Terzolin

Terzolin is a German range of anti-dandruff and scalp-care products owned by the pharmaceutical company STADA and sold without prescription through pharmacies [1]. At its core are two medicines containing ketoconazole, an antifungal agent, which are now accompanied by a line of cosmetic shampoos and a conditioner. The name is used only in Germany. Elsewhere, the same ketoconazole shampoo is sold as Nizoral, and STADA presents the two names side by side on its corporate product pages.

For most of its documented life Terzolin belonged to Johnson & Johnson, whose subsidiary Janssen marketed the shampoo in Germany. STADA bought it in 2018 as part of a larger deal for the Nizoral brand family and has since widened the range from a single medicated treatment into a broader scalp-care line. The brand is active, with product information and studies dated 2025.

Terzolin's recorded history is closely tied to one active ingredient. According to German pharmacy trade press, Johnson & Johnson's subsidiary had sold the ketoconazole dandruff shampoo under the Terzolin name in Germany since 1992 [11]. Internationally the product was better known as Nizoral, and Terzolin was one of several local trade names under which it appeared in individual countries.

The turning point came in June 2018. The pharmacy news service APOTHEKE ADHOC reported that STADA, the generics and over-the-counter manufacturer based in Bad Vilbel, was buying the rights to the Nizoral umbrella brand from Janssen, together with the local trade names Nizoril, Nizorelle, Terzolin, Fungarest, Ketoderm, Oranozol and Triatop [10]. In Germany, Terzolin had generated sales of just under EUR 2 million the year before. Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the product family as a whole had earned around EUR 33 million.

STADA's chief executive at the time, Claudio Albrecht, called it one of the largest transactions of recent years. He said it underlined STADA's ambition to rank among Europe's leading suppliers of non-prescription products, and that the brand enjoyed trust among both doctors and consumers. STADA already sold one medicated hair product, the head-lice treatment Hedrin, and presented the new brand as a way to strengthen its position in hair and scalp care.

The handover took effect at the turn of the year. In January 2019 the same publication reported that Terzolin had been supplied by STADA since January and that the new owner had significantly lowered the recommended price. The report placed Terzolin narrowly second among ketoconazole shampoos in Germany, just behind Ketozolin from the pharmaceutical company Dermapharm [11].

Under STADA, the range has grown beyond its medicated core. An anti-itch shampoo, the Terzolin Anti-Juckreiz Shampoo, was on sale before 2024. In 2024, according to the brand's website, the cosmetic Expert line gained a shampoo for dry scalp and a conditioner, and the anti-itch shampoo was renamed Terzolin Expert Shampoo bei fettiger Kopfhaut (for oily scalp) [6]. The most recent addition is the Terzolin PSO Pflegeshampoo, a care shampoo for scalps prone to psoriasis, whose marketing cites a laboratory study from September 2025.

Terzolin is owned by STADA and marketed by STADA Consumer Health Deutschland GmbH, whose address is in Bad Vilbel. Within STADA's portfolio it sits alongside other consumer-health brands such as Ceridal, Dermalog, Locobase, Multilind, Nizoexpert and Viscontour, as well as the Nizoral brand under which the same shampoo is sold outside Germany.

Reports of the 2018 deal differ on one point. APOTHEKE ADHOC described it as a purchase of brand rights and listed Terzolin by name among the local trade names that passed to STADA [10]. Ärzte Zeitung, a German medical newspaper reporting the same transaction a few days later, wrote that STADA had acquired the distribution rights to the medicated anti-dandruff shampoo in Europe, Africa and countries of the Middle East, for an undisclosed sum [12]. Ärzte Zeitung also confirmed that the shampoo was marketed in Germany as Terzolin.

A second question concerns the cream. When the deal was announced, APOTHEKE ADHOC reported that rights to the ketoconazole cream for skin infections would pass to STADA only in Italy and Denmark, and that in every other country, Germany included, the cream would remain with Janssen and its partners [10]. Today, however, Terzolin 2 % Creme is offered on the brand's website under STADA Consumer Health Deutschland, with mandatory product information dated May 2025 [1]. No public account explains when or how the cream moved to STADA.

Terzolin builds its message around cause rather than symptom. Its tagline, "Effektiv gegen die Ursache von Schuppen" ("effective against the cause of dandruff"), sums up the approach. According to the brand, dandruff is often caused by an infection of the scalp with the yeast Malassezia furfur, whose growth can be fuelled by increased oil production. In severe cases this can lead to an inflamed scalp, a condition known as seborrhoeic dermatitis. The company stresses that dandruff has nothing to do with poor hygiene.

Terzolin attributes its success to the fact that it treats the cause of dandruff and not only its symptoms [5]. When it bought the brand, STADA described ketoconazole as the world's most prescribed active ingredient for treating dandruff, and said the ingredient set the product apart from purely cosmetic anti-dandruff shampoos.

The brand also leans on figures about how common the problem is. Its website states that more than half of the world's population is affected by dandruff. It cites STADA market research carried out by Harris Interactive in 2018 among 4,500 people with scalp conditions, in which 76 percent reported dandruff and 56 percent reported itching.

In practice the range works on two levels. Ketoconazole medicines are meant for treatment courses, while the cosmetic shampoos and conditioner are designed for everyday scalp care. Everything is sold without prescription in pharmacies. The website includes a page on its editorial process, where the company says its health content is carefully prepared and checked against scientific standards, while noting that it does not replace a visit to a doctor.

The two medicines carry the brand's original identity. Terzolin 2 % Lösung, a ketoconazole solution for adolescents and adults, is described by the company as fighting the fungus behind dandruff directly while also calming inflammation and itching. The brand states that its effect against itching and flaking is clinically proven, referring to the product's official prescribing information [5]. Terzolin 2 % Creme is applied to the skin and is aimed at two fungal skin conditions: seborrhoeic dermatitis and pityriasis versicolor. According to the brand, the cream can be used on any affected part of the body, not only the scalp.

The cosmetic Expert line targets different scalp types. The shampoo for oily scalp is presented as helping to restore the scalp's balance while soothing itching. Its counterpart for dry scalp is aimed at dry, flaking dandruff and scalps prone to eczema. It combines aloe vera extract with the branded ingredients SymFerment and Crinipan PMC green, and the company says the formula contains no sulfates or parabens. The brand bases its claims for both shampoos on a 2022 dermatological user study with 39 participants who had itchy scalps, dandruff and seborrhoeic dermatitis. It says the oily-scalp shampoo offers clinically confirmed relief from the first use, and that the dry-scalp version reduces irritation, itching and burning for up to 24 hours [2]. The Expert conditioner is described as soothing and hydrating the scalp and hair while supporting the scalp's natural microflora.

The Terzolin PSO Pflegeshampoo moves the brand toward psoriasis-prone scalps. It uses 2 percent encapsulated salicylic acid to help loosen scalp plaques and stubborn flakes, along with niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, and prebiotics, which the brand says strengthen the skin barrier and support the scalp's microbiome. The company describes the formula as inspired by the soothing effect of oats, and says it is suitable for both women and men. Its headline claim is a 50 percent reduction in excessive skin-cell growth within four days of daily use, based on an ex vivo study, a laboratory test on tissue rather than on people, dated September 2025 [8].

Some of these claims apply to single products only. The PSO shampoo is free of fragrance, silicones and parabens, but the 2 % Lösung contains a perfume blend and the Expert shampoos list perfume among their ingredients. No third-party certifications are documented for the range.

Terzolin is active. Its website lists the full range, from the two ketoconazole medicines to the Expert shampoos, the conditioner and the PSO shampoo. The cream's mandatory information is dated May 2025, the PSO shampoo cites a study from September 2025, and the site footer carries a 2025 STADA copyright. The name remains specific to Germany: STADA's corporate site marks Terzolin as a product in Germany and pairs it with Nizoral, the name used for the same product in other markets [9]. The range is sold without prescription through pharmacies.