After TikToker Elyse Meyers posted a video about using Head & Shoulders instead of a facial cleanser, many skincare experts jumped in to reveal if there are any benefits to swapping products when you have acne-prone skin.
“There is some truth to the trend, but I would stick to an actual acne cleanser,” Debra Jaliman, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City, told Allure. “Anti-dandruff shampoos have antifungal properties due to the ingredient zinc pyrithione,” she says.
According to the publication, board-certified facial cosmetic and oculoplastic surgeon Tanuj Nakra, MD, agrees. “This trend has taken flight because most dandruff shampoos contain zinc pyrithione, an antifungal, which helps people who have a very specific type of acne from fungal overgrowth. However, as most people with acne actually have the bacterial variety instead of the fungal variety, dandruff shampoos won’t work,” he says. “Worse, the detergents in relatively cheap over-the-counter dandruff shampoos are not made for facial skin and can irritate and dry out the skin.”