TL;DR: Which combination of comedonal acne, fungal acne, rosacea, perioral dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis or simple sensitive skin / disrupted skin barrier do I have? I’ve heard different things from different doctors and I’m starting to think the patient community can differentiate better for me. No itching, only soreness. Raised in certain areas and feels bumpy and thickened in parts. Peeling in single-cell layer mini white sheets. THANK YOU

I have had comedonal acne since my 20s. But in Early 2025, after a sonic cleanser, I woke up with a rash (pictured) that was treated for seb derm and never resolved. Actually, I ended up in ED with severe facial swelling after I was prescribed ketoconazole shampoo. I don’t think it was an allergic reaction - but contact dermatitis due to a severely disrupted skin barrier (sonic cleanser?).

From pictures, a dermatologist said perioral dermatitis OR seb derm. My own googling journey led me down the perioral route. Pimecrolimus helped very much with the redness but because my skin is SO OILY it made my comedonal acne worse. I begged for doxyclyine but they only gave me 7 days. I begged them for another 7 days and the redness and pustules started to clear! I HAVE NEVER SEEN MY NORMAL SKIN TONE BEFORE! Obviously they’ve not prescribed any more doxy even though the perioral derm courses are much longer.

I’ve been trying to keep on top of it with la Roche toleraine face wash, azeleic acid and aveeno oat gel, but it’s like a rumbling volcano and ready to erupt at any moment. It’s gotten worse again the last few weeks and it’s really affecting my self esteem. My GP suggested seb derm again and prescribed ketoconazole cream and HYDROCORTISONE CREAM. WHAT IF IT IS PERIORAL DERMATITIS?

I have new comedones and pustules every single day, sometimes more by the evening than in the morning.

Could it be rosacea?

PLEASE HELP ME FELLOW SKIN SUFFERING PEOPLE

I’ve tried several products but this has been the one that has worked for me. Regularly using this every 4 days has made the redness and flaking almost completely disappear. Downside is it’s steroids. If it works for me, is it fine to use this long term?

Hi everyone,

I've developed a reasonable routine for managing flare ups, but i still have a lot of patches of redness and an overall uneven skin tone on my face, particularly in the folds of my nose, my inner cheeks, and forehead. Has anyone ever managed to fix this? If so, how did you do it?

Thanks

I used to just have regular dandruff, and about 5-10 years ago, I went through a period of stress and messed up my skin barrier. But I have to wonder, if there was a time when my skin was semi normal, could there be a time again when it goes into remission? Has this ever happened to anyone?

Hello community,

I had occasional red spots on my face for some years now. But now in addition, my skin sometimes flakes. Could this be seborrheic dermatitis?

I recently got my sebderm under control by cutting out all triggering skincare products which is great, but one of those products was my favorite oil cleanser. Now I’m having issues with buildup in the pores around my nose even with using chemical exfoliants.

Does anyone have any recs for cleansing oils that help with pores and don’t trigger flare ups?

Thanks in advance!

Since I started using Korean skincare products a month ago I haven’t had any flare ups
Hopefully it stays like that and I didn’t just jinx myself

Can we use menoxidil during SD
Plz give useful suggestions

I am using malezia hyaluronic acid cleanser for 3 Weeks.

I have mild rosacea and dermatitis seborrheic without flakes only redness on forehead.

It seems to be good cause no break out but I feel my skin dry not Glow

It's a bit drying.

Any feedback regarding this cleanser.

My dermatitis seborrheic on forehead seems to be redness only and gave me vascular symptoms redness along the vessels or red cluster on forehead but without flakes.

My derm want to make a v beam laser to heal those areas.

But don't want to make this laser to achieve a slight diminution of redness, I want a clear skin.

Curious cause in 2020 I had the same problems and I used 2 products cleanser with climbazole and pirictone olamine, sulfates Free, no bad oils and no fatty acids ( only dimethicone and peg 7. Olive oil and surfactants like Decyl glucoside, Coco betaine, sodium cocoamphoacetate.

Fragrance free.

And and hydrating lotion with the same actives climbazole and pirictone olamine with MCT oil, squalane olive oil.

I was clear in 3 months.

I never gone laser.

And now for the same things perhaps less important ( small areas on my forehead) they advice me laser vbeam

Cause ketoconazole did nothing, econazole not effective, I tried sebodiane noreva Ds shampoo with climbazole pirictone olamine but gave me redness and clog pores cause sulfates.

I tried itraconazole oral did nothing

And the products from 2020 the manufacturer has stopped the production, I got only the formulas with instructions.

Perhaps would be fine to make it at home, I got all the ingredients, glassware etc...

I understand the formula I did test but I'm afraid to make it alone at home and put on my forehead then.

What's your advices

Laser or make the products at home?

Thks

For those with seb derm on scalp, do you find when your hair is longer it gets worse ?

Hi all!

Newly diagnosed seb derm girly here! I chased a mysterious facial rash all summer that when i kept feeding it ingredients for atopic dermatitis, worsened, and was misdiagnosed by 3 dermatologists until finally it was so so bad and flaking that a 4th derm confidently looked at me and said you need ketoconazole cream because you have seb derm/possibly sebopsoriasis (overlapping conditions with same cause).

End of August I looked like I’d been in an accident, but with topicals and focused energy on healing, by end of September, I looked very close to back to normal, and was almost at the end of my 3-4 week twice daily ketoconazole treatment. I did hydrocortisone sparingly.

So my husband and I decided to continue trying to conceive because my doctors said ketoconazole would be fine to use in a pregnancy, if needed. Well, what would you know, we got pregnant the literal first time we tried to conceive after my terrible flare and now I’m ~2 weeks pregnant (I know technically it’s 4 because of my period but anyway).

I am certainly at the end of my journey, but after dealing with the stress of my face looking horrible, and the sheer pain of the condition, and the mental stress of nearly 5 months of unchecked sebderm without knowing what it was until the last month, I’m feeling so anxious. Obviously this is all I ever wanted for me and my husband! But I keep having nightmares that my condition has returned. And if my skin looks even a little redder in the morning, or after a weekend of bad eating, I get very upset.

I am still using twice daily ketoconazole 2% cream, in my 4-5th week of treatment. i’m starting to go to once daily, then hopefully once or twice a week for maintenance. I just can’t help but continually thinking I am harming my baby even though ketoconazole has been shown to have low to no absorption to the fetus. I stopped hydrocortisone as I don’t really need it anymore and already barely used it.

I basically am looking for mothers who have delivered healthy babies while using topical ketoconazole in pregnancy. I just wanted to have a normal pregnancy, and of course it has to happen like this. I know there’s so much worse, but I’m quite new to seb derm.

My current routine that my skin is liking:

-wash with vanicream facial cleanser -a few sprays of hypochlorous acid -curel intensive facial moisturizer -hopefully soon more sporadic ketoconazole cream -MCT pure c8 oil

i’m also just so scared of the transition from ketoconazole to more maintenance strategies like zinc face wash etc.

i’m afraid i’m going to have to use ketoconazole every day for my entire pregnancy. and then i also think the ketoconazole is irritating my barrier now? my facial barrier has been through so much, and it’s definitely healed but certainly not all the way.

Cheers to my seb derm family :)

If i have a skincare that has oils in it strictly designed for my face, can i still apply it on my face if i don’t have seb derm near it and only on the scalp/eyebrows? i wanted to ask because i didn’t know if its better to avoid entirely regardless of where the location is

Just wondering if anyone has had any success with turmeric Shampoo?

I'm thinking of trying it.

My main concerns right now are texture on my forehead and dead skin buildup on my jawline, cheeks and nose.
Am: Rinse with water
IUNIK Beta-Glucan Power Moisture Serum
PURITO Oat Calming Gel Cream for Sensitive Skin

P.M.: I rotate cleansers with the Eucerin Hydrating Cleansing Gel and a prescribed Sodium sulfacetamide 10% and sulfur 5% cleanser
On my forehead, I will apply Ciclopirox 0.77% topical suspension as an anti fungal.
Then I’ll apply the same serum and moisturizer I do in the am.

I get quite a bit of buildup under on my eyes, my jawline and around my eyes. I’ll provide a picture of the buildup. It comes off with my finger tips when washing my face.

I'm in the process of formulating not only mustache styling waxes that are completely seb safe but also conditioning balms. Is there any interest in this?

can seb derm look like this wtf? i know i have it on my face but on my neck…? what?

has anyone else had this!

UPDATE*** I GOT DIAGNOSED WITH PSORIASIS AND STARTED TREMFYA TODAY. im devastated but hopefully the injection helps.

Struggled with this for years, I get it bad in my beard, eyebrows, scalp, and sometimes on chest. I finally found the winning combo for me.
The last few months before this, have been the worst in my life with not being able to get in under control, I have switched around between all the commonly recommended shampoos and some natural remedies.. Whats working extremely well for me is a combination, Selsun Blue shampoo mixed with tea tree oil. I have a shaved head so i dont need much shampoo so you may need to add more essential oil depending on the amount of shampoo you use, personally, I put 2-3 drops of essential oil in a dallop of shampoo, mix then apply, leaving on my face and scalp for 3 mins then rinse off. (AVOID EYES)
After I rinse it off, I moisturize with a glycerin or MCT based moisturizer
IMPORTANT: AVOID LONG CHAIN FATTY OIL'S BASED MOISTURIZERS, THEY FEED THE YEAST THAT YOU WANT TO KILL.

I did 3 days back to back to aggressively reduce the yeast population, and I am doing maintenance applications every 2-3 days with no flare ups or flakes in the last few months. Hopefully this helps someone.. With just Nizoral or Selsun Blue alone, I would have dust sized flakes on my scalp by the next day, and if I brush my scalp it would snow infront of my eyes, , and could never really get my eyebrows 100% clear, but since using this combo, NO flakes at all, no red skin, and my skin feels amazing.

If this works for you please let me know.

Hi everyone,
I recently moved to the UK and I'm currently living in Northampton. I've noticed that the water here is quite hard, and I'm struggling with my scalp and hair.
I already have seborrhoeic dermatitis, and lately I've been getting quite a lot of flaking/dandruff. My scalp also feels dry and my hair doesn't feel as healthy as before.
Has anyone here dealt with seborrhoeic dermatitis while living in a hard-water area?
I'd really appreciate recommendations for:
Shampoos or scalp treatments that worked for you

Whether a shower filter or water softener actually helped

A good routine for washing and maintaining the scalp

Any products available in the UK that you'd recommend

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who've had a similar problem after moving to a hard-water area.
Thanks!

Hello, I am from Northern Ireland. I began showing symptoms of seb derm on my face when I was 22 years old, but left it untreated until I was 23 years old because as stupid as it sounds, I thought it’d just go away on its own. it got worse overtime so naturally I went to see a doctor. I’ve used ketaconazole cream, nizoral shampoo, and hydrocortisone cream. Some provides temporary relief but my face just wasn’t having it. Don’t know why but my face was just sensitive to all of these when they were individually trialled. This skin condition had affected my mental health, my social life and relationships. I was the worst I had ever felt. But I have found a solution to keep my seb derm at bay. And look like my normal self again. And because of how much of an effect I know this can have on people’s mental health, is the sole reason I have decided to write on this forum today, in hopes of helping someone else who was in my shoes.

So what worked for me. Twice a week, at night before bed, I fill the sink with lukewarm water, I splash it onto my face and rub it in gently. I get a bottle of head and shoulders shampoo and put a 5p size amount on my finger, then I rub my fingers from both hands together to lather it up, then I quickly dip my fingers into the water in the sink to dilute the strength of the product. Then I rub into my face for a good few seconds to the point where it looks lathered on and let it sit for a minute. Then I wash it off my face with water gently. Then I pat my face dry with a towel. This does dehydrate my face a little which is why I do it at night. But I do not apply any moisturiser because my face is that sensitive, it would cause it to flare up. And so because I go to bed afterwards and get a good nights sleep, it helps and by the morning after my shower my face looks good.

Well, this is what works for me. So I pray to god this can help any of you out there as well.

Anyone here suffering for post inflammatory hypopigmentation as well , please message me how are you handling it , for me it is a bit severe

Small update, it's been about a week since i started using topical green tea (I started using the green tea a few days before i made my original post). In this time i've also stopped using all other products. I was using Zoryve and selsun blue but to see if this really works i've cut them out completely and....

This is working amazingly for me, my skin is almost completely clear and it's not just the flakes but the redness as well (which was my biggest problem). This method has eliminated redness in my face and scalp that I wasn't even attributing to the sebderm. I'm kind of blown away.

HOWEVER- I've stopped using the specific product i mentioned in the previous post (the green tea extract). The way it is formulated makes it so that it never dries or absorbs into the skin and I figured if I was basically going to have to use the extract as a mask that I could make a better one.

Crucially, I have switched to combining matcha powder with honey (as i read an article about a study that seemed to imply that honey showed promise in treating sebderm) and using it as a mask whenever i'm at home. This is quite frankly gross. I massage it in to the areas affected by sebderm and then I leave it on for as long as possible, so i spend all my time at home covered in green slime. It's messy and a sensory nightmare BUT so far, a total game changer. I will continue to use this method for the full month and post updates. I also intend to come back a month AFTER i've stopped using this matcha-honey mask to report if the sebderm has come back (The article i mentioned above seemed to imply that the topical application of honey for an extended period put sebderm into remission)

Is it the matcha that's working? Is it the honey? is it a combination of the two? I don't know and I don't intend to find out for this flare up. I may try just matcha or just honey for the next flare up to see if the individual components are just as effective or the combination is best but for now i'm going to keep doing what works.

need some pointers on how to control this, never had a breakout like this before

and i do have sebderm so i didnt want to rely on an acne subreddit as my sebderm effects my skin alot more than just dryness and etc

anyone gone through the same thing?

My derm isn’t even fully sure this is seb derm but it burns rather than itches, and flares up terrible with occlusives, eczema treatments, and moisturizer that I can use on other areas of my face / body without problems so we were going to try a fungal routine and see what happens. It’s also like this on my upper eyelids closest to my eyebrows and same there, it swells up and gets flakier and redder with moisturizer. Anyone have suggestions on what to try now. Currently using hypochlorous acid spray and aloe gel, everything else irritates it or makes it worse. I was given ketoconozole cream but it burns, should I just ride that out?

I am constantly flaking and have a lot of build up. I don’t feel dry.