Body News.

Byline: Kristin Sainani

Shampoo Monogamy

Dandruff shampoos do not lose their effectiveness after prolonged use, as is commonly believed. In a survey of 722 dermatologists, 64 percent said they thought that user response diminishes over time, usually within three months. But when researchers assigned 337 people with dandruff to wash their hair solely with a 1 or 2 percent pyrithione-zinc-based product (Head & Shoulders) or a placebo formula two or three times weekly for 24 or 48 weeks, the active shampoos remained highly effective relative to the placebo throughout. Dandruff sufferers commonly experience recurrence, but this is not because they develop resistance to treatments, says Jim Schwartz, a research fellow at Procter & Gamble. Rather, they use them inconsistently, which gives the fungus that causes dandruff a chance to recolonize the scalp, he says. If you use a rinse-off conditioner, it can remove the antifungal ingredients dandruff shampoo leaves behind, so it's important to apply it to hair ends onlynot the scalpor to choose a conditioner that is designed to work with dandruff shampoos, he advises.

Women Who Tan

Appearance plays a bigger role in women's tanning habits than it does in men's. When Guy Cafri, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues at the University of South Florida surveyed 924 college students, ...