John Parran Jr., a chemical engineer and bacteriologist at the University of Tennessee, joined Procter & Gamble in 1949. His mission was simple - to save the world from dandruff.
Solutions to eliminate dandruff like coal tar and egg oil weren't pretty at the time, and even if they worked, they would damage your hair.
Dr Parran wanted to create an effective solution to dandruff that wouldn't damage your hair and was much more enjoyable to use.
TIME OF INVENTION
In 1961, after ten years of clinical trials, Dr. Parran and his team of scientists selected a powerful compound that proved successful in eliminating dandruff.
Their product, codenamed Head & Shoulders, was finally ready to be tested on the market. It was so successful that it was released in America the following year.
When the product first came out it was a cream formula. Over time, the product was reformulated and made into a shampoo. By 1975, they produced a shampoo that was clinically proven to eliminate dandruff with a pleasant scent. In a short time, it became the number one shampoo in the world when it comes to dandruff hair problems.
In 2002, they cracked the genetic code of Malassezia globosa, the fungus that causes dandruff. This meant that it could go beyond getting rid of dandruff.