Zinc Pyrithione Soap Everything You Need to Know

This article covers everything you need to know about pyrithione zinc soap. From the basics of how the anti-fungal agent, pyrithione zinc, works to a review of popular soaps currently available.

Some key points to get your started:

• Pyrithione zinc is widely used an anti-fungal agent all around the world
• A type of [yeast called malassezia](#basics_of_malassezia_and_seborrheic dermatitis) are known to play a role in several skin conditions
• Regular usage can reduce malassezia activity and lead to temporary symptom relief
• An often overlooked factor is that skin barrier issues also play a role these symptoms
• Some soaps are better formulated then others and it’s important to review the other ingredients

The article goes through these nuances in more detail. By the time your done reading, you should have a good idea of where to start and what options are available.

Hope you find the reading useful and considering joining the discussion at the end of the post. Share your experience, write your questions, or suggest additional tips that may have been missed.

How pyrithione zinc soap works

Pyrithione zinc is an antifungal agent used for the treatment of various skin conditions. Most notable, is it’s effect on suppressing the malassezia fungus (commonly considered as the main culprit in various skin diseases).

It is actually one of the most well documented treatments for dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis. And it is one of the most popular active ingredients in anti-dandruff shampoos (such as Head and Shoulders) worldwide.

This introductory section will briefly go over the underlying principles of how pyrithione zinc soap works to relieve seborrheic dermatitis (and various other skin conditions). For a more detailed review of pyrithione zinc, have a look at the section.

Basics of malassezia and seborrheic dermatitis

The most prominent/popular malassezia related skin condition is seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff). Accordingly, it’s helpful to try and understand how seborrheic dermatitis progresses.

Though this topic is highly debated and the research is somewhat mixed, there is a general theme that emerges.

Here are some key points:

• Sebaceous gland activity (amount of sebum the skin produces) is often directly related to the location of the affected areas
• Malassezia yeast is a fungus that depends on oils for growth and is present on the skin of both healthy and affected individuals
• It appears that the skin does not actually react to the malassezia itself, but instead to the oleic free fatty acids it leaves behind
• Even without the presence of malassezia, oleic free fatty acids have been shown to cause seborrheic dermatitis symptoms in susceptible individuals
• Without the presence of malassezia, oleic free fatty acids are minimized and the resulting irritation may be avoided

How pyrithione zinc works

Pyrithione zinc was first discovered in 1960s. It is during this time, research first demonstrated it’s beneficial antifungal activity against a fairly broad range of fungi. However, as noted earlier, the most relevant and desirable of it’s effects was it’s ability to suppress the malassezia fungus.

Why was this effect so desirable? Well, the majority of research on various skin disorders has revealed a strong link between malassezia and state of the skin. Some of this research also demonstrates that that once the fungus is suppressed, the associated symptoms resolve.

The list of skin conditions which malassezia appears to have a direct impact on, include [2]:

• Seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff
• Pityriasis versicolor
• Atopic dermatitis
• Malassezia folliculitis
• Psoriasis

Based on this understanding, most of today’s most popular zinc pyrithione products are formulated with this goal in mind (to suppress the malassezia fungus residing on the skin).

Put simply, zinc pyrithione containing products aim to resolve certain skin conditions by controlling the amount of malassezia present on the skin.

Researchers have also put forward other possible explanations for zinc pyrithione’s effectiveness. For example, one study suggests that it may cause genomic destabilization of keratinocytes, leading to potentially reduced rate of keratin production [3]. But these ideas have so far failed to gain popularity.

Review of five popular zinc pyrithione soaps

Zinc pyrithione shampoos (Head and Shoulders, Garnier Fructis, Clear and various other brand names) are broadly available in most supermarkets. On the other hand, zinc pyrithione soaps are not very common and typically have to be purchased online (or in specialty stores).

This section will review the most prominent zinc pyrithione soaps currently available.

1. Noble formula – 2% pyrithione zinc soap

At the time of this writing, this appears to be the most popular option on Amazon and has over 691 reviews. The average rating is 4.3 out of 5, but surprisingly only a little over 60% of the reviews feature a 5 star rating.

Here is a quick point-by-point summary of the reviews:

• Can be very helpful in cases of seborrheic dermatitis, acne, tinea veriscolor and folliculitis
• Some reviews complained the symptoms returned (even with regular usage)
• Can be quite drying and leading to an increase of skin flakiness
• Slimy texture and large oatmeal chunks

The majority of the reviewers on Amazon indicate the soap works extremely well, however, in many cases a relapse of the symptoms does occur after continue usage. Difficult to say why this occurs, but it may come from two areas:

• Continued exposure of soap to water and air may be release free fatty (oleic) acids
• A shift in the microflora of the skin makes the action of zinc pyrithione ineffective

However, these are just speculations.

Noble formula soap ingredients

The soap is made in the USA and the ingredients list is minimal and it doesn’t seem to contain anything unnecessary. The label indicates:

The first two ingredients make up the soap base, oatmeal is included as a skin soothing/protectant agent and the zinc pyrithione is the active ingredient.

One thing that seemed a little strange was the usage of saponified olive oil (likely sodium olivate) as opposed to any of the popular oils (such as coconut). Olive oil is quite high in oleic acid (up to 83%). And oleic acid (in it’s free fatty acid form) is the specific malassezia by-product which research has pin-pointed as being the cause of the skin irritation that occurs in seborrheic dermatitis.

Though there doesn’t appear to be any specific studies that link sodium olivate exposure to any of these skin conditions, perhaps replacing it with an oil low in oleic acid may have been worthwhile.

My experience with the noble formula soap

Reading the Amazon reviews of this soap made it an instant purchase. Initially my experience was highly favorable. Seborrheic dermatitis quickly resided and my skin cleared up within a few days. But only after a few weeks the redness and flakiness quickly returned.

As the effectiveness faded, attemps were made to increase the time the soap came in contact with my skin (leave on for a few minutes) prior to washing. But this didn’t do any good. Continued to use it hoping results would return, but nothing changed. As a result, usage was discontinued.

Other notes from my experience:

• Quite drying for the facial skin (expected from a hard soap)
• Skin became quite sensitive to sun and cold exposure (possibly as a result of the zinc pyrithione)
• Skin tone became quite pale

A few months later, decided to give it another try. Strange enough, experience was exactly the same. Skin cleared initially, but after a week or so the symptoms creeped back.

2. DermaHarmony – zinc therapy soap

This is another highly popular option on Amazon and is also made in the USA. At the time of this writing is features 243 reviews and an average rating of 4.4 of out 5. Generally, the reviews are quite similar to that of the Noble Formula option discussed above.

DermaHarmony soap ingredients

The ingredients list is more significant. It contains:

The base of the soap is made from saponified palm and coconut oils (which are low in oleic acid). This may help avoid any possible issues of using saponified olive oil (as discussed in the Noble Formula discussion). But interestingly, olive oil is still included later the ingredients list.

Though titanium dioxide is commonly used in sunscreen as UV blocking agent, this is unlikely the reason it was included here. Instead, it was likely added to simply give the soap a more aesthetic appearance (make the finished product look more white).

Quick overview of some of the other ingredients:

• Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and is extensively used in skin care. It can help protect the natural oils present in the product, but has also been shown to be quite beneficial for the skin
• Hard to say what role the salt of pentetic acid plays. I couldn’t find much medical literature on it and there aren’t to many other products that use pentetic acid
• The salt was is likely included to increase the hardness of the soap.
• Glycerin is usually used in soap to help moisturize the skin

In the end the inclusion of ingredients such as glycerin and vitamin E are welcomed when compared to the Noble Formula. But the inclusion of titanium dioxide and pentetic acid does raise some questions.

3. DermaZinc – zinc therapy soap

This soap features a 4.4 out of 5 rating on Amazon and has over 216 reviews (at the time of this writing). It’s the third product on this list that’s also made in the USA.

The reviews are pretty much the same as the two products discussed above. There was some mention of people preferring this one to the Noble Formula though, due to it’s smoother texture.

DermZinc soap ingredients

The ingredients list is as follows:

Won’t go into too much discussion on these, but overall it looks to be a much more moisturizing and rich soap then the two options above.

The inclusion of zinc oxide is interesting, It’s often used in diaper rash creams to help with skin healing and in sunscreen to shield against UV rays. However, something tells me that it was included here to simply help with the aesthetics of the finished product (making it more white).

4. Carbomed ZNP

This product isn’t nearly as popular (on Amazon) as the options above. But this is likely in part due to it being of foreign origin. It ships from abroad (Paraguay), takes 3 to 6 weeks to arrive and the labelling is all in Spanish.

At the time of this writing, there are only 78 reviews and the average rating is 4.3 on average. However, five start ratings make up almost 70% of all the reviews.

Carbomed soap ingredients

The ingredients list is extremely minimal and the only items indicated are:

The usage of flax seed oil was interesting and may makes this soap less drying. Flax seed oil is high in ALA (~52%) and much lower in oleic acid (~20%). ALA is actually an omega 3 fatty acid and it’s topical usage has actually been shown to be quite beneficial in inflammatory skin conditions [4].

Simply from the ingredients aspect, this particular soap appears to be the most favorable. If the manufacturers also included vitamin E and replaced the propylene glycol with vegetable glycerin, it would be a clear winner in my books. However, the blue color of raises some questions to the completeness of the ingedients list.

5. Dermagor gel py-zn

Technically, this product isn’t actually a soap, but a gel cleanser. And it’s popularity on Amazon is practically inexistent (zero reviews at the time of this writing).

The product is made in France and does have fairly good reviews on a French cosmetic review website. Overall, the reviews are similar to those found on the Amazon pages of the soaps mentioned above. But some unique points did catch my attention:

• Not too drying
• Skin feels very tight after usage
• Contains parabens

Nonetheless, it was included in this list as research suggests that well formulated cleansers may be more favorable in terms of moisture barrier disruption and skin pH level changes [5]. Put simply, cleansers can be less drying and more gentle on the skin.

Dermagor cleanser ingredients

For a cleanser to provide the same level of cleansing, as offered by a soap, cleansers need to make use of a larger variety of cleansing agents. Accordingly, this option features a much longer ingredients list, including:

An adequate discussion of each of this would be quickly lengthy. As a result, they will not be evaluated at this time.

Zinc pyrithione safety considerations

Zinc pyrithione is an FDA approved antifungal agent for usage in cosmetics at concentrations anywhere from 0.3 to 2.0%. It appears to have good safety profile and it’s use has been tested in a large number of studies.

Adverse reactions are uncommon, but have been reported [6]. The most common of these are:

• Severe redness and increase inflammation
• Worsening of the skin condition

Studies have also shown shown it to be toxic to human skin cells [7]. And concentrations higher then those approved by the FDA are likely to lead to some negative outcomes.

Spot testing is always recommended when first trying a new product. Select a small area of skin that is slightly hidden from view. Try here first and see how your skin responds.

Summary

This article went over the basic principles behind zinc pyrithione soap and reviewed some of the most popular options. Here are the key points:

Hope this information proves useful and can serve as a guide for anyone researching pyrithione zinc soaps. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this topic further, simply drop a comment below.