Nizo­ral is an anti-dandruff sham­poo that con­tains a sub­stance known as keto­cona­zole. This is a syn­thetic anti­fun­gal agent, which stops dan­druff by killing off the fun­gal infec­tion that causes it.

Nizo­ral sham­poo can be effec­tively used twice a week, between reg­u­lar sham­poos with any other brand of hair prod­uct. This makes it an eco­nom­i­cal and easy solu­tion for dan­druff con­trol and it is indeed a very pop­u­lar prod­uct, used by both men and women.

Nizo­ral sham­poo for hair loss

Keto­cona­zole has been sug­gested as a pos­si­ble hair loss cure, mainly in the treat­ment of andro­genic alope­cia in both men and women. A small-scale test was con­ducted in 1998 that showed some promis­ing results when keto­cona­zole was taken orally. How­ever, the FDA con­cluded that fur­ther tests need to be per­formed before Nizo­ral can be deemed an effec­tive hair loss cure.

Keto­cona­zole / Nizo­ral is seen to be poten­tially use­ful as a hair loss treat­ment because it acts as an andro­gen inhibitor, reduc­ing the lev­els of testos­terone in the blood. As exces­sive testos­terone is seen as the cause of this form of alope­cia, it could indeed have a ben­e­fi­cial effect, although in the case of Nizo­ral, the effect has been shown to be quite weak. Used as a sham­poo, keto­cona­zole could per­haps inhibit testos­terone top­i­cally, reduc­ing its effect on the follicles.

Nizo­ral sham­poo for treat­ment of trac­tion alope­cia and thin­ning hair

Nizo­ral is pre­dom­i­nantly an anti-dandruff sham­poo and its direct effects as a hair loss sham­poo are, at least for the moment, unsub­stan­ti­ated. Since trac­tion alope­cia is not caused by an excess of testos­terone, it’s ques­tion­able whether there would be any direct ben­e­fit from the use of Nizo­ral for treat­ment of this par­tic­u­lar form of hair loss. How­ever, there is some evi­dence that dan­druff can con­tribute to hair loss, as the inflam­ma­tion can have a dam­ag­ing effect on the fol­li­cles, which, in the case of trac­tion alope­cia, are already trau­ma­tised. Since Nizo­ral sham­poo is con­sid­ered one of the most effec­tive dan­druff treat­ment sham­poos that can be used in con­junc­tion with other sham­poos, it can be a use­ful addi­tion to a hair loss treat­ment reg­i­men in between washes with a daily or weekly use hair loss shampoo.

Nizo­ral sham­poo is also deemed par­tic­u­larly suit­able for the needs of black women, as it is suit­able for use with chem­i­cally relaxed hair, is gen­tle and only requires two washes a week to be effective.

How to use Nizo­ral shampoo

For dan­druff con­trol, Nizo­ral should be used every 3–4 days for up to 4 weeks. It can be used in between washes with your nor­mal hair loss sham­poo or dur­ing the same wash, after sham­poo­ing with your other cho­sen hair prod­uct. As a hair loss sham­poo for treat­ing andro­genic alope­cia, con­tin­ued weekly use may be effec­tive. The man­u­fac­turer of Nizo­ral rec­om­mends con­sult­ing a health pro­fes­sional if use of the prod­uct for 4 weeks does not result in the clear­ing of dandruff.

The ver­dict

Although Nizo­ral may have some ben­e­fi­cial effect in assist­ing with the pre­ven­tion of hair loss, direct results are not yet sub­stan­ti­ated. How­ever, as an indi­rect treat­ment for hair loss, it can be an effec­tive addi­tion to the treat­ment reg­i­men in order to cover all angles and keep the scalp infec­tion free.