Vanicream Anti-Dandruff Shampoo 8oz

This shampoo was recommended by my dermatologist and I wouldn’t use any other product

I was told I had psoriasis on my leg. LOL. I was given clobetasol and calcipotrene for it. After six months, no change. At. All. I knew it wasn't psoriasis, but I'm not a doctor, so I did what he told me to do. After doing a ton of research and looking at thousands of photos, I realized it was a fungal issue. (There was one photo that looked like I had taken a picture of my own leg)! So I started trying everything over the counter to deal with it. I decided to go with this option first because it is unscented and not expensive. Pyrithione zinc is used for dandruff, but also can be effective for fungal infections and folliculitis. Well, long story short, it is working albeit slowly. The lesions on my leg are changing for the better. They are getting smaller and there is much less irritation within the hair follicles. I use this before bathing. I slather is on all of the areas and then let it sit for five minutes, then I hop in the shower and wash it off. I follow up with urea and then Vaseline while my skin is still moist. I am hoping it will be a lot better after several more weeks. I will start using it every day once I determine that it won't irritate the area.I was gonna try Nizoral, but the fragrance is a deal breaker for me. I wish I could find an unscented version because ketoconazole works quite well on fungal infections. And yes, I tried the pads for dogs and cats, but the fragrance and methylisothiazolinone broke me out and I had to return the item.I am going to add in some benzoyl peroxide for good measure because most fungal infections don't become resistant to benzoyl peroxide. I purchased that item from Paula's Choice btw. Her benzoyl peroxide formulation is pretty great.I didn't use this on my scalp. Yet. But it seems like it wouldn't dry out your scalp or cause issues if used as directed. You'll need a moisturizing conditioner after using this on your hair for sure. And it also might cause fading if you dye your hair.

In a nutshell, this product works as advertised to make the hair and scalp soft, soothed, and flake-free. It has almost no scent and should be friendly for any type of skin or hair needs due to its very gentle formula free from common irritants. My main gripe is that this bottle is only 8 oz, and it tends to be more expensive than the 12 oz bottle of 'regular' Free and Clear shampoo. A double-edged sword of this shampoo is that precisely BECAUSE it doesn't contain potentially irritating compounds found in 'normal' shampoos, it doesn't foam up well, and I find I have to use more than I anticipated. I have long hair and I am going to go through this bottle in a small number of shampoos, so I wish it came in a larger size that was also more cost efficient.Two things I noticed upon my first time using it:* This is NOT a tearless shampoo despite its gentle formulation. I got some in my eyes and it stung real bad.* After first rinse, my scalp was MORE flaky than when I started. I was initially outraged and thought this product was a bust. Once I shampooed again a few days later, the flakes were all gone and remained gone, and I was comforted that it actually worked. I think it was just dislodging all the residue that was on my scalp and setting it free.A little more about my overall experience with these types of shampoos in case it helps others - I have a contact dermatitis allergy to CAPB, a common foaming/sudsing agent that is in literally every commercial shampoo, so the options I have are very limited. I also have eczema where my skin can be sensitive and flare up bad if exposed to something it does not like. I have been familiar with many of the Vanicream / Free and Clear products for years due to my skin's needs, and I had been using the other type of Free and Clear shampoo off and on, but I didn't really like that it made my hair feel kind of like straw. I had switched to using Dr. Bronner's multipurpose soap/cleanser/shampoo because I liked the scents, but I found that it was giving me flaky scalp and my head would get horribly itchy about 2-3 days after shampooing. So I tried this one, and I will keep using it because it works, but I will still grumble a bit about the price.In comparing this to the other Free and Clear shampoo, this one actually seems to make my hair feel a little softer. I do also use the Vanicream conditioner after, and then I spray a leave-in conditioner in and comb my hair really well to get all the snarls out. I wash my hair about every 5 days and this shampoo also does seem to help make my hair shinier, more bouncy, and less greasy.