Since it is fairly common knowledge that menthol is an irritant, Why is it in so many hair/skin products? Do the benefits of that “tingly” feeling really outweigh the drying out of the skin? Especially in dandruff shampoo’s?
Menthol is not really an irritant in the amounts used in medicated skin products; it is, rather, a “counter-irritant,” which makes the skin tingle and reduces the sensations of pain or itching that drive one to use it. It may also draw some extra blood to the skin, which is sometimes useful. Subclinical amounts of menthol are used just for the tingle, and I’m not aware that it ever dries out the skin – certainly not as much as the shampoo itself.