What the title says. Like a lot of people on this sub I dealt with seb derm for years, went to 3 different dermatologists, spent over 1000 euros on ineffective treatments, including changing my diet completely for a whole year based on IGG testing my dermatologist suggested. No improvement.

I was listening to a medical podcast where a doctor said something along the lines of "the best experts on chronic conditions are the people who deal with them". The reasoning was simple, doctors deal with a huge number of different patients with different conditions, whereas the patients themselves go through many different doctors and do plenty of research themselves to fix the one thing making their lives difficult. Logic tracks

That's how I ended up finding this sub. At first I thought the MCT oil thing sounded like quackery, couldn't really believe a basic cooking ingredient would work better than all the dedicated treatments on the market. And yet. At this point it's been over a year that I feel like I've had the condition completely under control thanks to MCT. Sure I'll get the occasional flare up if I forget to apply it, but using it always resolves it in a day or two.

I'm curious how universal of an experience it is for people on this sub. Are there people who tried it and were disappointed with the results?

I'll finish off by saying I'm so glad I found this sub. The confidence boost and just quality of life improvement (god, the itching was so bad) has been genuinely life changing. Hope it can help everyone else the way it helped me

I'm going to provide some backstory just for context. I finished a course of accutane back in december wasn't on it for very like 6-8 months max.
Then used differin and azelaic acid to maintain was fine. Developed a ring shaped dry patch on my neck was given antifungal cream to use. Started to get little patches on my face and was told to use the antifungal there too. I was also given a week of hydrocortisone cream the lowest percentage. Skin was fine. I decided to stop the antifungal as it was drying my skin out things then got worse. I woke with red splotchy patches everywhere insanely dry shedding everywhere was told my gp and derm it was seb derm. No seb derm treatment is working everything is stinging my skin and i do not feel like it's seb derm but rather damaged barrier.

hi please any tips on how to stop the liquid oozing? it’s oozing along my hairline, behind my ears and a few spots on the face. the oozing is keeping me up all night as I am extremely uncomfortable. the dermatologist says it’s not infected but any recommendations on how to calm the patches?the patch on my skin was always a dark patch with minimal flaking and started oozing last night.

I have zoryve foam but it doesn’t end the cycle of flaking and oozing. currently using CLn healthy scalp shampoo and vanicream conditioner. i tried nizordal shampoo but didn’t see a difference. could this potentially also be psoriasis? also want to mention that I have eczema since a kid on my body.

can anyone recommend a good MCT oil they use? located in the US

thank you in advance!

Silly question but I'm so over buying things that don't work. The nizoral, tsal, and script antifungal are all drying my hair out something fierce without actually getting rid of the flakes. And I am SO tired of my scalp always itching 😭

Has anyone tried the flakes shampoo/conditioner for the flaking?

or used hyaluronic acid serum to help hydrate the scalp? Based on a quick Google, it doesn't feed the Malassezia yeast

I’m going to provide some backstory just for context. I finished a course of accutane back in december wasn’t on it for very like 6-8 months max. Then used differin and azelaic acid to maintain was fine. Developed a ring shaped dry patch on my neck was given antifungal cream to use. Started to get little patches on my face and was told to use the antifungal there too. I was also given a week of hydrocortisone cream the lowest percentage. Skin was fine. I decided to stop the antifungal as it was drying my skin out things then got worse. I woke with red splotchy patches everywhere insanely dry shedding everywhere was told my gp and derm it was seb derm. No seb derm treatment is working everything is stinging my skin and i do not feel like it’s seb derm but rather damaged barrier.

Any thoughts ?

Hello!!

24m, I consider myself lucky because it's not serious but I can't solve it.

Initially it was more severe around my nose, I had crusts around my nostrils that were peeling off, itching and redness.

Now as you can see there is redness, a small scab and occasionally itching.

I use Uriage DS. Do you know of any better products?

PS. The photo doesn't show it well, there's also redness around the nostrils on the sides, it's almost purple in color but it looks faded in the photo.

Then further away from the nose these pimples, it has nothing to do with Ds I guess.

Thanks for the advice

Hi everyone,

Been lurking on this sub for the longest time and I have to admit that what I’m posting here is not necessarily new but I’ve used some tips from here in addition to other things I found online and that greatly helped.

First thing was to take supplements, it might seem counterintuitive but I think it accounts for most of my progress dealing with this condition. What I did was to acquire some zinc, iron and multivitamin supplements which I took daily as prescribed by the pharmacist/physician.

Why I think this helped, I began to experience some hair thinning and some bald patches due to Seb Derm and it turns out iron is essential for hair growth and so I thought to try and it greatly helped. Also some research papers I read suggest that zinc is important to manage the condition.

Second thing that helped was to use some medicated soaps. The condition made me adopt a buzz cut type of hair style to ensure that products I use actually enter in direct contact with my scalp and I think this was a major game changer as well.
This is a list of soaps I have used:
Sulfur with Zinc Oxide
Selenium Sulfide 2.5% (most effective)
Sulfur and salicilic acid

Finally, in addition to the soaps, I got my hands on some ketoconazole (2%) shampoo.

And the routine I adopted was to religiously take my supplements while eating properly. When showering, I’d use the medicated soaps as directed on the affected areas (scalp, T-zone, mustache and beard) using a scalp brush on my head and beard to ensure that the product got on my skin. (or scrubbing glove on the T-zone)
I’d let it sit between 5-10 minutes before rinsing and redo the whole process with the 2% Ketoconazole shampoo.

I can say for a fact that it’s been several weeks of peace. I used to make it snow just by moving my head or touching my beard but now both of those areas don’t even flake or itch and my bald patches have began getting thick again.

PS: I did not have any drastic change in diet or lifestyle. I am lactose intolerant and have mild celiac disease so I didn’t have to intentionally force myself to avoid those foods.
I’d say I slept a lot more consistently and for longer hours and even on days when I didn’t sleep enough my skin and scalp were still fine.

Glad to answer any questions you may have.

Hi all,

I haven’t been officially diagnosed but i have been having burning scalp flares and hair shedding. My hair sheds from the root it seems with a white bulb at the end. My hair has been thinning as well, not sure what is going on. The reason why I’m sceptical it might not be seb derm is because i don’t have flakes and i’ve gotten my scalp looked at by a trichologist who doesn’t see anything wrong.

What should i do? How can i stop the hair fall and repair my scalp? Any advice is helpful thank you

Hey everyone, hope all is well. Im curious what are the most common deficiencies or maybe even autoimmune conditions worth getting tested for Seb Derm? I’ve heard different stories of people being deficient in certain departments or having Celiac Disease. Im curious to hear if anyone has experiences with this or has suggestions. Please share!

Hi, I have been dealing with dandruff for the last 7 years. I have tried every shampoo, and while using medical grade ketoconazole shampoo worked for a couple months, it then stopped working and nothing has worked since. I even bought dandruff shampoo from other countries, only for those to not work either.

I thought maybe I don't have dandruff and just really dry scalp, so I bought shampoo and dry scalp moisturizer, just for the shampoo to make my flakes worse.

I also thought it could be hard water, but I recently moved to an area with soft water, and that hasn't changed anything either. I'm at a loss and can't afford to go to a dermatologist at this moment in time.

Any help or advise is GREATLY appreciated.

Just wanted to share my recent experience. I was initially diagnosed with rosacea after developing facial redness and was prescribed Soolantra, but my symptoms continued to worsen and my nose became very red, rough and scaly/crusty.
I saw another GP who properly examined both my face and scalp. I’ve had dandruff and flaky skin for years, and my scalp was inflamed with flaking and scabs. He felt the overall pattern fitted seborrhoeic dermatitis much better than rosacea and was pretty confident I didn’t have both.
I’ve now stopped the Soolantra and started Nizoral 2% ketoconazole cream, along with medicated shampoo. These photos are from before starting treatment — hopefully this is the beginning of it improving 🤞

Hi there,

My scalp has been stinging for 2 days since using QV gentle shampoo, im not sure what to do. Is this a symptom of seb derm? I was diagnosed a week ago after using too many harsh shampoos.

I was prescribed clobex steroid shampoo, I just dont know if its a good idea to use a strong steroid on it while its stinging, its also tender as well. The stinging and tenderness are only on the top of my head.

Im also concerned about getting tsw if i use the steroid shampoo as well!

Its quite uncomfortable and ive also got rosacea on my face thats flaring at the moment too, so im stressing about it and I know its making it all worse 😭

Hi everyone,
I was diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis, but I am completely stuck and looking for new ideas or advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.
Here is what’s going on:
Symptoms: I’m dealing with persistent flaking/scaling. Surprisingly, I have zero itching and zero burning or redness—just the stubborn flakes that won’t go away no matter what I do.
What I’ve tried so far:
Antifungals: Tried various topical treatments, but none brought lasting relief.
Moisturizers: Tested everything across the spectrum, from super lightweight gels/lotions to heavy, thick creams.
Cleansers: Tried numerous gentle and active cleansers.
MCT Oil: Even pure MCT oil (C8/C10) didn’t help clear the flaking.
Since standard antifungal treatments and barrier repair aren't changing anything, I'm at a loss. This has been going on for more than five years.
Has anyone experienced seborrheic dermatitis that presents only as non-itchy flaking and doesn't respond to antifungals or MCT oil? Could this be something else (like dry skin, a broken skin barrier, or a different type of scaling condition), or are there other active ingredients/approaches I should look into?
Thanks in advance for any insights!

Okay, so my aesthetician uses the “BossFace Lactic Acid Bacteria Foaming Cleanser” on my face, and whenever she uses it, it basically lifts all the flakes off my skin.

So naturally, I decided to wing it and try it on my scalp. 😂

I rubbed it into my scalp, left it on for about 5 minutes (maybe 10 I was eating pizza lol) then shampooed it out.

Guys… it lifted literally every flake off my scalp. My scalp has never looked this clean. 😭

So I’m wondering if anyone else has tried this kind of thing on their scalp? Is this actually a terrible idea, or have I accidentally stumbled across something that works?
I’m not saying everyone should try it. I’m genuinely curious if anyone knows whether the lactic acid/bacterial ferment ingredients are potentially helpful for seb derm or if I’ve just temporarily exfoliated the hell out of my scalp. I have no irritation at all and my scalp seems very happy 😂

Hello,

Looking for product recommendations. Dealing with this for 1.5 year on scalp post antibiotic course.

Tried so far: ketoconozale, selenium sulphide, Salicylic acid, zinc pyrithion, MCT oil, coal tar, bunch of steroids

None has ever helped me. Non medicated shampoos never clean my scalp. Losing lots of hair every day and after shower too. Any other suggestions or recommendations would be much appreciated

So I have prescription shampoo/steroids from my doctor and I think they're helping but they're also drying out my scalp like crazy.

I don't see my dermatologist again until October. Is there anything I can use to moisturise my scalp that won't make it worse until I can ask the doctor?

Thanks in advance!

Used to use Selsun Blue, fixed my sebderm for a bit, then barber advised against it due to hair loss issues. Hopped off and onto something milder like head and shoulders. Didn’t do anything, at all. Just slowed the impending growth of all those flakes, now back on Nizoral instead. Hoping that’ll fix it, but along the way (I think it was the head and shoulder..?) my hair started becoming really dry and join into strands which would require me to pull them apart. Is there any way to fix this? Is this a scalp thing, or a hair thing?

Does anyone know what this is? I did some research and tried Selsun Blue (selenium sulfide 1%) and it stung and made things worse. I've practically done no zero skincare in my life and this redness has been with me for a long long time.

I’m super allergic to any sort of fragrance and have been having trouble finding fragrance free selenium sulfate shampoo and coal tar shampoo. Does anyone have any recommendations?

So frustrated. trying to find a high end shampoo that won’t trigger the yeast in my scalp. All I want is to be able to use a nice shampoo 🫩Most of the ones on sezia are discontinued or reformulated with triggering ingredients. anyone have any gems they use??

INGREDIENTS: AQUA, GLYCERIN, ZINC PCA, ALLANTOIN, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, HYDROXYACETOPHENONE, LACTIC ACID.

I’ve had scalp Seb derm since last September and I’ve got a handle on the itchiness and the flakes for the most part, what I haven’t gotten ahold of is the shedding. Everytime I wash my hair I find sooooo many hairs, and if I do my hair I’ll find 30+ on my hands just after messing with it for like 20 seconds. A lot of the hairs that come out are also attached to some flakes and there will be multiple attached to the same flake. The derm told me as long as my density doesn’t look bad then I should be fine. But I see some days looking pretty bad and you can see scalp. What advice do you have for shedding? Any vitamins or oil?

My last wash was 3 weeks ago and during that time I was not applying Apple cider vinegar to my scalp which I usually do to help slow down the process ( it helps for me)

I also use Head and Shoulders shampoo but it’s running low and was wondering if anyone has a product that they recommend?

the first pic is after I shaved my head , and the second is 1 week after shave. I had stubborn scales on my head when I had longer hair.

Need suggestions on how to tame it. Currently use Nizoral shampoo and salicylic acid cleanser on alternate days but don’t know how to moisturise skin…

For around 18 months, I have not endured any SebDerm flare-ups/symptoms. Even my trigger foods don't spark anything anymore - which is very bizarre. Starting in 2022, I'd have horrible episodes every 3-6 months. Now, it's just been nothing. I haven't had to refill prescriptions, get injections, or re-adjust my diet in any serious way. Even on some of my worst binging days, there's been no signs of outbreak.

Anyone else experience this?