Stieprox

Stieprox is a range of medicated anti-dandruff shampoos built on ciclopirox olamine, a broad-spectrum antifungal that slows the growth of the scalp yeast linked to dandruff and seborrhoeic dermatitis. It has been registered as a licensed medicine in several countries, including Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and is currently sold in Germany as a three-product family. Current German pharmacy listings name Haleon Germany GmbH as the manufacturer [6], while older regulatory documents place the brand with GlaxoSmithKline companies.

Stieprox is an active brand. Its story is told less through a founder or a brand voice than through regulatory paperwork: product licences, consumer medicine leaflets and a clinical monograph. The brand has no dedicated website, and its year and country of origin are not publicly documented.

Where and when the Stieprox name was first used is not on record. Its trade mark is linked to the dermatology company Stiefel Laboratories: the 2013 Australian consumer medicine leaflet states that Stieprox is a registered trade mark of Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. [5]

The earliest dated milestone is in Ireland. Stieprox 15 mg/g Shampoo received its Irish marketing authorisation on 5 October 2001, with a renewal on 5 October 2006 [8]. In the 2015 version of the Irish product information, the authorisation holder is GlaxoSmithKline (Ireland) Limited in Dublin.

The brand then appears in other markets under GSK entities. In Australia it was sold as STIEPROX Liquid, a 1.5% ciclopirox olamine shampoo. Its consumer leaflet, prepared in November 2013, states that the product was manufactured in Singapore for GlaxoSmithKline Australia and supplied in New Zealand by GlaxoSmithKline NZ [5]. In Canada, GlaxoSmithKline Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario, revised the product monograph for STIEPROX 1.5% shampoo on 26 September 2018 [9].

Stieprox was not bought as a stand-alone brand. Its route into GSK ran through its trade mark owner. Stiefel Laboratories was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in July 2009 "to create a new specialist dermatology business", according to Wikipedia [4]. After that deal, the Stieprox licences in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada were all held by GSK companies.

Accounts of the current owner differ by date. German online pharmacies listing STIEPROX Intensiv and STIEPROXAL name Haleon Germany GmbH as manufacturer [6][7]. The older regulatory documents, dated between 2013 and 2018, name GlaxoSmithKline entities in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, with the trade mark registered to Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. [8] This article follows the more recent German listings and treats Haleon as the current owner. How the brand passed from GSK to Haleon is not publicly documented.

Stieprox is also absent from Haleon's own published brand portfolio. Haleon's therapeutic skin health category names Fenistil, Zovirax and Bactroban, and does not mention Stieprox [3]. Driclor is a sister brand in the same group.

Every Stieprox product is a shampoo built around one active ingredient, ciclopirox olamine. According to the Australian leaflet, the medicine works by inhibiting the growth of the yeast known as Pityrosporum ovale or Pityrosporum orbiculare. The Canadian monograph names the same yeast as Malassezia furfur. The leaflet describes dandruff as excessive scaling of the scalp, and seborrhoeic dermatitis as a more severe form with red, itchy, scaly patches. It adds that the shampoo also helps reduce the formation of scales and flakes and remove those already formed.

The German range has three tiers, each matched to a type of dandruff:

- STIEPROX Classic, with 1% ciclopirox olamine, for light, loose flakes. - STIEPROX Intensiv, with 1.5% ciclopirox olamine, for heavy dandruff with itching. - STIEPROXAL, which combines 1.5% ciclopirox olamine with 3% salicylic acid and panthenol, for stubborn, firmly attached scales and strong itching.

The pharmacy listing for STIEPROXAL describes a "3-fach Pflegesystem" (three-way care system). In its account, the antifungal targets the cause of dandruff, salicylic acid loosens stuck-on scales, and panthenol, a form of vitamin B5, cares for the scalp [7].

Elsewhere the product has been sold under other names and strengths. In Ireland it is Stieprox 15 mg/g Shampoo, and in Australia and New Zealand it is STIEPROX Liquid at 1.5% w/w. The Australian leaflet notes that the liquid contains a hair conditioner. It is meant for adults and children aged 12 and over, used two to three times a week for four weeks. Over two washes, the lather should stay in the hair for a total of three to five minutes. The leaflet also warns that dandruff may come back once treatment stops.

The Canadian monograph includes a controlled trial. In study S177-GB-030, 163 people used either 1.5% ciclopirox olamine, 2% ketoconazole (another antifungal) or a non-medicated shampoo base, twice a week for 29 days. Average reductions from baseline were significantly greater in both antifungal groups than in the non-medicated group [9]. The same monograph lists hair discolouration as an observed effect, mainly in people with grey, white or chemically treated hair.

Stieprox sits at the boundary between haircare and medicine. In Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada it is regulated as a medicine, with formal product information, contraindications and dosing instructions. In Germany it is sold through online pharmacies. No brand philosophy, mission statement or tagline has been published, and the brand presents itself through its active ingredients and the dandruff type each product is meant for.

Stieprox is active. As of October 2026, STIEPROX Intensiv and STIEPROXAL were listed by German online pharmacies with Haleon Germany GmbH named as manufacturer [6]. The brand has no dedicated website or social media presence.