Dandruff shampoo trend
Dandruff shampoo is still accelerating: overall interest is up +25% in a year and +39% in the last three months. Next Big's projection: likely to level off over the next 12 months.
- ConfidenceHow sure the Pulse is over its last 13 weeks. High confidence: three or more steady sources, from different companies, carry the line lately. Every label
- High
Two things to know
- Dandruff shampoo is tracked on the Next Big Pulse, +25% in a year, about 121K searches a month in the US.
- Near its peak: at 100% of its two-year peak; searches at this point were higher a year later 76% of the time, against 73% for any search.
Behind the rise
In the news around it: 9 best anti-dandruff shampoos, according to scalp experts (aol.co.uk).
Where the line turned
- 1Turned down Apr 2025. YouTube search moved first.
- 2Turned up Sep 2025. Google Shopping moved first, 10 weeks before the next source.
- 3Turned up Mar 2026. YouTube search moved first, 11 weeks before the next source.
- 4Behind the rise, Sep 2026: 9 best anti-dandruff shampoos, according to scalp experts.
Things that happened around the rise, never a claim of what caused it.
- Searches a month
- 121K
- The Pulse now, US, between 81K and 183K
- Rise so far
- Near its peak
- At 100% of its 2-year peak, climbing 5 weeks. Searches here were higher a year on 76% of the time (any search 73%)
- Shelf life
- 9 to 63 weeks
- How long past rises like this one lasted: median 23 weeks, from 3,914 rises. History, not a forecast
- Overall interest, a year
- +25%
- from 101K to 121K searches a month (rough)
- Last 3 months
- +39%
- accelerating, +34K a month (rough)
- Next 12 months
- Levelling off
- Next Big's projection, -7%
- Trend score
- 50/100
- Worth building on, from eight parts: how it's made is below the numbers
- Peaks
- All year
- no seasonal peak
- A click is worth
- $1.15
- what advertisers pay
- Ranking difficulty
- 11/100
- room for a new page
Searches a month added are rough: right direction about 3 times in 4, size within ×2 (check 14a). What that means.
How the trend score is made
| Part | Reading | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth over a year | 38/100 | 25% | 9.6 |
| The last weeks | 63/100 | 15% | 9.5 |
| Fits a business (judged in review) | 70/100 | 15% | 10.5 |
| Interest now | 100/100 | 10% | 10.0 |
| Kept rising | 0/100 | 10% | 0.0 |
| What a click is worth | 23/100 | 10% | 2.3 |
| Posts about it | no reading, counted as average | 10% | 3.0 |
| Searches a month | 99/100 | 5% | 5.0 |
| Before adjustments | 100% | 49.8 | |
| Trend score | 50/100 |
How worth building on a search is, not how big it is. Every weight is on the methodology.
What's next for dandruff shampoo
- Direction
- Accelerating, +39% over the last 3 months.
- Next 12 months
- Next Big's projection: likely to level off (-7%).
Is dandruff shampoo really trending?
Only Hunger is measured for dandruff shampoo so far: no source of Heat counts it yet, so there's no verdict.
- Hungerwhat people go looking for+39% in 3 monthsFrom Bing searches, YouTube search, Google Shopping, web popularity
- HeatHeat: what the crowd is shown, unasked. Posts about it are being counted; the line shows once there are 4 weeks of them, in about 3 weeks.
Real when people are shown it and go looking for it; Early when the crowd is shown it first; Hype when it's shown and not sought; Quiet demand when searches rise with little talk. How the two sides are read.
Is dandruff shampoo still growing?
Yes. Overall interest in dandruff shampoo is up +25% in a year, and still up +39% over the last 3 months. The line blends every source we read for it, each listed below with its own figures.
- +39%in 3 monthsJul 2026 to this week
- +25%in 1 yearOct 2025 to this week
- +63%in 2 yearsOct 2024 to this week
Each figure compares overall interest at the end of the window with its start.
Who searches for it, and why
Dandruff shampoo refers to medicated and cosmetic shampoos for flaky, itchy scalp, using ingredients such as zinc pyrithione, ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, salicylic acid and coal tar. People search it to find the best one for their hair type, compare brands such as Head & Shoulders, Nizoral and Neutrogena T/Gel, and look for gentler or salon options. In practice, the buyers are adults and teenagers with dandruff or seborrheic dermatitis. Scalp care has become a premium skincare-style category. It is a large recurring-purchase market with room for differentiated formulas.
Most people search it to compare and choose.
Sources
The chart is the Next Big Pulse: every source with a weekly or monthly reading for dandruff shampoo, blended into one line of overall interest. A trend counts only when independent sources confirm the rise, each read against what every other search we track did there.
- Bing searches63%since Sep 2024
- Web popularity17%since Sep 2024
- YouTube search14%since Sep 2024
- Google Shopping6%since Jun 2025
Confidence: high, three or more steady sources, from different companies, carry the line lately. The last 2 weeks rest on fewer sources: they aren't in Bing searches and web popularity yet. How the grade works
| Source | Rose with it | This search, in a year | The typical search there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bing searches | No rise above typical | ||
| Wikipedia views | No rise above typical | ||
| Bluesky posts | No rise above typical | ||
| Hacker News mentions | No rise above typical | ||
| Research papers | No rise above typical | ||
| New York Times articles | No rise above typical | ||
In the news: coverage +93% on a month ago
Searches a month is the Pulse's reading now, in Google Ads' scale for the US; cost per click and ranking difficulty are Google Ads keyword estimates.
The same search on Google Trends · How we read every source
Projections are Next Big's forecasts from public search data. They aren't financial, investment, trading or medical advice.
Questions
Is dandruff shampoo still popular in 2026?
Yes. Overall interest in dandruff shampoo is up +25% on a year ago, and +39% over the last three months.
How many people search for dandruff shampoo?
About 121,000 searches a month in the US, on the Next Big Pulse.
When do searches for dandruff shampoo peak?
It doesn't follow a season. Its busiest week in five years was in October 2026.
Will dandruff shampoo keep growing?
Next Big's projection says it's likely to level off over the next 12 months (-7%). It's a forecast from public search data, not advice.
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