Photo source: KeyAromaTherapy.com

In the June 2008 issue of Allure magazine, Kristin Sainani reports that researchers at Procter and Gamble have recently cracked the genetic code of the fungus that causes dandruff (all 4285 genes)!   According to Thomas L. Dawson, Jr., a researcher at Procter and Gamble Beauty, “The [fungus] lives on every person’s scalp, [and] eats oil from the scalp and releases by-products that irritate the skin and cause flaking in susceptible individuals.”  This is very exciting news, because understanding the fungus is the key to finding a cure.  In fact, according to the article, current dandruff treatments (like pyrithione zinc in Head and Shoulders) only work because they reduce the number of fungi.  New treatments will actually control the growth of the fungus.  I say, this is dermatology and the beauty business at their best.  Major kudos!  I’ll keep you posted when new treatments are developed from the findings.

About Author

Founder and CEO Nicki Zevola started FutureDerm as a medical (M.D.) student studying to be a dermatologist. She is an award-winning scientific researcher and writer. She currently is concentrating on FutureDerm and developing FutureDerm's one-of-a-kind products. She can be found on Google+ and Twitter.

View all Nicki Zevola posts.

1. 

   IchigoBunnie

   May 18, 2008 at 10:08 am

   whoa that’s good news!! lol I’ll definitely be looking forward to knowing the products to cure dandruff. I need to be completely utterly flake free–I hate it when those white flakes show up on my black hair–embarrassing!!!!

   hopefully they’ll come out with products quickly AND have them super affordable cuz i can’t be chucking out a lotta money for shampoo/conditioner ;.;

2. 

   Neumed

   May 18, 2008 at 7:00 pm

   Hi, just found your blog via the Derm Blog. Nice mix of articles including some that even us guys can learn something from. Don’t anticipate using lip gloss any time soon, but you never know.

   I’m going to come back later when I’ve got more time and read some of your older posts. (Should be studying neuro right this moment, but I get so bored with it.)

   Feel free to drop by my blog sometime and say hello.

3. 

   Elizabeth

   May 21, 2008 at 3:53 am

   My head feels all funny by reading this LOL.

4. 

   Joyce

   June 16, 2008 at 3:25 am

   Great news! I always use dandruff shampoos just to be sure. Good thing that scientists are getting to the bottom of this problem. I like the animation.

5. 

   Tom

   November 12, 2008 at 12:18 pm

   Thanks for the feedback. LMK if you have further questons. Tom Dawson, the P&G researcher named above.

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.