Dandruff

There can be multiple causes of dandruff: too much oil, skin that is too dry, a yeast infection from a fungus called Malassezia, or a sensitive reaction to harsh hair product ingredients. Tea tree oil maybe effective in reducing dandruff; more human research is necessary.  Coconut oil may help with dryness and apple cider vinegar may help restore pH.

Recipes for Dandruff

Tea Tree Dandruff Recipe

Blog Articles

RESEARCH

The listings of research below represent a compilation of scientific articles found on the topic, with a very brief overview description of each article/study.  This compilation of research articles does not necessarily imply that there are adequate results to demonstrate safe and/or effective human use of any herb listed.

GENERAL

• Bazemore, J. (2016). Making Natural Hair Care Products-A Beginner’s Guide. Lulu. com.

BLACK PEPPER

• A hair gel including black pepper, hibiscus, and jujube leaf extracts was developed to promote growth, condition the hair, and reduce dandruff. Piper nigrum is often used in Ayurvedic medicine to stimulate hair growth. It showed promising results in vitro, and had no adverse affects of the scalps of five volunteers. More research is needed. From: Goswami, A., Mathur, K., Yadav, P., Jain, R., & Malviya, N. (2019). Fabrication and Evaluation of Herbal Hair Gel containing Zizipus jujuba, Hibiscus and Piper nigrum. Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics, 9(2-A), 68-71.

CHAMOMILE

• An herbal shampoo blend of alcohol extracts from Punica granatum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Matricaria chamomilla, Urtica dioica, Mentha piperita, and Salvia officinalis with Pirocton Olamine and Zinc-PCA were tested on 30 dandruff patients for two months. Significant reduction in dandruff resulted.  From:  Sahraie-Rad, M., Izadyari, A., Rakizadeh, S., & Sharifi-Rad, J. (2015). Preparation of strong antidandruff shampoo using medicinal plant extracts: a clinical trial and chronic dandruff treatment. Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products, 10(4), e21517.

COCONUT OIL

• In an 8 week study with 44 females, a product containing coconut oil helped reduce hair fall out, dandruff, and improve conditioning of hair. From: Kura, M. M., Gupta, A., Srivastava, R., & Luthra, S. K. (2017). A randomized double blind controlled study evaluating efficacy & Safety of vatika enriched coconut hair oil on hair health in women with hair fall and dandruff. Ancient Science of Life, 37(1), 45.

HIBISCUS

• A hair gel including black pepper, hibiscus, and jujube leaf extracts was developed to promote growth, condition the hair, and reduce dandruff. Piper nigrum is often used in Ayurvedic medicine to stimulate hair growth. It showed promising results in vitro, and had no adverse affects of the scalps of five volunteers. More research is needed. From: Goswami, A., Mathur, K., Yadav, P., Jain, R., & Malviya, N. (2019). Fabrication and Evaluation of Herbal Hair Gel containing Zizipus jujuba, Hibiscus and Piper nigrum. Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics, 9(2-A), 68-71.

JASMINE

• Jasminum sambac showed in vitro action against the fungus: Malassezia, and may be helpful against associated skin infections. From:  Santhanam, J., Ghani, A., Nadiah, F., & Basri, D. F. (2014). Antifungal activity of Jasminum sambac against Malassezia sp. and non-Malassezia sp. isolated from human skin samples. Journal of Mycology, 2014.

LAVENDER

• Oregano, spearmint, lavender, and sage essential oils and the constituents of carvacrol and thymol exhibited antifungal properties against the human pathogens Malassezia furfur, Trichophyton rubrum, and Trichosporon beigelii. From:  Adam, K., Sivropoulou, A., Kokkini, S., Lanaras, T., & Arsenakis, M. (1998). Antifungal activities of Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum, Mentha spicata, Lavandula angustifolia, and Salvia fruticosa essential oils against human pathogenic fungi. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 46(5), 1739-1745.

LEMON

• Lemon essential oil was effective in vitro against a variety of human dermal fungi.  From: Jain, N., & Sharma, M. (2017). Evaluation of Citrus lemon Essential Oil for its Chemical and Biological Properties Against Fungi Causing Dermatophytic Infection in Human Beings. Analytical Chemistry Letters, 7(3), 402-409.

LEMONGRASS

• In a study with 30 participants with dandruff, a hair product with 10% lemongrass oil used for 14 days reduced dandruff significantly.  From:  Chaisripipat, W., Lourith, N., & Kanlayavattanakul, M. (2015). Anti-dandruff hair tonic containing lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) oil. Complementary Medicine Research, 22(4), 226-229.

NETTLE

• An herbal shampoo blend of alcohol extracts from Punica granatum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Matricaria chamomilla, Urtica dioica, Mentha piperita, and Salvia officinalis with Pirocton Olamine and Zinc-PCA were tested on 30 dandruff patients for two months. Significant reduction in dandruff resulted.  From:  Sahraie-Rad, M., Izadyari, A., Rakizadeh, S., & Sharifi-Rad, J. (2015). Preparation of strong antidandruff shampoo using medicinal plant extracts: a clinical trial and chronic dandruff treatment. Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products, 10(4), e21517.

OREGANO

• Oregano, spearmint, lavender, and sage essential oils and the constituents of carvacrol and thymol exhibited antifungal properties against the human pathogens Malassezia furfur, Trichophyton rubrum, and Trichosporon beigelii. From:  Adam, K., Sivropoulou, A., Kokkini, S., Lanaras, T., & Arsenakis, M. (1998). Antifungal activities of Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum, Mentha spicata, Lavandula angustifolia, and Salvia fruticosa essential oils against human pathogenic fungi. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 46(5), 1739-1745.

PEPPERMINT

• An herbal shampoo blend of alcohol extracts from Punica granatum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Matricaria chamomilla, Urtica dioica, Mentha piperita, and Salvia officinalis with Pirocton Olamine and Zinc-PCA were tested on 30 dandruff patients for two months. Significant reduction in dandruff resulted.  From:  Sahraie-Rad, M., Izadyari, A., Rakizadeh, S., & Sharifi-Rad, J. (2015). Preparation of strong antidandruff shampoo using medicinal plant extracts: a clinical trial and chronic dandruff treatment. Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products, 10(4), e21517.

POMEGRANATE

• An herbal shampoo blend of alcohol extracts from Punica granatum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Matricaria chamomilla, Urtica dioica, Mentha piperita, and Salvia officinalis with Pirocton Olamine and Zinc-PCA were tested on 30 dandruff patients for two months. Significant reduction in dandruff resulted.  From:  Sahraie-Rad, M., Izadyari, A., Rakizadeh, S., & Sharifi-Rad, J. (2015). Preparation of strong antidandruff shampoo using medicinal plant extracts: a clinical trial and chronic dandruff treatment. Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products, 10(4), e21517.

ROSEMARY

• An herbal shampoo blend of alcohol extracts from Punica granatum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Matricaria chamomilla, Urtica dioica, Mentha piperita, and Salvia officinalis with Pirocton Olamine and Zinc-PCA were tested on 30 dandruff patients for two months. Significant reduction in dandruff resulted.  From:  Sahraie-Rad, M., Izadyari, A., Rakizadeh, S., & Sharifi-Rad, J. (2015). Preparation of strong antidandruff shampoo using medicinal plant extracts: a clinical trial and chronic dandruff treatment. Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products, 10(4), e21517

SAGE

• Oregano, spearmint, lavender, and sage essential oils and the constituents of carvacrol and thymol exhibited antifungal properties against the human pathogens Malassezia furfur, Trichophyton rubrum, and Trichosporon beigelii. From:  Adam, K., Sivropoulou, A., Kokkini, S., Lanaras, T., & Arsenakis, M. (1998). Antifungal activities of Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum, Mentha spicata, Lavandula angustifolia, and Salvia fruticosa essential oils against human pathogenic fungi. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 46(5), 1739-1745.
• An herbal shampoo blend of alcohol extracts from Punica granatum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Matricaria chamomilla, Urtica dioica, Mentha piperita, and Salvia officinalis with Pirocton Olamine and Zinc-PCA were tested on 30 dandruff patients for two months. Significant reduction in dandruff resulted.  From:  Sahraie-Rad, M., Izadyari, A., Rakizadeh, S., & Sharifi-Rad, J. (2015). Preparation of strong antidandruff shampoo using medicinal plant extracts: a clinical trial and chronic dandruff treatment. Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products, 10(4), e21517.

SPEARMINT

• Oregano, spearmint, lavender, and sage essential oils and the constituents of carvacrol and thymol exhibited antifungal properties against the human pathogens Malassezia furfur, Trichophyton rubrum, and Trichosporon beigelii. From:  Adam, K., Sivropoulou, A., Kokkini, S., Lanaras, T., & Arsenakis, M. (1998). Antifungal activities of Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum, Mentha spicata, Lavandula angustifolia, and Salvia fruticosa essential oils against human pathogenic fungi. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 46(5), 1739-1745.

TEA TREE

• In a randomized study of 120 patients with mild to moderate dandruff, a 5% tea tree oil shampoo used daily for 4 weeks significantly reduced dandruff with no adverse side effects.  From: Satchell, A. C., Saurajen, A., Bell, C., & Barnetson, R. S. (2002). Treatment of dandruff with 5% tea tree oil shampoo. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 47(6), 852-855.
• Antimicrobial activity of tea tree oil against Malassezia species was assessed. From:  Hammer, K. A., Carson, C. F., & Riley, T. V. (2000). In vitro activities of ketoconazole, econazole, miconazole, and Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil against Malassezia species. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 44(2), 467-469.
• Tea tree oil was effective against human candida species in vitro.  From: Mandras, N., Scalas, D., Roana, J., Banche, G., D’Amico, F., Allizond, V., … & Tullio, V. (2017). Comparative effect of tea tree oil and anidulafungin on human polymorphonuclear leukocytes functions against Candida krusei. In 45° Congresso nazionale della Società Italiana di Microbiologia(pp. 119-119). Società Italiana di Microbiologia (SIM).
• Tea tree was effective in vitro against dandruff fungi.  From: Naveen, S., Karthika, S., Sentila, R., Mahenthiran, R., & Michael, A. (2017). In-vitro evaluation of herbal and chemical agents in the management of dandruff. Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology Research, 2(6), 916-921.
• This article provided a thorough review of medicinal uses of tea tree oil.  Carson, C. F., Hammer, K. A., & Riley, T. V. (2006). Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil: a review of antimicrobial and other medicinal properties. Clinical microbiology reviews, 19(1), 50-62.

Compiled by: Kathy Sadowski

Updated: 11/14/2020