If you are like many people with dandruff issues, you have used the Head and Shoulders shampoo at one point.
The product promises to deal with the issue. No doubt it washes well, foams effectively, and leaves you with a moisturized head of hair.
But is the shampoo safe for your septic tank?
Cleaning products are notorious for introducing chemicals that kill useful bacteria in there.
In the end, you are left with undigested or partly digested waste that causes clogging and backups.
What Does The Manufacturer Say?
According to Procter & Gamble, the Head and Shoulder Manufacturer, this shampoo is safe for plumbing and septic systems.
The brand, through an Amazon review comment, claims that as long as your wastewater system is correctly installed, the shampoo will pose no risk to it.
All its products on the brand are septic-safe and the company says it cannot sell what isn’t.
Sadly, too many manufacturers in the market promise one thing and deliver another.
Just because the Head and Shoulders manufacturer says that its products are safe doesn’t mean they are.
A close look at the product’s ingredients will give a real picture of the shampoo.
Head and Shoulder’s List of Ingredients
The active ingredient in the shampoo is pyrithione zinc – a chemical the brand claims to treat the root cause of dandruff.
It works by creating a shield against oleic acid that often causes irritation on the scalp.
It is this acid that often makes you scratch your scalp making it red and inflamed.
The chemical also treats the actual cause of dandruff.
Pyrithione zinc is also known as zinc pyrithione or simply ZPT is a zinc coordination complex.
It is an active ingredient in most shampoos, face washes, creams, and other hair and skincare products. The reason is that it possesses antifungal, antimicrobial, and antibacterial properties.
It kills a wide range of organisms including bacteria, fungi, and any microbe that causes itchiness and dryness of the skin.
Since Head and Shoulders shampoo has ZPT, it means that it has the power to kill septic tank bacteria. All antibacterial products do.
The Silver Lining…
The good news is that the ingredient forms about 1% of the formulation.
Although this is non-negligible, it is a rather low concentration. A lot of the shampoo would be required to cause substantial damage to your septic tank bacteria colony.
Households with many family members using the product daily are at a risk of damaging their septic systems with the Head and Shoulders shampoo.
Else, if it’s just you and perhaps your partner at home using the shampoo once a week or so, your septic tank should be safe.
Other ingredients of the shampoo include water, dimethicone, Cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium benzoate, fragrance, and magnesium nitrate just to mention a few.
These don’t contain bleach, ammonia compounds, and strong acids which are the common bacteria-killing culprits.
Granted, some of the ingredients such as fragrance and surfactants can affect bacterial action but if used in copious amounts.
So, the bottom line is that Head and Shoulders shampoo is relatively septic-safe as long as it is used sparingly.