This post reviews generic Nizoral 1% ketoconazole shampoo – I’ve compiled my favorite shampoos for hair loss previously but I want to dive a bit deeper into each specific product in their respective posts.
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Introduction
Ketoconazole
Ketoconazole is a topical medication used as an antiandrogen, antifungal, and antiglucocorticoid. (Wikipedia) More on ketoconazole here.
Although it is mainly used for fungal infections ketoconazole is now also used off-label for hair loss due to these effects. This means that it decreases androgens in the scalp, targets fungus, and reduces inflammation through various mechanisms.
All of these benefits are extremely powerful in the context of fighting hair loss. If nothing else, it appears to be safe in regards to side effects – especially when compared with some of the other major hair loss compounds. Your risk-to-reward ratio is great here.
Efficacy
I cannot in full transparency comment on the raw efficacy of this product as I haven’t scientifically tested how much/little it’s helped my hair.
All I comment on in this series of posts is a view on the products themselves not on the efficacy of ketoconazole shampoo – I’ve covered that information in the link mentioned above.
Nizoral Overall Review
I love this brand for so many reasons. If you’re just getting into adding a ketoconazole shampoo into your hair loss protocol you should 100% consider this as a starting point.
It’s extremely convenient, the most cost-effective option I’ve seen, and effective because you know you’re getting the strength advertised because it’s a generic product. It also makes my hair feel and appear extremely thick and smells great.
Hair Appearance
I think this is something people focused on improving their hair need to hear about – you don’t want to invest in a product that makes your daily hair look way worse (even if it is effective).
For example, comparing this generic product to something like the Keeps 2% shampoo, the difference in hair density in both feeling and appearance is night and day.
In terms of hair feeling it does feel a bit more like straw, while others claim this is due to the drying quality of the shampoo I think this is more of a positive benefit.
Think about your hair when you condition it fully. It probably looks and feels much thinner or “lighter” (at least it does for me) – now imagine the opposite when only using Nizoral – heavy, thick, extremely dense appearing hair.
I combine this look with a bit of hair wax and my hair begins to take on an extremely thick and firm appearance. This is something I think guys with hair loss ignore a lot – you see that weak frizzy look where the hair is also discolored a bit due to the balding.
I try to avoid that as much as possible and aim for baseline hair in every aspect – Nizoral helps a ton in this aspect.
I can attest that this is likely more due to the blend of shampoo solution in the 1% Nizoral shampoo itself and less of an immediate effect of the ketoconazole because like I said, the Keeps 2% ketoconazole shampoo doesn’t provide anything near what Nizoral does for me in terms of immediate hair appearance.
To be clear – I’ve never gotten such positive impacts from any other shampoo before either – hair loss dedicated or not. The one shampoo that comes close is Intelligent Shop’s super volumizing shampoo but it does cost quite a bit more.
Smell
I love the smell of this shampoo but I need to warn you: it might smell like how an older relative might smell like – more on the vintage or medicinal side. I find it to be extremely pleasant and not overbearing at all.
Lather
This is another key aspect of ketoconazole shampoos that needs to be discussed heavily.
The main idea with ketoconazole or any hair loss shampoo is that you need to let it sit in your scalp for around 5 – 10 minutes around twice weekly to let the ingredient absorb into the scalp.
When the shampoo itself can’t lather or spread as well it makes it so that if you want full coverage of your entire scalp you end up using so much more of the product. Especially annoying when the instructions recommend only using small amounts.
This shampoo has a great lather and can be spread easily with just a little bit of help from water. It becomes incredibly thick and this allows you to use smaller amounts yet still fully cover the scalp.
Cost
Being a generic product this is one of the cheapest reputable options I’ve seen (I haven’t yet gambled with gray market sellers offering 2% Nizoral – my area doesn’t have 2% over the counter).
So compared with the reputable providers in both 1% and 2% ketoconazole shampoos in my location – this product is the most cost-effective especially when you factor in how easy it is to lather into your entire scalp.
I’m fairly confident in assuming costs will be the same for your area with 1% or 2% nizoral being cheaper compared to any of the other options that are based online. I bought the 14 oz bottle for $28.
Convenience
As I’ve mentioned this is probably generic and over the counter in 2% or at least 1% strength and is also probably mass-produced and available in your local stores.
This is going to be way easier than paying for and waiting for shipping from the US or anywhere else compared to just going and buying something from the store 5 minutes away – you can’t beat that convenience.
Conclusion
Overall I would say that if you want an all-around shampoo that checks all the boxes in terms of efficacy, reputation, cost, lather, scent, and hair appearance and feeling I would say you need to start with this generic brand.
Of course – some other brands like Intelligent Shop’s niche volumizer shampoos offer a more quality shampoo formulation with other ingredients alongside ketoconazole but for an all-around winner, I would have to recommend Nizoral.
If the Nizoral dries you out too much this is likely due to their formulation itself and not ketoconazole as an ingredient so that would then be the time to try out something higher quality like the Intelligent formulation.