Anti-dandruff active ingredients are generally chemical compounds that have shown some effectiveness.

But, long-term use of anti-dandruff shampoo with chemical actives has side effects, such as hair discoloration, dry hair, oily scalp, and scalp sensitivity (Ranganathan and Mukhopadhyay 2010).

Malassezia plays a key role in dandruff formation, there are natural actives such as neem and indigo that have shown significant anti-Malassezia activity (Gaitanis et al, 2019; Gebremedhin et al, 2020).

Dry dandruff

This is the most common type of dandruff that looks like a dry white powder. It does not adhere to the scalp and falls off easily, often seen on the shoulders.

At Melo Ayurveda, we have shown a significant reduction in dry dandruff with our anti-dandruff solid shampoo. However, the product was less effective and caused more dandruff to recur in people with oily dandruff.

Oily dandruff

Oily dandruff is large, yellowish flakes that stick to the scalp and hair.

For oily dandruff, our solid shampoos with indigo active ingredient showed 100% satisfaction among the volunteers tested. The product also reduced itching and redness in those tested.

Conclusion

Natural active ingredients show comparable effectiveness to chemical active ingredients and show a lower frequency of reappearance of dandruff (dry and oily dandruff) without any side effects.