title: Comparative anti-dandruff efficacy between a tar and a non-tar shampoo.
abstract: A randomized double-blind clinical study was conducted on two groups of 30 volunteers using either a non-tar shampoo (2% salicylic acid, 0.75% piroctone olamine and 0.5% elubiol) or a 0.5% coal tar shampoo. Subjects were diagnosed as having moderate to marked dandruff. The study consisted of a 3-week washout, followed by a 4-week treatment and a 4-week posttreatment regression phase. The clinical evaluations and subject self-assessments showed that the non-tar shampoo was as effective as the tar shampoo. Both received high approval ratings (> or =70%). Biometrological methods proved to be more sensitive than clinical evaluations to assess the efficacy of the shampoos. The non-tar shampoo yielded a significantly better reduction of Malassezia spp. counts (p<0.02) during the treatment phase and reduced the spontaneous increase in squamometry values (p< 0.01) during the posttreatment phase. It is concluded that a formulation associating salicylic acid, piroctone olamine and elubiol exhibited increased beneficial effects compared to the coal tar shampoo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatopathology, University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piérard-Franchimont
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Piérard
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vroome
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Appa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003033:Coal Tar / Q000032:analysis*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006203:Hair Preparations / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007641:Keratolytic Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D008290:Malassezia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D012536:Scalp Dermatoses / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D006203:Hair Preparations; D007641:Keratolytic Agents; D003033:Coal Tar