Is Climbazole Shampoo Safe for Hair?

Climbazole is an antimycotic compound used in cosmetic products as a preservative or as an active ingredient in anti-dandruff (AD) formulations. Climbazole does not cause any skin irritation at certain concentrations and does not have any major side effects. Climbazole is currently regulated as a preservative in Annex VI of the Cosmetics Directive with a maximum authorized concentration of 0.5%. According to the dossier submitted, it is used as an anti-dandruff active in hair care products at a maximum concentration of 2.0% in rinse-off products and 0.5% in leave-on products. It is also used in leave-on creams at a maximum concentration of 0.5%.

Benefits of Climbazole for Hair

Climbazole is a topical antifungal agent commonly used to treat fungal skin infections in humans such as dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, and eczema. Climbazole works by inhibiting the growth of fungi, preventing them from proliferating on the scalp. It improves overall hair and scalp health, has anti-dandruff properties, thoroughly cleanses the scalp and prevents microbial growth. This ingredient also reduces irritation and itching, resulting in healthy hair that feels softer and shinier.

In addition, climbazole enhances retinoid activity, and topical skin application of climbazole in combination with retinoids can also help fight skin aging.

Safety of Climbazole for Hair

A series of genotoxicity studies have confirmed the safety of this azole antifungal drug in humans. Climbazole does not present genotoxic or carcinogenic risks in vivo. In an in vitro permeation study on human skin, the systemic permeation of climbazole was found to be 0.297 µg/cm² (0.15%) in a standard shampoo formulation containing 2% preservatives. Therefore, the SCCP (Scientific Committee on Consumer Products) believes that the use of 0.5% climbazole in hair care products and facial cosmetics does not pose a risk to consumer health. However, the use of 0.5% climbazole in other leave-on products is not considered safe. It may cause local skin irritation, with symptoms including redness, rash and itching.

References:

[1] ALEX A. PÉREZ-RIVERA. Evaluation of the genotoxicity of the imidazole antifungal climbazole: Comparison to published results for other azole compounds[J]. Mutation research. Genetic toxicology and environmental mutagenesis, 2009, 672 1: Pages 27-39. DOI:10.1016/j.mrgentox.2008.09.011.

[2] Human urinary excretion kinetics of the antimycotic climbazole: Biomonitoring of two new metabolites after oral and dermal dosage[J]. Toxicology letters, 2024, 399: Pages 25-33. DOI:10.1016/j.toxlet.2024.06.011.