for years*. I used Head & Shoulders Clinical Strength for about a year, then Neutrogena T-Gel for the past year.

T-Gel worked for the first few months but I started to get concerned about a month ago when I realized my scalp was getting oilier/itchier between washes more quickly. I also felt like I was drawing a connection between my hair thinning in parts of my scalp, increased hair falling out, with the T-Gel. I’ve been concerned with how much hair has been falling out for months, every time I shower and brush my hair.

I did some research and found that dandruff can be caused by a yeast on the scalp. This specific shampoo has an active ingredient that seeks to kill that yeast. I believe this is similar to the Head & Shoulders Clinical Strength, but uses a different active ingredient.

Positive impacts of this shampoo:
– I have been using it for just 2 weeks and I am already seeing an improvement in the hair thinning/falling out. I have had *significantly* less hair falling out.
– The itchiness is completely gone. I feel like the active ingredient is indeed targeting the yeast that causes the dandruff and is perhaps killing it (as it is formulated to do).
– My hair is so shiny! It looks healthy, and my hair feels really clean. The Head & Shoulders dandruff shampoo always left a residue on my hair that made it hard to feel fully “clean”. I love the way my scalp feels after a wash with this shampoo.

Something that I am curious to see if it improves – my scalp is still very dry and flaky. It is not itchy, so I don’t have dandruff falling out of my hair, but when I pull my roots apart and look at my scalp, it is still very scaly and full of dead skin. I am not sure if this is because of the shampoo or because the yeast is dying and my skin is recovering. I purchased a scalp massager to help with this, and so am hoping to see improvements.

Within a couple weeks of using this, my dandruff was gone. Like gone, gone. Not just reduced. Gone gone. I was able to cut back to using just once week, and use ANY hair products I wanted to in between. Gradually, I was able to pretty much stop using it entirely. But now and then, especially because I never dry my hair anymore, it comes back. But I’m able to quickly get control of it with this. I’ve occasionally had to throw out the very end of a bottle as it passed expiry date before I used it up, and the consistency/effectiveness does seem to be effected as it gets old, but that’s how little I need it anymore.

The smell is ok, normal shampoo smell. Maybe a little harsh on hair color, but not crazy. It’s definitely not as harsh as other dandruff shampoos. And who cares? Use a good salon conditioner afterward it’s like it never happened. And soon enough, you won’t need it all the time. You can just hide it in the back of your shower.

Just stop wasting your life struggling. Stop trying to pretend it’s just a dry scalp or product build up. Stop struggling with tea tree oil shampoos. Stop being a slave to drying yucky cheap unisex drugstore shampoo that barely helps. Use this stuff, get it under control, move on with your life.