With half of the population likely to suffer from dandruff or its more severe form, seborrheic dermatitis at some point in their lives, the British Skin Foundation set out to pinpoint specific anxieties triggered by the common scalp condition.
Of the 350 people surveyed, 65% were found to suffer from dandruff.
In fact, 72% of respondents revealed that they had tried to hide their condition from someone in the past; citing friends, partners, potential partners and even employees.
According to Dr Alex Clarke, professor of appearance and clinical psychology at the University of the West of England; "Being confident in your appearance can be one of the key drivers of positive self-esteem, and feeling embarrassed or self-conscious about how you look can limit your willingness to participate in normal social activities and live life to the full."
Survey results underlines P&G's research in the area
The results of the survey comes at a time where Procter & Gamble is preparing to present new data on dandruff at the 23rd World Congress of Dermatology.
There, the personal care giant plans to show that lifetime protection from the scalp condition is possible with regular use of its hair care brand, Head and Shoulders.
In recent years, P&G has demonstrated the role that oxidative stress from environmental ‘stressors’ such as heat, sweat, and pollution play in amplifying scalp surface stress and dandruff aetiology.
The company has relied on the very latest technologies and thorough clinical testing to ensure Head & Shoulders has stayed ahead of the game.
CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com recently spoke to Dr. James Schwartz, a research fellow in the beauty & grooming division about the work his team has been doing to improve the hair care brand.
Schwartz points out that their focus has been on enhancing the ZPT-based formulation.
“We mapped the dandruff genome about 8 years ago, which gave us more insight into the condition that any other specialists in the field and enabled us to stay ahead of the competition,” he told this publication.
“ZPT will remain at the very forefront of dandruff hair care treatment, mainly because it is so effective at treating the fungus that causes the condition, but also because the regulatory world makes it very difficult to introduce new ingredients for this kind of treatment,” Schwartz adds.