| Category | Anti-Dandruff |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Headquarters | Cincinnati, USA |
| Listing | Not separately listed; parent P&G is listed on the NYSE (PG) |
| Latest revenue | Group FY2025 net sales USD 84.3bn, net earnings USD 16.0bn |
| Hero SKUs | Anti-Dandruff Shampoo |
Brand History
Head & Shoulders launched in the United States in 1961 as the first shampoo brand to make anti-dandruff a category claim in its own right. Built on zinc pyrithione and demonstration-led advertising showing flakes reduced after one wash, it scaled through P&G's global distribution and entered China with the group.
In China the brand has long owned the anti-dandruff mind, extending from core shampoo into men's, silky-smooth and scalp-care sub-lines at RMB 30-90. After the EU banned ZPT in 2022, P&G reformulated globally around alternatives such as piroctone olamine and used the change to refresh the product story. P&G's FY2025 net sales were USD 84.3bn with net earnings of USD 16.0bn; Beauty was 18% of sales, hair care was flat, and China was among the drags.
Hero Products
Three-Year Financials
| Year | Revenue (USD bn) | YoY | Net profit (USD bn) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 82.0 | +2.3% | 14.7 |
| 2024 | 84.0 | +2.5% | 14.9 |
| 2025 | 84.3 | +0.4% | 16.0 |
Brand-level：P&G does not disclose Head & Shoulders revenue. Beauty was 18% of FY2025 net sales; hair care organic sales were flat, with growth in Latin America and Europe offset by volume declines in North America and mainland China.
Source：P&G 2025 annual report (10-K); FY2026 Q2 results
Company Coverage
- 2026-01P&G calendar 2025 net sales USD 85.3bn
Net earnings reached USD 16.5bn, up 6.4%, with Beauty at USD 15.4bn.
Source：P&G results - 2025-07Two-year restructuring begins
P&G started a two-year portfolio and productivity programme from July 2025, including 7,000 non-manufacturing role cuts.
Source：P&G release - 2025-05China hair-care volume under pressure
Filings said hair-care growth was offset by volume declines in North America and mainland China.
Source：P&G filings
Editor's note: Head & Shoulders is the textbook category definer — it turned an efficacy word into a brand name. In China, though, anti-dandruff is being reframed as scalp care, with domestic brands slicing the market into oil, itch, sensitivity and mites. The challenge is not the formula but making a 60-year-old single claim feel necessary again.