An observational study in Itchy Scalp, Pruritus and Dandruff, sponsored by L'Oreal. Completed at 1 site in China. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 50 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-05.
Sponsored by L'Oreal · Observational
This is a single-center, cross-sectional, observational clinical study to investigate the clinical attributes and lipidomic signatures of itchy scalp with and without dandruff, aiming to validate the biological distinctiveness of pure scalp pruritus. A total of 132 female participants were enrolled and allocated to three cohorts (44 participants each) based on scalp pruritus and dandruff status. Clinical scoring, instrumental biophysical measurements, self-assessment questionnaires, and lipidomic signatures were analyzed and compared across groups.
490 studies on the registry are indexed under Pruritus; 93 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 132 is close to the median of 128 across 48 observational studies indexed under Pruritus.
Browse Pruritus studies →L'Oreal is the lead sponsor of 25 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Chinese female volunteers aged 18 to 50 residing in Shanghai, China, recruited from the clinical testing center. The study population comprises healthy individuals with normal scalp conditions as well as individuals presenting with scalp pruritus with or without dandruff, stratified into three distinct cohorts based on pruritus VAS scores and adherent dandruff photographic scales (DFS).
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Volunteer has scalp conditions based on group:
a. Group 1 i. Self-declared normal scalp without pruritus, score=0 on pruritus Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
ii. Adherent dandruff score ≤0.5 based on Dandruff Photographic Scales (DFS) assessed by dermatologist.
b. Group 2 i. Scalp pruritus score ≥4 and ≤8 on pruritus VAS. ii. Adherent dandruff score ≥2 and ≤4 based on DFS assessed by dermatologist. c. Group 3 i. Scalp pruritus score ≥4 and ≤8 on pruritus VAS. ii. Adherent dandruff score ≤0.5 based on DFS assessed by dermatologist.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Postmenopausal
Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Autoimmune disease
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Healthy volunteers with normal scalp (Pruritus VAS = 0, Adherent Dandruff Score ≤ 0.5).
Volunteers with scalp pruritus (Pruritus VAS 4-8) and adherent dandruff (Dandruff Score 2-4).
Volunteers with scalp pruritus (Pruritus VAS 4-8) and no/minimal dandruff (Dandruff Score ≤ 0.5).
High-coverage targeted lipidomics
Targeted lipidomics using membrane filter samples on scalp
Time frame: Day 1 (Single assessment at baseline)
Clinical scalp scoring
Dermatologist-assessed erythema (0: none to 5: severe), greasiness (0: none to 3: severe), dryness (0: none to 9: severe), and clinical scalp type classification (dry, normal, greasy, or mixed).
Time frame: Day 1 (Single assessment at baseline)
Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL)
Evaluated on scalp sites using Tewameter® TM Nano (Courage + Khazaka electronic GmbH), expressed in g/h/m².
Time frame: Day 1 (Single assessment at baseline)
Scalp hydration
Stratum corneum hydration level measured using DermaLab Hydration Pin Probe (Cortex Technology), expressed in arbitrary units (AU).
Time frame: Day 1 (Single assessment at baseline)
Scalp sebum level
Sebum excretion level measured using Sebumeter® SM815 (Courage + Khazaka electronic GmbH), expressed in µg/cm².
Time frame: Day 1 (Single assessment at baseline)
Scalp surface pH
Measured using Skin-pH-Meter PH905 (Courage + Khazaka electronic GmbH).
Time frame: Day 1 (Single assessment at baseline)
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Ran from Apr 2025 to primary completion in Jun 2025, 1 month.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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