Head & Shoulders has recently launched a new range of Moisturising Scalp Care shampoo products, alternatively known as the Save our Scalps (SOS) range, and we were lucky enough to have a chat with two of the experts who worked on the new shampoo that promises to deliver healthy scalp in the worst climate conditions without messing up your locks.

Last night, we spent a good 24 minutes with P&G Ambassador and celebrity hairdresser Ben Skervin, who has worked with names like Ricky Martin, Sienna Miller, Madonna, Mariah Carey, and the Olsen Twins, and cosmetic product scientist Dr. Rene Rust, who works with P&G’s Beauty and Grooming division.

We get down to the bottom of facing dandruff and the elements that cause it, and learn a few things about maintaining healthy scalp to achieve beautiful hair without any compromise.

Can you tell us more about the new Save Our Scalps range?

The new range of products has been designed to address the most common scalp needs of consumers around the world. As you know, Head & Shoulders has been around for 50 odd years, and essentially, we have always focused on the scalp care benefits of our products. But now, we’ve got the best efficacy we’ve ever had over the history of the brand.

At the same time, we’ve integrated a number of hair care benefits. I think that really is the big breakthrough that Head & Shoulders ^[2] has achieved, because we’ve stepped away from just giving scalp care benefits to giving great hair care benefits as well.

This essentially means consumers don’t have to make the choice anymore between having a healthy scalp and maintaining beautiful hair. The range now takes care both and they’re not forced to make a decision of benefiting from just one area.

Is the new range going to be available globally?

Yes, we’re currently launching globally. We’re doing it at different timings but we’re going across the globe.

How different is the SOS range from your existing anti-dandruff products?

It’s the same technology called the ZPT or ActiZinc technology which provides the scalp benefits, but what we’ve done here is tailor the range of products to the specific scalp needs. What we have in terms of the overall differences among the products is we’ve got nine products that are tailored to specific hair needs, e.g. long hair versus short hair, thick versus thin hair, et cetera.

How can this range help with the common hair and scalp care problems of residents here in the UAE such as dandruff and hair loss?

We have to look at two different things. We have to look at the scalp and the hair. They both have a connection, actually. If you think about it, the scalp is basically just skin, but it is the factory for your hair.

Logically, if your scalp is in good condition, it’s much more likely to grow beautiful hair. The condition of your scalp has a direct effect on the quality of your hair.

We hear a lot about the issues you mentioned: high temperature and lots of humidity – all these things that can play a role in your personal comforts. We know that dandruff is not really dependent on the season. One can have dandruff all year round and it affects about 50 per cent of the population. That means every other person has dandruff no matter if you’re in Dubai or Stockholm.

The reason for it is we’re producing oils on our heads – sebum – and we have a fungus that lives on our head that eats the oils. Our skin is trying to get rid of the fungus by reacting. What it does is it speeds up its natural renewal process to push the fungus away. The skin cells clump together and become those big chunks, or flakes, that you see. It’s a perfectly normal skin reaction.

Those issues are a mixture of different things. If you have very high temperatures, you’re likely to have an irritated scalp and it might be more uncomfortable than in a colder condition. Obviously, you sweat more and that can have an effect on your style, for example. Water as we know is one of the key elements that we use to style hair with. Humidity levels can actually undo styling and change the hair to what it was before.

What we’re trying to do is normalize your scalp condition to get rid of some of the symptoms you have, like itch, dryness and tightness, as well as flaking. At same time, we’re trying to improve hair quality with our product technology.

What is the special ingredient in this new range?

There’s one ingredient that really delivers the scalp care benefits, and that’s Zinc Pyrithione (ZPT) or what we call ActiZinc. We first introduced it into hair products 50 years ago and we have continuously optimised it since then. We’ve changed the formulation, thrown in different particles and made different blends and that is the ingredient that really tackles the fungus to eliminate dandruff. It normalises the scalp condition, bringing it from an irritated state into a normal state.

On top of that, we also now have the hair care ingredients that provide conditioning benefits for the hair surface. It’s really the whole composition that make using Head & Shoulders a highly beneficial experience for the consumer.

This new range has the shampoo only. What about the conditioner?

We do have a conditioner line as well which specifically delivers hair and scalp benefits. I don’t think it’s on the market here, but there might be plans to bring it in.

When is the new range going to be available?

It should be available on the market as of next month.

The elements here seem harsher than in other parts of the world. Do you think residents should take different steps in maintaining healthy scalp and hair?

Absolutely. First thing is to try and reduce the factors that can cause symptoms. For the scalp, it’s the use of hair care products that are too harsh.

Another one is not washing frequently enough. Some people think they get dandruff because they wash too often, but it’s the opposite actually. If you have the right product and use it regularly, you stand a better chance at minimizing hair and scalp problems.

On the hair side, you should reduce exposure to the sun’s harmful UV rays as much as possible. UV light destroys the hair structure so the best thing to do to avoid it is to cover up. Also, when you expose your hair to a lot of dirt and dust, make sure that you wash thoroughly to get rid of all those irritants. If you have oily scalp, and a lot of people in this region complain about that, the oils bind to the dirt so you really have to wash your hair thoroughly and regularly.

Would it make sense to launch a line that’s specific to the Middle East?

We have designed our products to be fit for consumers across the globe. We have tailored our product technology specifically to address the needs of people including those in the Middle East. we did a lot of research with core consumers and we found out that our product technology that we’ve got at the moment is also fit to use here as well. We are marketing our products globally as there are other territories, not only in the Middle East, that have a very similar climate.

We don’t know if we’re making a hasty generalisation, but we think we see more balding people here than in other countries. Why do you think that is? Genetics aside, do the elements have anything to do with it?

Balding or hair loss is a hugely complicated territory. There are so many different factors that can have an effect on going bald. Genetics is probably the cause of most of the hair loss that we see, especially in males.

We have a sensitivity to a specific form of testosterone which is called dihydrotestosterone or DHT. Follicles react to that and miniaturise, becoming smaller and smaller until you can only grow tiny little hairs, and then no hair at all whatsoever. That’s something we can’t do anything about with cosmetic products because it’s a fundamental genetic process.

But there are other factors that can play a role as well. We find out that a lot of people lose their hair because their gets damaged and it breaks off. In the recent research that we have conducted, when you have dandruff, the natural reaction to the itch is to scratch quite often.

When you scratch your scalp, you also rupture the surface of your hair, because there’s always hair in the way. If you treat dandruff, at least from this specific factor that can cause hair fall, you can reduce the incidence of that.

Other factors that can also play a role include hormonal changes, drugs, and diet. It’s a really complicated area and I think we’re only beginning to uncover all the other aspects that can cause hair loss.

Going back to your question, does this climate play a role? I haven’t seen any studies that show that climate can lead to hair loss.

Some people actually blame the quality of the water here. What do you think about that?

I’ve heard that a few times now. Again, I have not seen any scientific evidence that would support that theory. What I can tell you, though, is that there might be products out there that may not be specifically designed to work with a specific quality of the water so maybe their cleaning or conditioning benefits are not as good as they could be. That again could have an effect on the integrity of the hair. But desalinated water definitely causes a few problems for people.

What benefits does having a stylist and a scientist work together on a Head & Shoulders range offer?

Rene: For me, it’s been incredibly mind-opening to work with a stylist because we’re looking very differently at how people use products and what products need to deliver. I try to understand all the molecules and organisms involved.

Ben: With Head & Shoulders ^[3], it’s not about giving you one bottle and saying this is going to take care of your dandruff. That’s why we have all the different variants. People these days look for so much more in their hair care products. A woman and a man know exactly what they want their product to do for them.

We all know that H&S takes care of your scalp problems, but now we need to then give you some beauty benefits as well. We’re giving you a reason to pick up a bottle and giving you extra to it that’s gonna give you great-looking shiny hair and healthy scalp too.

For me the foundation of hair care starts with the scalp. Like a flower, if it has bad soil, it’s not going to be the healthiest it can be. So when I get a client come to my chair, it’s important that I have a good material to work with. If I don’t have a good material, I still can do certain things to make the hair look good. However, for me, it’s about advocating healthy hair to them in the first place.

That’s why it’s a good combination for me to come with Head & Shoulders. It’s like bringing my side of celebrity styling and fashion and pairing it with a brand that people didn’t necessarily think of in that way.

Basically, at the end of the day, you know what H&S does. Before, as a consumer, it was difficult to get out of the thinking that it was just a dandruff shampoo. Now, you know you have those additional beauty benefits, it’s just about tailoring to what you want it to do. Now it feels more personal to what your needs are and you’ll be more attracted to pick up that bottle.