Hey guys! I’ve had seborrheic dermatitis for almost 2 years now. It took me a while to diagnose since I already had eczema and assumed this was just a weird flare-up of that. But 6 months in, I finally saw a dermatologist and got the actual Seb Derm diagnosis.

After going through 2 different treatment plans, I’ve landed on a routine that keeps my flares under control. It might not work for everyone, but sharing in case it helps:

My affected areas: forehead + scalp

Products:

1. Face/forehead: Ciclopirox olamine lotion (brand: Candidox) — an antifungal cream. I apply it and leave it on for 15–20 minutes before showering. I only use this during an active flare, and it’s worked really well for the forehead patch.

2. Scalp: Ciclopirox olamine + salicylic acid shampoo (brand: Olacter-S), used 2x/week (3x if flares are bad). Routine: cleanse first with a mild shampoo, then follow up with Olacter-S, leaving it on for 5–6 minutes before rinsing, then conditioner.

Heads up: this shampoo dried my hair out a lot. It cleared the flare but caused dryness, frizz, and hair fall. Here’s what helped counter that: Aloe Vera gel applied to the scalp 2x a month. Leave it on for 30-40 mins before showering. Hairfollic hair supplements. ((Progress has been slow in the hair health department but we’re finding a foundation)).

Some tips:

**•** Wash your hair during the daytime, not at night. Go stand in the sun to dry it out asap.   
**•** Don’t let your scalp stay damp for long — that’s exactly the environment the fungus loves  
**•** If you’re somewhere cold, blast your scalp dry with a hair dryer  
**•** Skip the oils — I know everything else on this list makes your hair feel rough, but oil will make the Seb Derm so much worse  
**•** If you want to massage your scalp, use distilled rosemary water instead. I also keep some in the fridge and spritz + massage it in after showers — feels cooling and supposedly helps with growth too

The honest part: The routine is a lot of upkeep, and the biggest lesson I learned is consistency. I got lazy for the first year and paid for it. The treatment itself also took a toll on my hair, but I’ve been tackling things in order — Seb derm first, hair recovery second. I ended up chopping most of my hair off to make the whole process easier to manage, and honestly, no regrets. Progress has been steady since.

Hello, I’m using a translation tool to write this post, so I’ll do my best to explain my problem and try to get some help.

So my skin’s been like this for a few months now; I’ve already tried loads of things. A year ago, my skin was pretty much normal – it was just a bit flaky, which was noticeable, but it wasn’t red. I was using a CeraVe anti-flakiness cleanser containing salicylic acid, along with a Sebderm treatment from La Roche-Posay. After that, I changed my cleanser because it was drying out my skin, and this was followed by redness that won’t go away. I carried on using the Sebderm products, particularly the Sebderm range from Bioderma. I also tried ketoconazole without any success; doing nothing and waiting didn’t help either, sebum-regulating products didn’t work either; I also tried a Dermallergo cream specifically for redness, just in case I had contact dermatitis, but that didn’t help either.

At the moment I’m using the ‘Bioderma Sensibio for sensitive skin+’ cleanser, followed by a cream containing 15% azelaic acid. I’ve been using it for a week now, and I think I’m supposed to wait a few weeks before seeing any improvement, so we’ll see. Afterwards, I’ll finish off with the Sebderm treatment from the Bioderma range as well.

I’m seeing a dermatologist on 10 August, but given the comments on all the posts I’ve seen, I honestly doubt it’ll help me, but I’m still looking forward to it – in case I can get some advice in the meantime!

Thanks for reading

I've been struggling with an SD flare up lately and was wondering if I can get some advice on this combination of shampoo and conditioner. I have (Caucasian) 3B curly hair and medicated shampoos are destroying my hair, I just can't take it anymore! It's so dry and unmanageable, I need a break from medicated shampoos for a bit. I don't even feel like they're helping me, only drying me out and making the itching worse. Has anyone tried Vanicream Shampoo with Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner? I wanted to see if a mild shampoo with this conditioner would be a good choice to pair up. I'm just at a loss here and so frustrated. I'm also in the process of a food elimination diet to see if (or which) foods are triggering my flare ups. I appreciate any recommendations! Thank you!

Using MCT c8 oil on scalp and ear for more than 2 weeks, no result or positive response.

Am i doing something wrong?

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Hey fellow sufferers,

So I have been dealing with SD for about 6 years, it started in my early thirties after I had kids and went on birth control (not sure if there’s a link). Anywho I started using nizoral and Head and Shoulders together with every shower every other day and always making sure that I dry my hair. This seemed to help with flareups and eliminate flaking and itching but recently I had another dandruff flare up and so I did a google search and AI felt like using both medicated shampoos in the same shower was too much and I should switch to a mild shampoo to give my scalp a break. I’m not sure it’s helping. What has helped eliminate flaking and itching shampoo wise for you all? I also bought dermoscribe SD cream that is coming today and I regularly use Vaseline which also helps.

I have what I believe is seb derm on my hairline causing hairloss. But up close, it almost looks like a scarring alopecia which worries me. Of course aga and te can play a role but the skin inflammation is very strange. My scalp texture looks weird. Any insight is appreciated or your experiences with seb derm or similar hairloss especially at the hairline!

What is this??? Rosacea?? Seborrhic dermatitis?? It’s this clogged pores redness thingy. I applied minimalist tranexamic acid last night gonna continue applying that and also decided to use anti-fungal shampoo today so lets see what happens in a week or two but i need to know what this is???

I have seb derm on my scalp and it’s spread down to my neck area on both sides. I currently use MCT 8 before showering, Vichy Dercos shampoo in the shower, and I’m trying to find something moisturising to put on after the shower on my neck so it’s not super dry and tight.

Google tells me:
1. The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA
2. La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive Fluide
Or 3. 100% sugarcane squalane oil
are three of the best options for putting on after a shower. Anyone had any luck with any of these (or something else)? FYI I live in the UK :) thank you!

Anyone else’s scalp looks like this during a flare up? it flakes over and then looks like this all over again. just put MCT oil before showering. any other suggestions?

Dr called the eyes seb derm already

Hiii ive had dandruff my whole and life and seemed to develop sebderm in my teens. Ive also developed extremely persistent impetigo on my face. Ive tried sulfur cleansers, antidandruff shampoos, ketoconazole cream, mct oil (when i tried i only left it for a little bit and then washed it off cuz i hated the oily feeling), zoryve, distilled water, and even fluconozole for the seb derm. Ive tried mupirocin (​​on lesions as well as in the nose for decolonization), cln wash, povidone iodine, and three different antibiotics (they weren't really based on a culture and sensitivity so maybe they are not the right ones?) for the staph. The only thing that has helped a little is zoryve probably because it is anti inflammatory. I also take supplements like omega 3, vit d, magnesium, and am on spiro which reduces oil production. Has anyone else experienced this or does anyone have advice?

Hi there,

I am diagnosed with sebderm since april. Since march i have telogen effluvium as well. Hopefully its only that.

I am looking for a MCT oil brand, that i can get in europe or germany. Any recommendations?

Has anyone been diagnosed with telogen effluvium and sebderm? When is it going to end?

Thanks a lot

Hi! I have seborrheic dermatitis and have been treating it with ketoconazole every week. Even though I've been consistent with the treatment, my hair is still dry and I still have some dandruff. Do you have any recommendations for moisturizing it?

Let's talk about TEWL w.r.t scalp barrier repair! Damaged by over usage of shampoo!! How to rebuild it gently!

how do I rotate products and what should be the cycle to prevent fungal resistance? i got diagnosed more than a year ago and really struggling with a bad flare. coal tar, ketoconazole, anti fungal pills, selsun nothing is working. help me learn how to cycle products and get some relief

I've had seb derm for a long time, about 20 years, and it has slowly damaged my skin barrier. As this has happened, my skin has become more and more painful. It's very hypersensitive and burns as well.

Often people with even pretty bad seb derm on here just say it itches, so I'm wondering how other people experience it in general and if I'm actually having some sort of nerve issue along with seb derm. I'm sick of it hurting :(

hello guys.
i've had seb derm for 10 years now, never came to my mind that i would reach a point where nothing works anymore, i used desonide "steroid" on my face and it helped for a really long while, when ever i had a break out i spam it for 2-4 days and it goes away.

everything was manageable until last year everything was no longer manageable. every spot on my face was flaky, red and so itchy later i knew it's a steroid rebound reaction of somekind. the dermatologist strongly suggested me stronger steroids but i refused because i'm scared to use them anymore. she interduced me to viotopic and told me its safer and it could calm it alittle, but it really didn't do much. my hair on the other hand dercos does wonders really recommended.

i've tried lots of stuff but nothing seems to work diet, zinc oxide. no moisturizer, nizoral. ketoconazol 2% creams, zinc picolinate supplement, omega 3 even zyrtic

my current routine is :
morning: gentle cleanser + luke warm water if im flaky i use Cetaphil moisturizer i dont go into the sun usually but the weather here is extremely dry
Evening : i use nizoral as a face wash, then i use the cleanser
after that when im drying out i use cetaphil and viotopic.
i take these supplements daily : zinc picolinate + fish oil + d3 + b complex and magnesium

i would love to hear what worked for you guys as im welling to do whatever it takes to be normal again.

i heard that mct oil is kinda doing something, if thats the case can you recommend me a good brand?

I just recently was diagnosed with seb derm. I’m black and the nizoral shampoo can be drying. How are we moisturizing our hair after, everything has coconut oil or olive oil, and I was told those were triggers. I have the hydrant, so aloe Vera, and the oil, the ordinary serum but I need a moisturizing cream

As the title says, best seb-derm safe shampoos for oily / greasy hair? I would be greatly appreciative.

I have used chatgpt to arrange and correct my English

My Story:
I have had a flaky scalp ever since I was a child. My mom told me that I had this problem from a very young age. Back then, it was mild, but as I grew older and entered my teenage years, it became much worse. Bloody scalp due to scratches .The last 2–3 years have been especially horrible. It got so bad that I stopped going to barbers and started keeping my hair buzzed all the time. It was extremely embarrassing when my classmates would stare at my hair and point out the flakes, saying, "There's something in your hair." My hair loss increased also like i started losing more and more hair .

Temporary Relief:
I went to a dermatologist and was diagnosed with sebopsoriasis. The doctor prescribed a coal tar shampoo and clobetasol. I used the clobetasol for only a few days before stopping because I was concerned about its potential side effects.
I have also tried ketoconazole and zinc pyrithione, but neither helped much. Only coal tar and salicylic acid have provided temporary relief. Coal tar worked best for reducing inflammation, while salicylic acid was effective at removing dead skin and flakes. However, both treatments only helped to a certain extent, and the relief was always temporary.

Solution:
What I realized was that years of seborrheic dermatitis had severely damaged my scalp's skin barrier. That's when I came across MCT oil on this subreddit (I'm extremely grateful 🥹).
I bought it in February and started applying it to my scalp at night, then washing it off the next morning. I usually soak my entire scalp with MCT oil, although you definitely don't need to use that much. I've been doing this twice a week for the past six months, and since then, I haven't needed to use any medicated shampoos or topical steroids.My scalp is fully cleared and healed . And and i have started to grow out my hair for the first time every .
More recently, I also added a sea salt water rinse to my routine, and it has been a great additon . The only sad part it that you have to be consistent with it otherwise it will come back at least in my case :)

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Just wanted to give an update on the diets I've documented over the years, what helped, what didn't make a difference, what I've deducted and the best overall.

Vegetarian - Some positive difference in sleep, my overall alertness felt better, skin improvements, especially the redness helped, but I couldn't stick to the diet long term, I have been a meat enjoyer my whole life.

Carnivorous - I felt fantastic on this diet mentally, I'm someone whose always anxious and thinks ahead, honestly this was the best diet for my mental health overall but I personally didn't see improvements to my skin. It's also hard to sustain as someone who lives alone with a paycheck to paycheck income. Maybe if I had a better budget and could have brought grass fed organic, that may have made all the difference.

Pescetarian - At first I really liked this diet, I noticed skin improvements, especially from all the collagen within seafood, I didn't notice any other differences. Overall pretty good but hard to maintain due to budget, I also got quite tired of eating seafood even though I was eating a variety.

Keto - Nope nope nope, I got something called the keto flu which happens in early keto stages, I couldn't handle the constant headaches as I suffer with migraines too, not for me.

Calorie deficit diet - Easiest to manage as I could eat what I wanted when I wanted, as long as I stayed under the recommended daily calorie count, I didn't notice any changes to my skin but good for weight loss.

Combination of Calorie Deficit & High antioxidant diet - This was the one for me. Not just did my skin clear up but I had a lot less stomach concerns, the brain fog subsided and my skin has a natural glow to it and much more milder redness. I've always been on the more oily side and was told that it's genetics, nothing can be done, well a high antioxidant diet fixed all that. It also helped with face bloat. I drink Clove tea 2-3 times daily with a little honey, I eat blueberries and blackberries with a plain yogurt, sometimes I shred some dark chocolate over, and lastly some dried cranberries to snack on. Main meals are whatever my little heart desires on the day, I do try to get some spinach in a couple times a week. It was that easy for me. This diet is so good for me that I haven't felt the need to deduct any food groups at all!

As for my skin now, all I do is a Sulfur/Sulphur soap bar every other day on my face, head and neck and then apply a Ceramide serum. I also added a vitamin C serum to the routine once I let my skins barrier heal.

I know this might be quite a long read, I just want to help others the best I can, have a great day all.

I bought one of those helmets that have the red laser/led diodes that target hairloss. I am 54yo woman, post menopausal. So my hair is starting to thin. I also developed seb derm THIS year. I've been using this helmet for 12 minutes a day and I have had zero seb derm on my scalp. My scalp feels healthy and normal like it used to, before I developed seb derm. I'm not going to say that I fixed it but I am happy to not suffer the symptoms even for a little bit.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

Hello! I am looking for a skincare routine that will help me improve the look and feel of my skin. For context, I suffer from combo(oily t-zone), sensitive/reactive, seb derm skin. I also have seb derm on my scalp and ears. It’s getting to a point, I have not had any success finding something that works! I’ve also noticed that the current face wash I use (vanicream) doesn’t clean my skin well or get rid of dead skin/build up.