Prescription Shampoo Works Better on Hair Than in Closet

I don’t know how long I’ve had the bottle of ketoconazole 2% shampoo laying around, but I know one thing for certain: It isn’t going to be useful unopened.

Prescription shampoo for my dry flaky scalp

One of my dermatologists prescribed it quite some time ago to treat flaky areas on my scalp. But there was something about putting an antifungal in my hair that didn’t appeal to me. Then I caught myself scratching my head and putting my fingernail under one of those flaky spots and pulling at it. Obviously that was not a good thing to do. It’s also not the first time I’ve done it. I thought it might be time to try the shampoo.

The scalp picking is similar to the skin picking that I’ve confessed to doing. My dermatologist said she got it. “It’s annoying,” she said. Still, that wasn’t the same as telling me to do it. Tonight when I wash my hair, I’m determined to use the shampoo. But it sounds like a pain. You’re supposed to leave it on for five minutes. I guess I could put it on first thing and then wash it out.

I guess that is more doable than the deep conditioner I used once. I can’t remember how long it had to stay in, but it was long enough to have to get out of the shower and then go back in. The deep conditioner is supposed to be good for your hair. But I didn’t have the patience.

The shampoo has a variety of uses

I had to laugh at the definition of the generic version of the shampoo, Nizoral, on the website RxList. I know what the writer was trying to say, but it came across in a funny way.

The definition reads, “Nizoral (ketoconazole) 2% Shampoo is an antifungal medication used to treat fungal infections of the skin such as athlete's foot, jock itch, ringworm, and seborrhea (dry, flaking skin). Nizoral is available as a cream, gel, and shampoo. Nizoral shampoo is used for the treatment of dandruff."¹

Words matter for patients

So, dear copywriter, were you actually suggesting that people shampoo their athlete’s foot, jock itch, and ringworm? Perhaps the writer could have separated it out into two sections: The Nizoral shampoo for the hair, and the cream and gel for the rest. I guess this is what you get from having worked for a newspaper. You just notice every silly grammatical error or structure, such as this one, that doesn’t make sense.

Don’t get me started on “free gift.” Free gifts are all over the place. Hello! What is a gift if not free? How about simply offering gifts?

The shampoo was a pleasant surprise

In any case, back to the shampoo, I realized it was silly to hesitate about putting a chemical on my hair. I colored my hair for many years. That was definitely putting chemicals in it. (I stopped coloring it after chemotherapy gave me better hair). Still, I wasn’t sure what a medicinal chemical would do.

I took the plunge and decided to find out. I shampooed with the Nizoral. Guess what? It made my scalp feel better. My hair was shiny. So my worry had been for nothing. I’ll probably use it intermittently from now on. It definitely works better in my hair than sitting in my cabinet.