Bangalore: Research data presented by Procter & Gamble’s scientists at the 20th World Congress of Dermatology (WCD) on July 1, suggests that, dandruff does not result from an overabundance of Malassezia furfur (M furfur) fungus as previously thought. Rather, common dandruff is caused by the lipid waste of two other Malassezia species, M restricta and M globosa, an official press release said.

In a research study conducted by Thomas Dawson, Jr, PhD, senior scientist in beauty care technology for P&G, titled, "Fast, Non-invasive Method for Molecular Detection and Speciation of Malassezia on Human Skin, and Application to Dandruff Microbiology", scalp samples from 70 people with dandruff showed the presence of Malassezia species. But in these cases, M restricta was present in 70 per cent and M globosa in 45 per cent. M furfur was not detected in any of the samples.

Dr Dawson's findings also apply to seborrheic dermatitis, a severe form of dandruff that leads to heavy flaking, severe itchiness, redness and inflammation. Earlier work by this team of P&G scientists has shown that excess lipids are correlated to dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis, and this study showed that reducing the amount of sebum by more frequent washing improved the clinical signs of seborrheic dermatitis, the release added.