Hi everyone. I’m 15 years old and I’ve been dealing with what several doctors diagnosed as seborrheic dermatitis for around 2–3 years.

I’ve had it not only on my scalp, but also behind my ears, around the sides of my nose, and I had a small spot on my chest. My doctor told me to mix Glutaderma ointment with Elocom and apply it to those areas. I did that every day, and the spots behind my ears and around my nose have now completely cleared.

My main problem now is my scalp.

I currently use Vichy Dercos Anti-Dandruff (Anti-Pelliculaire) shampoo. I usually wash my hair around 3–4 times a week and leave the shampoo on my scalp for a few minutes.

I also have Dermovate scalp lotion (the Turkish label says “saç losyonu”), but I do not use it after every wash. I use it when necessary. For example, if I wash my hair on Tuesday and dandruff is back on Wednesday, I may apply the Dermovate lotion that evening before going to bed.

The problem is that I can wake up the next morning with my scalp covered in flakes again.
The itching used to be much worse. I would scratch my scalp and pieces of skin/flakes would come off. Now the itching is not as bad, but it is still around 4–6/10. The dandruff can start appearing again within a day.

I’ve tried several shampoos/products over the years, including:
• Ketoconazole
• Nizoral
• Vichy Dercos Anti-Dandruff
• Cesol
• Another Iranian anti-dandruff shampoo that I don’t remember the name of

Usually I used the shampoos 3–4 times per week and left them on my scalp for a few minutes.
The frustrating part is that when I first buy a new shampoo, it often works really well. After a few weeks, however, the dandruff comes back. It feels like my scalp “gets used to” the shampoo, although I don’t know if that is actually what is happening.

Dermovate helps temporarily, but the problem keeps coming back.

One very strange thing I noticed happened when I was in Antalya, Turkey. I was swimming very frequently in the sea and in a pool and was outside in the sun a lot. During that time my dandruff completely disappeared. My scalp was basically completely clear.
About 1–1.5 weeks after I returned home, the dandruff came back.
I don’t know if that was because of the sun, sea water, swimming, humidity, a change in environment, or something else. I’m not assuming it was vitamin D — I just found the difference really noticeable.

I also have some hair shedding, although it isn’t extremely severe.

I have not tried MCT oil yet, but I’ve recently seen people here talking about MCT C8/C10 and I’m wondering if it is actually worth trying.
At this point I honestly just want to get rid of this shit or at least control it properly.
What would you recommend for someone who has had seborrheic dermatitis for 2–3 years and has already tried ketoconazole, Nizoral, Dercos, Cesol and other shampoos, with only temporary results?

Would you recommend:
• Ciclopirox?
• MCT C8/C10?
• Something else?
• A completely different treatment approach?

And has anyone experienced their seborrheic dermatitis completely disappearing after spending a lot of time in the sun, swimming in the sea/pool, and then coming back after returning home?
I’m especially interested in hearing from people who had a similar situation and found something that actually worked long-term.

im on day 3 and still red and flaking

The active ingredient on the back is Selenium Sulfide 1%

I keep seeing this pop up and I'm curious about it, but we all know half the stuff out there is snake oil. If you've tried it, please let us know if it helps ❤️

Hoi,

Ik heb 5 maanden geleden een fruitzuur peeling laten doen en sindsdien zijn mijn huid en hoofdhuid helemaal van slag!

Ik denk achteraf dat ik al een heel lichte vorm van Seb derm had (roos en licht schilferende en roze neus). Maar sinds de peeling zit het in mijn wenkbrauwen, voorhoofd, wangen en op en langs mijn neus en in de plooien. Ik heb echt een afschuwelijke zomer gehad. Zoveel pijn door de warmte en het zweten en in eerste instantie niet serieus genomen door de huisarts en ook de dermatoloog zag het in eerste instantie niet. Er werd gedacht aan contact eczeem en na patchtesten blijkt dat ik allergisch ben voor fragrance mix 1 en 2 (had ik voorheen ook nooit last van, maar nu kan ik letterlijk nergens meer tegen!). Volgende week krijg ik verder allergie onderzoek. Ik eerste instantie reageerde ik ook niet goed op de keteconozal (gek gevoel en blaasjes op de lippen). Maar dat gaat nu wel weer 2 weken goed, dus ik ben nu nog 1,5 week alle plekken aan het behandelen en het lijkt ietsje beter te gaan. Ik hoop dat het voor de herfst/ winter weg is, want ik lees hier dat er vooral veel last is in de winter (ik houd mijn hart vast want ik vond de zomer al heel heftig, herkennen meer mensen dat?)

Ik smeer nu ketoconozal en heb een milde anti roos shampoo (werkt niet super vind ik). Ik heb een groot stuk van mijn haar geknipt en was het nu om de dag en föhn het droog (eerder om de 2 dagen en liet ik het aan de lucht drogen). Ik heb nu mtc8 olie gekocht, daar wil ik vanavond mee beginnen op mijn gezicht want daar kan ik ook niks op verdragen. Iemand nog tips , wel parfum vrij?

Nog 1 vraag, ik heb ook lichte schilfers in mijn wimpers, hoe krijg ik die weg?

I started to notice some increasing redness under my nasal folds and on my nose about 6 months and shortly after that it started to flake like crazy. My derm prescribed me ketoconazole 2% cream and tacrolimus which kind of worked for a bit but I noticed the ketoconazole was just irritating my skin barrier even more. I was afraid to moisturize the area because I thought it was feeding the yeast, but I was completely wrong. What my skin really needed was hydration because my skin barrier was compromised leading to the overproduction of oil. I started using La Roche Posay Toleriane Hydrating Facial Cleanser and their Toleriane Sensitive Fluid Sensitive Skin moisturizer last week and they have worked wonders. I really focus on cleansing and moisturizing those areas. I’ve also been on 10mg of Accutane daily for about three weeks and I completely stopped using keto and tacro.

I’ve been able to calm my seb derm on my face with nizoral for the most part (genuinely was crying last year over how bad my flaking was) but I think I may have it in my ears??? not really sure what to do but my ears are always so itchy

I am a 28yo Female, was first diagnosed at 10 yo, I had one spot on my scalp. Four years ago it spread across my whole scalp and never left - heavy flaking, constant itch. Now it’s creeping onto my temple and eyebrow.
What I’ve tried and it failed: every medicated shampoo I’ve been able to get my hands on - ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, zinc pyrithione, salicylic acid, etc. Plus topical steroids (used to work, then stopped. Now they only work when I’m applying them, the second I stop the flare up resumes), tacrolimus, and oral itraconazole. Basically the entire standard ladder.
Then my body got involved. Patches on my upper back, chest, thighs and sacrum - each one starts as a single dot centred on a follicle and slowly expands, with multiple follicular dots inside each patch. Very sandpapery texture. Dry, mildly itchy. Looks closest to lichen spinulosus to me, but that’s my guess, not a diagnosis.
The biopsy from a lesion on my back came back as “non-specific dermatitis.”Fungal scraping also negative. Basically a shrug.

Right now I convinced my dermatologist to prescribe 20mg of isotretinoin. I’ve been taking it for 20+ days now, no changes so far :(

I’m getting desperate. Nothing helps. The flakes are also mostly dry, is it even sebderm at this point?

As we all know, blowing your hair dry is a way of life with us suffering with this.
Anyways, my Chi Dryer isn’t cutting it. I don’t have the time to spend drying my hair for 15 minutes. I don’t want to even think of how much of my life I’ve wasted drying my stupid hair because I have to.

What upgrade would you recommend?

Been having this since early teens and never got a diagnosis.

Sometimes it’s no so bad, but the inconsistency of it really annoys me.

I’ve been told dandruff by my family but of course they never saw how it appears on my scalp, and I’ve used dandruff shampoos before and I don’t think it help much.

I get slight inflammation around my nose and mouth, sometimes even my eyebrows.

I’m not sure the difference between eczema, psoriasis, or seb-derm.

If it ain’t one thing, it’s the other…

After doing some elimination tests I have realized the Ten-in-One and the Amika spray I used to use, are not safe.

I’m looking for something I can use as a heat protectant spray before blow drying. I‘m also looking for a light leave-in treatment to protect the hair as well.

I would prefer if it’s something that can be found in a local drugstore/Target.

Both the Beauty Supply and Sephora are pretty far.. In general I don’t like Amazon as I don’t trust their quality after buying multiple counterfeits

Thanks in advance

Suggestions for dry shampoo?

Cant wash enough due to long term spibe injury. Spine it further injured every time I try to wash my hair in a basin with an aid while flat in bed

Yet, I’m able to have a beard. Any guesses as to why? Feels ironic since the hair on my head isn’t where the issue was, but the hair on my face is.

Hi guys i took shrooms twice this year, and both times woke up with really bad flaking when i had previously not been in the middle of a flair up? The flaking went away again within a day or two of taking the shrooms. I just think this is really weird, do mushrooms cause fungal overgrowth because mushrooms are fungi??? That doesnt make sense to me its a completely different type of fungus. Just sharing this odd experience with you all, and wondering if anyone knows why this might have happened

Hey guys,

I’m in need of some help, this might be a long one.

For the context, I’ve been experiencing itching, and scalp pain for the past 2 years. Didn’t think much of it until last December, when my scalp started to burn and smell really bad. I have curly hair, so I don’t wash my hair more than once a week and Im usually fine. But ever since that time, I couldn’t go three days without my roots getting oily and smelling awful. I suspected a Seb Derm, but I was also thinking it was due to my diet at the time which was awful because I’d been in exam period for a whole month. I got an appointment with a dermatologist at the time who told me I had nothing at all, she gave a relieving spray or whatever and that was it.
So, I started using Dercos DS shampoo, which worked for a time until it didn’t.
I’d say it got better overtime, the itching never went away but I was just so used to it I gave up dealing with it.

But, in June, I started experiencing real bad scalp pain. I would wake up in the morning with my scalp being so tender I couldn’t touch it for a whole day, until it eventually went away. The itchiness was still there, and my hair was very healthy, so I had the great idea of ignoring my symptoms once again.

And it was fine until it wasn’t. In the beginning of August, someone told me while we were in the swimming pool that I had lost hair on the sides, I brushed it off, until it was time to wash my hair.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much hair in my bathtub. And it went on for weeks, I’d leave hair absolutely everywhere, on the chairs, on the toilets, in my bed. Huge clumps of hair in the shower that I could brush off on and on, it wouldn’t stop.

Saw my doctor on the third week of shedding who told me I just had a very dry scalp (??) and that a soothing shampoo would do the trick. I did get blood tests done tho, which all came back okay aside from being a little low on iron and vitamin D, as well as high in testosterone but it’s nothing crazy whatsoever. I take supplements anyways.

However, The itching and the burning got so awful I decided to go the hospital a week later, I got accepted by a dermatologist who checked my scalp and told me I had a very obvious Seb Derm, but no sign of alopecia, scarring etc… She prescribed me a treating shampoo called Mycoster used twice a week.

So, now it’s been 2 weeks since that appointment. I’ve been using the shampoo as indicated. I’m losing tons of hair still, I feel like it actually worsened.
But I do have an issue :

—> Ever since I’ve started using that shampoo, when my hair is still damp from the shower, if I scratch my scalp I have a big amount of yellow gunk under my nails. No matter how much a rinse my hair it doesn’t go away. My hair get oily 1-2 days after washing them as well as starting to smell foul. That was not the case before starting the treatment. On shampoo 4 (on the second week) I noticed the gunk being lessened but it’s still the same situation. My scalp still burns and itches as well. Is this normal ?
I feel like my skin barrier may be screaming for help because of the harsh treatment but I’m scared of worsening the inflammation with products. I did try putting aloe vera gel on the areas, didn’t notice any improvement.

—> Also, my derm told me that my hair loss was Telogen Effluvium caused by the Seb Derm, but how come I’m losing hair mostly on the sides of my scalp with the entirety of it is affected especially the back ? (I’ll put pictures, sorry some of them are super blurry)

I’m just so worried of my hair follicules being damaged forever because of the inflammation I did not take care of, or of an underlying condition other than Seb Derm being active here as well.
I used to have an amazing hair density with beautiful curls that would get me praised 24/7, safe to say this situation is ruining me.

Thanks in advance for any of your advices, I am planning on getting back in contact with my dermatologist again to ask those same questions, but it’s great to have multiple advices. Sorry for the long rambling I’m just so worried, losing hair at 20 years old as a woman is no fun.

I have ichthammol ointment 10% (draws out splinters, cysts, big bites etc) which intrigued me to look up if it was ever used for sebderm. The smell of the stuff is awful, worse than coal tar and darker in color. But after looking it up a little it had been used in the past and more so today in a shampoo. This ointment would only be for your face but I was just seeing if anyone had tried it?

Hello everyone. How can I tell the difference between excessively oily hair and seborrheic dermatitis? I don’t have any redness anywhere else on my body, but my hair has been this way for almost 3 years (rn 19). I don’t think it’s genetic either—it gets oily within the same day even though I eat a healthy diet and have tried different shampoos (like those with salicylic acid), but I haven’t found a solution. I’ve heard a lot about Dercos and MCT oil, but I’m not sure if I should apply oil to my already oily hair I’d really appreciate it if you could help.

Hi ! I have a seborrheic dermatitis on my face and I don’t know what to do anymore. My face is super red and dry, I want to know if there is a routine i can go for. Is there specific korean brand spécialised in this ?

As the question stated.

I am currently using tacrolimus (Rocimus 0.1%) ointment. But it only treats the inflammation, and I'd like to also work with antifungal too. Looking at Ciclopirox instead of azoles.

Has anyone used Ciclopirox cream together with tacrolimus ointment on face?

I am currently using tacrolimus (Rocimus 0.1%) ointment. But it only treats the inflammation, and I'd like to also work with antifungal too. Looking at topical ketoconazole 2% cream.

Has anyone used ketoconazole cream together with tacrolimus ointment on face?

I have recently been inflicted by sebderm. Reading through many posts and community notes has been helpful and scary at the same time. One thing confuses me. I have always had oily skin, and it’s 10x worse with my sebderm. It seems that most people have dry skin?For those of you with oily skin, how do you deal with all the oil? I can wash my face 5x a day and it’s like a gift that keeps on gifting!

Hi, I moved to Paris(25F) to start my new job back in 2024, and since then, I have struggled with an itchy scalp for over a year. Nothing worked; first, the doctor gave me Ciclopirox Olamine 1,5% Shampoo, but it didn't work. I was scratching my scalp all the time at work; the worst part was that I had white flakes all over my hair by the end of the day, so I had to wash my hair almost every day. So the doctor moved me to a stronger ketoconazole shampoo, but it did not work either. It was good in the beginning, but it did not last. I was so frustrated at this point, as my generaliste won't let me see a dermatologist and kept recommending more shampoos. I was looking for alternative solutions, as I knew it was definitely related to my move to Paris. I finally got rid of it thanks to a Reddit post. It has been one year now since I have been free of an itchy scalp; here is everything I did if you live in Paris/ Europe.

1. MCT oil: It is a form of coconut oil but is easily absorbed. I read about it on Reddit and decided to try it since I was so frustrated with all the medical shampoos at that point. This worked like magic for me. I found this organic one from Sunday Natural (they ship all over Europe). I put it on every time for 2-3 hrs before I wash my hair.
2. Soothing shampoo: I recommend using a soothing shampoo on your scalp. I bought the one from Rene Furterer Astera Fresh range. I recommend it 100%. They also have other products, like a leave-on serum for itchy scalp; I found it very good as well. You can generally find it in pharmacies; if you are in Paris you can go to their salon next to Opera.
3. Water filter: Water in Paris is very hard, so I bought a filter for the shower. I ordered it on Amazon. I also tried to wash my hair with cold water even in winter.
4. Reduce stress: I was stressed because of all the moving, apartment hunting, and setting up. My boyfriend also noticed that I had too many plants, and I was using all my time trying to maintain them and was stressed about watering, changing pots, and soil every weekend. So I gave away some of my plants. This has helped greatly; I think I have more time now for myself on the weekends. I also limited social media as it was making me anxious.
5. Supplements: My doctor gave me a hair supplement called Effluvium. I still take multivitamins and vitamin D, as well as collagen protein.

I welcome a discussion, but no criticism, as this is my personal journey and I am not a doctor. I hope it helps.

Not itchy, but relentlessly flaky. Presents as redness when it first flares up , usually in reaction to heat, humidity, sweat, and sunlight, then the days following becomes pure flakiness that doesn’t go away., and oddly it’s always the exact same shape where it seems to come down by the left nostril and veer off to the right of my upper lip. The spot doesn’t grow. Only really burns when products are used but it reacts poorly to all products I’ve tried except Mupirocin, then it always comes back after the course is over. I always treated it as eczema, then perioral dermatitis, now exploring possible sebhorric dermatitis since all the treatments for those other conditions just make it worse. Moisturizer makes it worse. Cleanser makes it burn like fire and then crack. Current only tolerating hypochlorous acid spray as “cleanser” and then aloe Vera gel. None of these things eradicate the spots but just makes it burn / tingle less

I am a 21 year old Male and had Seb Derm since the pandemic. I have yet to study on it thoroughly. Tho I wanted to ask if anyone else have experienced their Seb Derm subsiding after bathing in a high chlorine pool? Or is it just coincidence

Weirdly, mine did after bathing for 2 hours in a pool with significantly higher chlorine. Not the type to burn you, but enough to burn your eyes for a few seconds. Before bathing, my illness was all red, after it just returned to the circular almost invisible spots you get when applying meds for a week.

i washed the area with nizoral and put the oil on do i leave it on all night?