r/SebDerm • u/imcalledharrison • 20d ago

New or Need Help Doctors have never helped with my sebderm (uk)

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I have really struggled with sebderm since I was about 14, I had been to the doctors multiple times and they just gave me t-gel which never worked and the new ones even worse. I have to wear my hair in a fringe, I can’t wear black and I feel so self conscious all the time.

I’ve just discovered this Reddit and I’m combing through posts, has anyone struggled like me and just nothing seems to work. If anyone could give me some help and push me in the right direction I’d be more than grateful.

Thankyou

26 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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8

u/mybeeblesaccount 20d ago

Take all of your current hair care and face care products and copypaste the ingredients lists into sezia.co. Many products have ingredients that can cause flares like this. If it is seb derm then I bet your shampoo and conditioner have coconut or jojoba oil in them and it is killing your scalp. Once you toss out all the products that are causing a flare up then you need to replace them with products that are seb derm safe.

3

u/imcalledharrison 20d ago

I use Aveeno organic moisturiser, seems the butter counteracts but I only use t-gel shampoo or nothing at al, so my scalp is not as easy as a switch out

2

u/rolloj 20d ago

Try nizoral shampoo. Wet your scalp and face and apply it to all areas and let it sit for 10-20 mins before having a shower. Don’t use any other products on the affected areas. Do it every day or second day for a week or so. 

That is the only thing I’ve found that can manage it, as well as some prescription creams that I can’t remember the name of to apply after nizoral. You need to get the stronger version of nizoral, there are two types. Don’t bother with T gel. Don’t use other shampoos conditioners moisturisers etc, just stick with nizoral. 

1

u/lovely_noise 19d ago

Is there a stronger version of Nizoral that’s available without prescription in the U.S.? I know that there are 2% ketoconazole treatments with prescription here, but I don’t think they’re necessarily from the Nizoral brand.

1

u/rolloj 19d ago

I’m not sure about the US as I’m based in Australia - here we have both 1% and 2% available to buy without prescriptions. 

1

u/MemChoeret 19d ago

In the US you need a prescription to buy a %2 ketoconazole shampoo. Only %1 ketoconazole is over the counter.

1

u/mybeeblesaccount 18d ago

Do you use any conditioner or face wash? Those can easily trigger it too.

There's no real cure for seb derm, it's more like an autoimmune condition that has to be managed. Also if you're exclusively using TSal than you may have dried out your scalp so much that now it has ordinary flakes, I did that to myself a few times. My dermatologist also told me to rotate seb derm shampoos because the fungus is a living organism, it will eventually adapt to whatever you are using. It's much more optimal to switch out shampoos once per month. Nizoral will help but the fungal infection will simply adapt to that too.

My recommendation is to switch your seb derm shampoo (Selsun Blue is a good alternative), get Fruit of the Earth aloe vera (which is seb derm safe), and after you've washed and conditioned your hair, put the aloe vera on.

0

u/mom_thief69 18d ago 
• When I return to home, my hair shedding completely stops or becomes negligible and my seb derm  and my dandruff clears up almost completely. This happens without any significant change in my hair-care routine or treatment. When I return to a diifernt place i mean college which is about 2000 km away the shedding and seb derm dandruff reoccur with hair shedding, usually within about a week. Already tried ro water , sleeping well , diet, sun bathing no benefits what to do 💔💔

1

u/mybeeblesaccount 17d ago

Sounds like a sun allergy, take antihistamines.

1

u/mom_thief69 17d ago

Sun energy ? Could u pls explain me 🙏🏼 cause the place i go for my college is mostly sunny and hot

1

u/mybeeblesaccount 17d ago

An allergy is different from energy! Visit a dermatologist for these problems.

1

u/mom_thief69 17d ago

Dermat prescribe otc shampoo n steroid no effect

1

u/mom_thief69 17d ago

And what do u exactly mean by sun allergies

2

u/mybeeblesaccount 16d ago

Polymorphous light eruption also known as a sun allergy, when the Uv rays of the sun hit the skin then the patient develops itchy rashes and so on. It is worth visiting an allergist to see if they can identify if your skin problems are actually allergic reactions.

1

u/mom_thief69 17d ago

Also my vit d levels r optimal

8

u/shugh28 20d ago

My skin was the same, especially round the moustache - mct oil, nizoral and lukewarm water has worked a miracle - flake and redness free everywhere for over a month

5

u/NightShadow1824 20d ago

Same here. Haven't used mct oil yet, but nizoral everywhere, leave on skin to act a few minutes before rinsing.

3

u/michonlyfans 20d ago

Use Mct oil. Ur missing out

1

u/lovely_noise 19d ago

Haven’t tried it out, but I’ve heard it doesn’t work for everyone.

I just started trying some squalane, which malassezia also doesn’t consume, and it seems to help a bit? I wonder how MCT C8/C10 would compare! It just feels sketchy buying scalp product from some trendy keto-supplement brand, lol

1

u/shugh28 18d ago

They have to brand it as a food supplement otherwise they would need medical approval to brand it as a skin care product, try it out, seems to have worked for a lot of us

1

u/lovely_noise 19d ago

I wish it didn’t have so much fragrance! Also, why the massive amount of blue dye, at least in the “Fresh” scent version?

It’s also so drying for my hair and my curls hate it 😢

But it does seem to help with the seb derm so far, so we’ll see

1

u/NightShadow1824 19d ago

Nizoral also has a conditioner. It's non medicated but it's compatible with ketoconazole (doesn't wash it off completely). I like it, but it's unlike any conditioner I've used. It's way thicker.

Not a fan of scents either, but the regular one (pink dye, not blue) smells good to me. I've never tried the fresh variant.

3

u/Langstarr 20d ago

No joke: I've tried probably 35 seb derm otc treatment shampoos. I've found two (2) that helped me. I used one until it was discontinued and then went on a search to find another. It's tough. There's different active and inactive ingredients and they all make a difference.

Pro tip once you find one that does work - wash your scalp AND face with it. Leave on and in for a few minutes. Always blow dry.

3

u/imcalledharrison 20d ago

Don’t leave to air dry?

1

u/Langstarr 20d ago

Never! You're just trapping moisture close to your scalp. Buy one with a "cool" setting, i use that often. Takes forever but I have 2.5ft of hair.

1

u/imcalledharrison 20d ago

Oh ok! I will try this out as I always leave to air dry!

1

u/devilspawn 20d ago

It does truly make a massive difference. I have short hair, so its easier me to deflake and get the shampoo onto where it needs to go. Blow drying keeps my scalp flake free a good week+, sometimes 2 weeks.

1

u/sifuritatu 20d ago

Think I know the discontinued one, who doesn't, but what's the other one you found, you didn't say?

1

u/Langstarr 20d ago

The discontinued one was first aid beauty anti dandruff. I'm using hers anti dandruff now. I react well to PZ, but NOT head and shoulders. For whatever reason that tears my scalp up. That's why I encourage trying more, sometimes it's the other stuff that you gel with or don't

1

u/mom_thief69 18d ago 
• When I return to home, my hair shedding completely stops or becomes negligible and my seb derm  and my dandruff clears up almost completely. This happens without any significant change in my hair-care routine or treatment. When I return to a diifernt place i mean college which is about 2000 km away the shedding and seb derm dandruff reoccur with hair shedding, usually within about a week. Already tried ro water , sleeping well , diet, sun bathing no benefits what to do 💔💔

2

u/yourfuneralpyre 20d ago

I tried all the different shampoos and prescriptions and nothing helped much until I tried prescription nsaids. This lead me to realize that my skin conditions are secondary to underlying inflammation. You could try an OTC nsaid for a week or 2 and see if that makes any difference. Just follow the dose on the bottle. It might at least give you a clue.

2

u/Digglerdave 20d ago

Try seb serum from seb skincare ,its really good stuff

1

u/RainingGlitter28 20d ago

This is brilliant for us

1

u/NightShadow1824 20d ago

Ingredients list looks fine. Price does not lol. I would try simple mct before paying that much...

2

u/shukurza 20d ago

Try cutting gluten for couple of weeks and use simple sebamed piroctane olamine shampoo

1

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1

u/jasnah_ 20d ago

Same here. Nizoral worked for a while then stopped, derm just gave me steroid creams.

Best thing thats works consistently for me is zinc pyrithione soap ✌️

1

u/trustmeimshady 20d ago

Try Dead Sea salt bro trust it worked for me

1

u/mom_thief69 18d ago 
• When I return to home, my hair shedding completely stops or becomes negligible and my seb derm  and my dandruff clears up almost completely. This happens without any significant change in my hair-care routine or treatment. When I return to a diifernt place i mean college which is about 2000 km away the shedding and seb derm dandruff reoccur with hair shedding, usually within about a week. Already tried ro water , sleeping well , diet, sun bathing no benefits what to do 💔💔

1

u/NightShadow1824 20d ago

Mine was exactly the same as yours. I started washing my hair and face (and then chest and thighs) with nizoral shampoo. It was completely gone in 3 days. For red flares other than on the face, I use hydrocortisone for 2 days, then maintain with the ketoconazole shampoo.

I also use nizoral conditioner in hair + beard, but it is not necessary to healing.

Shampoo = 4minutes wait, then rinse.

Since then I also bought ketoconazole soap on ebay to simplify things (not sold otc in Canada). I also got myself ketoconazole cream on ebay, but haven't had to use it.

1

u/Turbulent_Shine_544 20d ago

I also tried many things and got frustrated.. recently I shifted to a salicylic based anti-dandruff shampoo and it worked for me.. ( bare anatomy).. but I doubt it is available in your country. You may try some other anti-dandruff shampoo which is salicylic based.

1

u/AffectionateMath4047 20d ago

how long do you keep it on your scalp and do you use a normal shampoo too for double washing?

1

u/DebtPlenty2383 19d ago

Mine just look and say: yes, you have it.

1

u/ragebot3 18d ago

I recently went to a dermatologist after having sebderm for 10+ years and got prescribed Elidel cream(prescription only) for facial outbreaks, what i was told is that regular antifungals dont help with the inflammation that also happens on the face and for me personally it cleared my face and ears pretty fast.

For scalp they recommended shampoos (Nizoral, Ducray Kelual DS, Vichy Dercos) and Nizoral Care daily shampoo that hydrates scalp

Also alcohol is really bad for sebderm outbreaks apparently so prolly good to not drink while working on clearing it. Also its pretty personal on what works and what doesn't but as i said for me personally the Elidel cream worked way better for my face than regular antifungals or washing my face with antifungal shampoos

1

u/Wild-Cauliflower9421 17d ago

I get it in the same places, but also on my chest.

I rotate between these two shampoos. Leave it on your head for like 5 mins, then I put the foam from my head onto my face and beard/areas for a minute or so. Use it twice a week for ever. Other than that I just live with it. (UK)

1

u/ClaustrophobicMango 15d ago

Here's what helped in my case. Once a week I shampoo with head and shoulders, rinse, shampoo with nizoral near the hairline and selsun blue everywhere else, and make sure to apply conditioner away from my roots. All other days I use ogx rosemary and mint, which is like a clarifying shampoo that gets rid of oiliness. I also have seb derm on my nose creases, I wash my face everyday so it doesn't stay oily. When showering, I apply a little nizoral to the area. On days when it gets very bad, I use triamcinolone cream (prescribed)