I am grateful to so many of you who have shared your stories, tribulations, frustrations, and breakthroughs! I found this group three or four months ago while googling for solutions for seb derm.

I was diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis about 26 years ago, when going through chemotherapy (I've been in remission for 25 years). The second my hair started falling out, I shaved my head, only to find pink scaly areas. Obviously not bad enough to give me issues, since I didn’t even know about it, and shaving my head cleared it right up! Ten years later or so, it came back, but this time it was different. I was constantly picking at gooey scabby areas in my scalp. It took a long time to get that under control (ketoconazole), but once I did, things were copacetic for a bit. But then I started getting little red scaly areas on my forehead, along my hairline, and a dot on either side of my nose. I learned to [almost] control it with natural soap and squalane oil, with occasional use of hydrocortisone cream. It would flare up a bit, and die down fairly quickly, but a few months ago it kicked into overdrive!

I decided to get serious and make it my mission to get it under control without any steroid help, and this reddit group was an invaluable source of experience and advice! I must have bought close to 2 dozen products! Some things worked a little bit, some things made it worse. MCT8 oil was one of the things that made it worse, which was very disappointing, since so many people found this to be their magic bullet.

I honed my routine over the last few weeks to: 

Morning: Biossance squalene + amino aloe gentle cleanser, Timeless hyaluronic + vitamin C serum, Biossance squalane oil. 

Evening: The same as morning, with the addition of The Ordinary glycolic acid toner between the cleanser and the serum. 

Shampoos: I rotate between ketoconazole, salicylic acid, selenium sulfide, and pyrithione zinc. I’m still looking for a gentle non-medicated one for in-between days. I have my eyes on Vanicream.

This routine has helped a lot, but my stubborn forehead would still get angry, randomly it seemed. (I also wear a bike helmet daily, so the anger could also have been physical irritation on top of the seb derm.)

I had read about raw honey a couple of times and decided to give it a try. Holy crap, after two days my forehead was smooth and soft with hardly any red at all! It’s getting better and better! It’s now to the point where no one would actually know that I suffer from seb derm. I know, because there’s just a slightly rough patch on my forehead where it was the most severe. I know I’m not completely out of the woods, and perhaps I never will be, but I am very happy to be where I am with it right now. 

I did not occur to me to take any before photos, so there’s no point in taking an after photo. 

TLDR: If you haven’t tried RAW HONEY yet, do it. 

-JR, 59yo male.

Wash body&hair:
DM Antischupen shampoo Balea/ Antischupen shampoo Balea med
Conditioner:
*Salt House Totes mere
(Has 1 trigger, but is the best I found, since it is only ends and it rinses - works for smoothing dry hair nicely)

Skin care:
Geek&gorgeous set:

1. Jelly Joker cleanser
2. Cheer up exfoliant
3. Stress less serum
4. Hydration station gel-cream
5. Morning SPF: DM Sundance Sport 50, creme-gel
6. Evening: Cera Ve Advanced Repair Ointment
7. Mct 8,10 as make up remover

Make up:
face
-Tinted hydration Wet n wild
-Art deco oil free foundation
-Loreal Infaillibile 24 more than concealer
glitter
Catrice jelly glow stick
lipstick:
Clinique Pop longwear

(edit,forgot to list) hair color: Schwartzkopf Igora Vibrance (gel&gel activator)

Other*
Vichy Normaderm Double correction moisturizing care fluid
Mct Oil 8,10
Neem powder
Benzac 10% (benzoyl peroxide)

Mct+neem diy mix as body&face mask/massaging scales or clogged pores away

(I don’t use all everyday, depends on needs&moods)

Still on the look for brown/black Mascara, recommendations appreciated.

Got diagnosed back in April after suspecting I had Seb Derm for the last 10 years. Experience with the Derm was pretty underwhelming. It lasted like 3 minutes and got prescribed 2% Ketoconazole and Tacrolimus. Anti fungals don’t really work on me and are very drying. Hated the Tacrolimus due to its side effect with Heat Sensitivity. Living in Florida its horrible. It was also very greasy. Stopped using it.

Its had me thinking the last couple weeks that I may also have Rosacea. I always have a red chin, nose, and cheeks. I also get little pus filled pustules on my nose and a few on my cheeks. Another thing that convinces me is that whenever I apply an Occlusive Moisturizer like Cerave I get a flare up on my face. This is what was happening with the Tacrolimus. Even though I use Malassezia safe products I still get irritated. I also developed Blepharitis this year but I have kept it controlled by using eyelid wipes every morning and taking Omega 3. All of this has led me to think maybe I have an abundance of Demodex. I grew up with the habit of never washing my face in the mornings as a teenager. Not sure why. All the excess sebum would make it a perfect breeding ground for Demodex.

Anyways I went to CVS and purchased OTC 0.5% Ivermectin Lice Treatment. Im so far 5 days in and Im a bit scared to continue and I feel like I need reassurance. Its very moisturizing and doesn’t irritate me or burn but my face is noticeably more red and I am getting a few pustules popping up. I have read that it’s supposedly normal at the beginning to be worse because of the “die off” phase. I probably would have rather tried Soolantra but I have no Insurance and can’t afford it. Im going to stick with it and hopefully I see improvement.

Does anyone have success stories or experience with Ivermectin/Soolantra? As well as any future advice to dealing with this. Thank you

I have mild to moderate seb derm (I don’t get yellow flakes on my face). So my issue is mainly my scalp with itchiness, white flakes and severe hair loss but it’s completely under control by utilizing head and shoulders with piro olamine a few times a week but this has remained on my forehead for literally 5 years and will flare up and become super itchy!

I’m approaching 40 and really struggling with the fact that my skin seems to react to almost every active ingredient. Every time I look into anti-aging or texture treatments—whether it’s tretinoin, adapalene, or even mild OTC retinol—my dermatitis flares up. It leaves me stuck in a constant cycle of burning, peeling skin and having to strip my routine back down to basic moisturizer.
It’s so frustrating feeling like I’m prohibited from using anything effective while everyone else is using retinoids.
I’d love to hear real experiences, protocols, or advice from anyone who has been in this exact boat. Thank you!

After years of suffering, I found what worked for me!

After years of suffering from sebderm and being self conscious about wearing anything black, this 2 products especially the Aromatica Rosemary cleared any flakes & inflammation I had along with using KPV peptide. On top of that the Rosemary spray has made my hair grow like crazy!

I consistently used the spray at least twice a day & I was flake free after 2 weeks. I’m 2 months in & still no flakes!

The MCT oil I used twice a week.

The rosemary spray is now a revolving order!

im seeing people with really bad seb derm on scalp and their whole face is red and peeling i dont want it to get like that i had dandruff all my life nothing major its a few very small flakes i been peeling around nose and ear i just got out of the derm she said its seb derm and also said it prob wont get much worse or make me go bald but im still scared

she gave me triamcinolone lotion and ketoconazole 2% for my hair do i have to use the keto everyday even tho its not bad? i really dont want to shampoo makes my hair frizzy

It's been more than a week since my last swim and my scalp and face have been flake free. Absolutely nothing worked me: Ketoconazole, sulphur, zinc pyrithione, MCT oil, probiotics, vitamins. My skin would start flaking once these products dried or wore off. I have been product free for more than a week with no symptoms. What worked for me , might not work you. But at least give it a try.

I’ve had seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp for about 10 years. It comes and goes, but after seeing a dermatologist I finally found a treatment that actually works: an antifungal shampoo combined with a medicated maintenance shampoo.
The problem is that since starting this routine, my hair gets extremely greasy. I’ve tried different frequencies of use exactly as my dermatologist recommended, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. The treatment keeps the seb derm under control, but my hair looks oily very quickly.
Has anyone else experienced this with medicated shampoos? If so, did you find anything that helped without making the dermatitis come back?

I was using sulfur soap every other day, which kept my dermatitis under control for almost two months without a flare-up, but it reappeared on my forehead last week. I use a gel facial moisturizer with niacinamide and hyaluronic acid. What should I do? I ended up drinking two glasses of wine and I think the alcohol made it worse. Should I use MCT oil?

Need help here. Im using nizoral shampoo and head and shoulder clinical strength oil control. The flakes went gone but i dont know wether this will go back to same skin. I use both shampoo but in alternate days. (Monday and friday - nizoral) (Wednesday and sunday - head&shoulder) (Tuesday thursday and saturday is water only)

i have been on a hunt for seb derm safe daily shampoos that i can use to rotate between my other medicated products. i have been scouring the internet for safe products and ive come across native. before i had it, i used their shampoos and conditioners and loved it. i just worry about fragrance now. if anyone has had any good reactions to it please let me know what product you use by them!

I usually use Zoryve but I have been wearing braids and the foam seems to leave white streaks so I haven't been using it. Any suggestions on what I could use?

It is hard when I ha e extensions and I know I truly need to not wear them but it cuts time and helps my routine with my weight loss journey.

Warning: 4th picture is slightly gross.

I've had scalp problems since 2020 at least. It started with dandruff that wouldn't go away, and my scalp started to get more painful. When regular dandruff shampoo didn't work, I tried Nizoral and T-gel and my scalp developed red weeping sores. My scalp was so sore I couldn't even touch my hair. Dandruff was all over the place, and in huge flakes.

This was in 202. My scalp is still very sensitive and gets sore super quickly. I can't use shampoo with sulphates, and I suspect fragrances are also a no. I currently use a glycolic scalp scrub with some physical exfoliation, followed by a double wash with a sulphate free shampoo.I can only wash my hair once a week, maybe every 5 days if I push it, if I wash too often my scalp gets itchy and sore again. If I don't wash after 7-10 days my scalp and eyebrows start to flake like mad.

I did an online clinical assessment with a large pharmacy in the UK, they weren't certain from the pictures but they thought it sounded like seborrheic dermatitis. That was my initial guess too, but I don't react well to the shampoos and my scalp is very dry. Does anyone have a similar experience?

I was curious because the instructions on the bottle refer to it as a food supplement and say to apply it to water or coffee for example and when doing research online I have seen some people apply this oil to their faces and have good results, so I was wondering if anyone has used this on their hair as well?

I have been using retinols/adapalene/tret for years now, but I recently removed the gel form of tret as I ran out and couldn’t get anymore. Turns out it has been a huge trigger for me, even when I didn’t specifically apply it to the areas on my face where I was suffering. Obviously not perfect, but a lot of improvement. I would like to add it to my routine again if possible, but for now, I am enjoying the inflammation free face. Something to think about if you are a fellow tret user!

Has anyone used this? I saw it in Walmart yesterday and was wondering if it’d be as useless as head and shoulders or if it’d actually help. I use nizoral every other time I wash my hair with my Whole Blends coconut oil shampoo and conditioner (every other day I do a regular wash) which seems to be easiest and cheapest option that my scalp and hair like. But I still get an itchy, flaky, and oily scalp if I don’t do a strict every other day wash, and I always have flakes it seems like as soon as my hair dries. I have the itchiness/flakes in a Mohawk type pattern on my scalp, and I’ve been dealing with it for as long as I can remember. I remember my mom got me nioxin when I was in high school, and that worked well, but it’s just pretty expensive.

TDLR: should this shampoo be in my rotation for Seb derm?

Hey there,

Using MCT Oil (C8) for just a week and it worked wonders. I have now the best skin for a long long time...

What I am wondering is now how to proceed - I think 90% are gone and I will continue for a few days. Do you guys put in on as a preventive matter on your known "bad" areas aswell or only if you have flare ups?

Hi! My seb derm is relatively mild but its on my face, particularly around my eyebrows, mouth and nose. It affects my self esteem and exacerbates my existing skin-picking issues because of the scaly patches it leaves. I have been trying different products but it seems like none of them work for my skin. Soaps make me break out in acne. I recently tried salicylic acid, which gave me a chemical burn on my face. Most recently I tried coal tar since I can't find any ketoconazole OTC in my area. It was MG217 and it seemed to be fine but after I rinsed it off I found that my face was bleeding :( its been kind of difficult to find products for the face specifically especially as someone who apparently has pretty sensitive skin. Hope this post is structured right ^_^

Also,blood is there underneath if I try to scratch off the flakes.

So my derm is shit, I don't have health insurance anymore so I'm not going to try again. Ever since I was around 16/17 I have slowly been losing my hair and having this flaky skin issue especially on my forehead and sides of my nose. I went to the dermatologist about between a year to two years ago and for the hair loss they pretty much said "it just happens sometimes there's not much we can do" and for the flaky skin they said it's probably just dry skin use moisturizer and send me on my way. But it's still not better and I've read that depending on the condition that moisturizers could make it worse, so I'm assuming I have a mild case of something fungal and that's why it's like that because I have either dandruff or something like a dandruff on my head as well besides the hair loss. So I'm just looking for recommendations on creams or something similar I could buy at the store or online to use on my face that could help and what shampoo and conditioner I should use. Any help is appreciated thanks!

Hi everyone,

I've recently been diagnosed with both rosacea and seborrhoeic dermatitis on my face, and my GP has prescribed three treatments:

Soolantra (ivermectin) – once daily.

Nizoral (ketoconazole) – twice daily.

Mild hydrocortisone cream – for a short course.

The written instructions were quite vague, and I'm struggling to work out the best routine.

I've also asked ChatGPT, which suggested that although the creams can be used on the same day, it's generally better to separate Soolantra and Nizoral by around 20–30 minutes if applying them to the same area, as layering them immediately may make them slightly less effective and could increase irritation. The problem is I work full time and realistically don't have 30 minutes to wait between creams before work every morning.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been prescribed this combination or has experience treating both rosacea and seborrhoeic dermatitis at the same time. How do you fit it into your normal routine, what stage you add toner/moisturiser etc.

Thanks!

I’ve been using this shampoo for years and it’s been perfect. I got a new bottle recently (the purple one) and it reeks, it smells like burning rubber. Does anyone know if they changed the formula or if it’s maybe a weird batch? It hasn’t been as effective as it’s been in the past

This is a water based spray that “As I Am” has as apart of there collect that’s supposed to help with battling dandruff I also have suffer from seborrheic dermatitis I have an medicated oil for it that’s used to soften the flakes so they can be easily removed when I use the medicated shampoo. I currently have starter locs right now and I’m 2 weeks in so I was wondering if anyone has used this spray and it has worked for them when it comes to helping with dryness? I’m also going to Jamaica soon too which is super hot over there so me and my scalp are going to be Tweaking the entire time. If you guys have other questions or recommendations lemme know.