If you are fighting seborrheic dermatitis and have already browsed around online previous to reading this, you will know that many people claim to have found an effective home remedy for seborrheic dermatitis on the scalp. Some of these methods might in fact work, while others are just sheer pushes to get you to purchase some type of herbal product or natural cream.
The best way to find proven home remedies for seborrheic dermatitis on the scalp is to collect data. In this article we will do exactly that. In this article you will find a summarized overview of home remedies that have worked for others.
The remedies are listed in order of popularity and how significant the results have been for me.
Please keep in mind that most people believe seborrheic dermatitis to be a fungus/yeast issue. For this reason when you look at the most common home remedies for seborrheic dermatitis you will notice that most act as anti-fungals, aimed at destroying these skin invading organisms.
Update November 2015: Since the writing of this article a lot has changed. You should consider checking out my most current and successful treatment approach. This approach has been working for me since August 2015.
1. Honey and Water Treatment
This is my personal favorite. The treatment is, however, fairly difficult due to the stickiness of honey. Basically all you have to do is apply honey water to the affected areas and everything around them for 3 hours (leaving it on). Once the +3 hours are up you simply wash the honey off and go about business as usual.
How to Use Honey to Remedy Seborrheic Dermatitis
To make your honey water all you do is mix 4 parts honey to 1 part boiled water. The boiled water part is very important. Personally I found that rinsing the honey with boiled water after treatment also works much better than regular tap water. My thinking is that boiling the water changes it alkalinity. Most people online have, however, been using regular tap water to rinse.
How Honey Fights Seborrheic Dermatitis
The honey is said to work by killing being an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agent. This effect kills of the microbes causing the seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff in the first place. Another positive effect of honey is that draws moisture in to the skin and locks it in, helping to keep the skin supple.
My Experience With the Honey and Water Remedy
This treatment has been the most effective for me out of any of the mentioned here. I personally think honeys sugar content also plays a crucial role in it’s ability to treat seborrheic dermatitis. To me it seemed the sugar helps to rebuild the damaged skin cells and provide vital nutrients for the skin to thrive.
Typically when using this home remedy my seborrheic dermatitis would start going away after just the first use. After about three consecutive uses the skin would begin to look completely healthy (this did, however, depend on how bad it was to start with).
Additional Information on Raw Honey
More information on the honey treatment can be found the in raw honey section of the free book I’ve been working on. Plus, the whole book can be accessed directly online here: Seborrheic Dermatitis – The Owner’s Manual.
2. Coconut Oil Treatment
A very popular online treatment is coconut oil applied for 2-3 hours onto the affected skin. Best results are said to occur if a show cap is worn. The coconut oil loosens the scale brought about by seborrheic dermatitis and fights the fungus which causes it.
How to Use Coconut Oil to Remedy Seborrheic Dermatitis
To use coconut oil you basically take an amount which you estimate to cover all of the effected skin (typically about 1/2 a teaspoon). You then rub the solid coconut oil between your hands until it liquefies. Then you careful massage the oil into the skin making sure to stimulate the pores. Once applied you can optionally wrap your head in a shower cap or towel (the locked in heat helps the oil stay liquid).
How Coconut Oil Fights Seborrheic Dermatitis
The fungus fighting activity is speculated to come from coconuts oil unique fatty acid profile. It has two fungus destroying fatty acids in its arsenal. One being Lauric Acid and the other Caprlylic Acid. Together they form quite a powerful duo and help stop seborrheic dermatitis in its tracks.
My Experience With the Coconut Oil Remedy
Personally my experience with coconut oil has been inconsistent. Sometimes it worked marvelously, while other times it actually seemed to make things worse.
It’s hard to pin point why this occurs, but I believe it has something to do with how clean the skin is during the time of application. In particular it appeared to work better if used after cleansing.
In the end, I gave up using coconut oil as I could never predict how my skin would react. Though it is worth noting, my current treatment approach implements one of coconut oil’s unique fatty acids – caprylic acid.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar Treatment
Another extremely popular seborrheic dermatitis is apple cider vinegar. With a long history in skin scare treatment this is a true power house. The strong acidity of the main acid (malic acid) found in apple cider vinegar help destroy seborrheic dermatitis causing fungus and restore the skins natural acidic environment.
How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar to Remedy Seborrheic Dermatitis
The most recommended method of using apple cider vinegar is in a 50/50 ratio with water. Once again most people recommend the water used to be either boiled or bottled. Mix the apple cider vinegar together with the water in a small container and apply to the affected skin in the shower.
Leave this solution on the skin and let it absorb for as long as possible (roughly 10-15 minutes while you shower). You will likely feel a stingy sensation if the skin is badly damaged. If this is the case I recommend quickly rinsing off and applying a more diluted solution (75/25). Once you get out of the shower and dry off the vinegar smell should quickly fade (roughly 30 minutes to an hour depending on hair length).
How Apple Cider Vinegar Fights Seborrheic Dermatitis
Apple cider vinegar is made up mainly of malic acid. This unique acid is very powerful against different types of fungus and yeast. It has also been made very popular due to a rising popularity anti-yeast diets such as the candida diet and the rising number of women caught with yeast infections.
Not only is apple cider vinegar good when applied topically, but it has a long history of internal use. Many people swear by its benefits and consume it every single day on an empty stomach or with food.
My Experience With the Apple Cider Vinegar Remedy
Personally I found apple cider vinegar to be only moderately effective. The smell and strength usually kept me away from regular use. After each usage, my skin would be bright pink and feel really tight.
Overall, I just didn’t feel like it suited by skin. The raw honey mentioned above provided a more comfortable way to fight seborrheic dermatitis.
Regardless, many people swear by the effectiveness of apple cider vinegar in remedying seborrheic dermatitis so please give it a try. It might be exactly what your skin needed.
4. Baking Soda Treatment
Baking soda has a long history of successfully fighting fungus. Many people online have had great success with it and it is also much less of a hassle to use then other methods listed here. This is mainly due to its lack of smell and quick treatment time.
How to Use Baking Soda to Remedy Seborrheic Dermatitis
Mix half a tea spoon of luring baking soda with half a cup of water. Apply this solution to the affected skin for 5 to 10 minutes. After the baking soda has had time to do its work, simply rinse off with cool water.
As an extra bonus you can follow up with a quick rinse of apple cider vinegar diluted with water (as used in treatment above). This will quickly restore the skin natural acidic state and help keep it protected.
How Baking Soda Fights Seborrheic Dermatitis
Baking soda works in the opposite way of apple cider vinegar. Instead of using acid to fight the fungus the alkalinity of the baking soda is used. Fungus will quickly die and breakdown if the environment is too alkaline and this is exactly what the baking soda does.
My Experience With the Baking Soda Remedy
For me baking soda was the fastest acting out of all options mentioned here. Right after first use the skin calms drastically and redness fades away. The scales and flakes also almost immediately disappear. However, the only problem is it leaves the skin very dry and seborrheic dermatitis is often quick to return.
5. Tea Tree Oil Shampoo
A remedy used in lots of skin care products due to its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties tea tree oil has had a sharp increase in popular in recent years. However, when it comes to remedying seborrheic dermatitis the results are quite mixed. It works fabulously for some while not actually makes things works for others. Feel free to give it a try, but be sure to closely monitor how your skin reacts and adjust treatment as necessary.
How to Use Tea Tree Oil to Remedy Seborrheic Dermatitis
With tea tree oil you have quite a large number of options. Basically they fall into two categories:
- Buy a pre-made shampoo
- Make your own concoction
Pre-Made Tea Tree Oil Remedies
If you go for the pre-made approach simply hit your nearest supermarket and look for any shampoo that contains tea tree oil. Try to go for the ones that have the least ingredients.
Personally, I would probably recommend Trader Joe’s Tee Tree Conditioner and Shikai’s Tea Tree Shampoo. Though they didn’t really work well for me, they were my favorite amongst the ones I tested. However, there are tons of others solutions and sometimes even store brand ones. Once purchased, simply follow the instructions on the back.
Home Made Tea Tree Oil Remedy
If you want to know exactly what goes on your skin an custom solution is for you. Tea tree oil is far too strong if used on its own and can even damage the skin. The most popular method of using it topically is to mix it with a carrier oil such as olive, sesame seed, or coconut oil. Out of the these three oils I highly recommend either sesame seed oil or coconut oil as many other oils tend to actually promote the growth of the seborrheic dermatitis causing fungus.
When mixing you typically only need 4-5 drops of tea tree oil per teaspoon of the carrier oil. However, even this can irritate very sensitive skin. To see what works for you, try this concentration on a small patch of seborrheic dermatitis effected skin and observe for irritation. If all is well go ahead and apply it all the effected skin and leave on for 30-60 minutes. Once it has had time to soak in rinse off with cool water and wash regularly.
How Tea Tree Oil Fights Seborrheic Dermatitis
Tea tree oil is a well known anti-microbial and anti-fungal agent. When applied topically and left to soak-in, the tea tree oil goes to work combating the seborrheic dermatitis fungus. If the tea tree oil does it job and destroys enough of the fungus you will likely see great improvements in the seborrheic dermatitis.
My Experience With the Tea Tree Oil Treatment
For me tea tree oil never really had the amazing results that others have claimed. Similar to coconut oil sometimes it made it better, while other times it seemed to make it worse. If you end up giving this method a try please let other readers know how it worked for you.
6. My Own Unique Solution
This list initially only consisted of 5 items, but due to favorable user feedback this item has been added to the list.
How The Solution Came to Be
During my time of maintaining this blog my research on the subject of seborrheic dermatitis drastically evolved and expanded. My goal was to find the most natural, easy to use, yet highly effective solution for my own seborrheic dermatitis issues. This research then lead to testing various combinations of ingredients and formulations.
After testing literally hundreds of different treatments, I stumbled upon something that seemed to work extremely well (for me). This formula was then sent out to a small number of people who I had been communicating with through various comments on this blog and they reported similar results.
Excited from the initial feedback I decided to give the solution name (BIOM8 Skin Conditioning Oil) and offer it to others around the world.
The Principles Behind the Solution
The Skin Conditioning Oil is an all natural solution which consists of a unique combination of anti-fungal fatty acids and oils. The formula was original created to treat seborrheic dermatitis on the face, but based on feedback from community members (on this website) it appears to be extremely effective for the scalp as well.
The whole story is available in this blog post. Scalp usage is discussed towards the bottom of the post and the comments have a ton of additional information.
7. Garlic Treatment (Not So Proven)
In all honesty I’ve never personally tried this method due to fear that it would be too strong on the skin. However, the logic behind it is quite clear and the person who initially posted seemed to get amazing results. However, please note that for this method you will need some type of juicer to juice the garlic.
Use EXTREME CAUTION
If planning to attempt this method, be careful! It may cause irritation and contact dermatitis as garlic is quite a strong irritant for the skin.
How to Use Garlic to Remedy Seborrheic Dermatitis
This remedy is a little bit more complex so please follow these steps:
- Start off by juicing one whole clove of garlic (usually about 7-8 heads).
- Dilute the garlic juice with equal amounts of water
- Warm your diluted garlic solution (only slight without overheating it)
- Leave this solution on the affected area overnight or at least as long as possible
- Rinse with cool water and apple cider vinegar
The original poster also used Nizoral in the treatment guide, which actually might have been what was destroying the fungus and not the garlic. However, I’ve included this home remedy here for your reference (and without the Nizoral).
How Garlic Fights Seborrheic Dermatitis
Garlic contains a potent anti-fungal and anti-microbial agent called Allicin. This externally potent fungus killer fights bacteria on sight and leaves your skin free from seborrheic dermatitis causing fungus. However, like mentioned previously the true strength of garlics anti-fungal abilities when applied topically are quite unknown.
My Experience With the Garlic Treatment
The truth it is I’ve never used this method, but it sounds very potent so I included it here. If someone has used it or uses it after reading this, please leave your experience in the comments below.
Anti-Fungal Shampoos
These deserve an area of their own as there are so many options to choose from. Their overall effectiveness is quite good, but results vary from person to person.
For me, they tended to dry out the skin dramatically and cause it to be very pale and unhealthy. I’ve put together a very detailed report on which shampoos are effective for seborrheic dermatitis.
Other Notable Home Remedies for Seborrheic Dermatitis
These are some other remedies I’ve come across online. However, the feedback regarding these methods is often missing and the procedure is written very poorly.
- Topical vitamin D
- Hemp oil treatment
- Topical oregano oil
- Topical thyme oil
- Topical probiotic cream or soap
- Glycerin treatment
This list is my no means complete, but there are literally hundreds of speculated approaches to treatment.
Update September 15th 2016: In the past year I’ve been taking a more research driven approach. Basically, I wanted to write a book to sell on Amazon, but then decided to make it available online for free. You can find the result’s of this en-devour here: Seborrheic Dermatitis – The Owner’s Manual.
Summary of Home Remedies for Seborrheic Dermatitis
As you can see there are a ton of remedies to chose from. Some of which are likely to work for you. Please feel free to experiment and let me know of your results. Personally my favorite home remedy is the first one (Honey and Water). It seemed to have the best impact on long term results and really heal the skin instead of just masking the symptoms.
Hi Michael,
Reply PermalinkThank you for such a brilliant collection of remedies for SD. What a great help guide!
I have been suffering from SD on my scalp for 17 years… A couple of years ago I decided to switch to natural remedies. It takes more time and effort but it’s all worth it in the end. I had a great success with honey treatment last year but then I made a break in the treatment routine and finding it hard to achieve good results this time. I decided to look at the alternatives. I wondered if you tried salt for scalp treatments? Thank you!
Hello Nina,
First of all thank you for the positive comment.
My experience was very much the same. One treatment could be working exceptionally, then one day it just stops.
I’ve written an extensive post on seborrheic dermatitis sea salt treatment. It doesn’t talk much about using it on the scalp, but has many general details and observations.
Using the sea salt on the scalp is quite the same as the baking soda. Personally I would just take a bit of sea salt in the hand into the shower, wet the hair,
scrub the sea salt into scalp and let it absorb for a few minutes. Once it has had some time to absorb, simply rinse off the sea salt and follow up with a natural moisturising shampoo.
At first I wasn’t following up with any shampoo at all, but this seemed to leave the scalp a bit dry.
If you have access to ocean or sea water give that a try instead. The natural concentration of salt in the water is perfect and it seems to be much higher in iodine.
The results from ocean/sea water were significantly superior for me.
The sea salt also seems to really mineralize the hair as it becomes much stiffer after the treatment.
Reply PermalinkHello Michael,
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply in such detail. Much appreciated. I will try sea salt and hopefully sea water in the summer. Will be checking your website for new ideas!
All the best,
Nina
Reply PermalinkHi,
Thanks for your detailed post, it really helps a lot. I have two spots on my scalp having problem (near hairline at the back on both sides) - rash, itching, sore and small pimples. I tried ACV this morning, it seems quite good. How often should i do that?
Thank you so much.
Josephine
Reply PermalinkHi Josephine,
Thank for the feedback!
I used the apple cider vinegar every other day for the first week, then slowly decreased to a few times a week.
It helped quite well at first, but proved quite difficult to maintain in the long term. Also results seemed to be less consistent as time went forward.
Dead sea salt followed by a good natural moisturising shampoo was easier and more consistent for me.
You can see some details of that method here.
Currently, however, I have not used any special scalp treatments for over 5 months.
All I do is wash my hair with a highly moisturising shampoo (this one to be exact: http://andalou.com/argan-oil-shea-moisture-rich-shampoo) and follow my current regimen I wrote about here.
My scalp is absolutely clear most days, but I find that if I don’t shower for a few days and let my scalp get greasy the flakes start to appear.
Massage deeply while you apply the shampoo also seems to help. Likely due to increased circulation.
Previously I even read of people getting rid of dandruff by using a boar bristle brush and regularly massaging/combing the hair/scalp.
Hope these details help.
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
Thanks for your prompt and detailed response. Usually how any days after I will see the result if it works. The shampoo you mentioned are they organic and chemical free, sulfate free?
Reply PermalinkThanks again^*^
Dear Josephine,
The shampoo has many organic ingredients, but also contains some non-organic ones.
Here is the ingredients list from their website.
During my childhood I grew up using mostly head and shoulders. Didn’t really pay attention to the ingredients list until I started experiencing seborrheic dermatitis on my facial skin.
Once I started to have seborrheic dermatitis on my face I was much more aware of the ingredients in the products I used (the facial skin just seems so much more precious than the scalp).
As soon as I became aware I started seeking much safer and natural solutions.
The first shampoo that I switched too was actually this one.
It’s a very strange shampoo as it does not foam. Using it is like massaging your hair with some cream. However, it worked very well. One bottle lasted me for about 3-4 months as my hair is very short and a tiny amount worked quite well. What kept me from using it again was the horrible availability and extremely steep price (about $30.00 for a bottle).
After this I decided to try the one I mentioned in the previous post and it’s been a pleasure to use. The only reason it caught my attention was because I was using a cleanser from the same company at the time. The ingredients looked promising and I got it from Amazon for about $10, so it was worth a try. It foams like a regular shampoo and smells fantastic. I’m not sure if it directly fights the seborrheic dermatitis causing bacteria, but for me it seems to help normalize oil production. The normalized oil production in turn appears to keep dandruff in check.
When I was using apple cider vinegar washes and/or salt washes I would see results quite quickly. When I first started, one or two days of use and my scalp would normalize. I found that very thorough massaging of the scalp really improved results.
All the best!
Reply PermalinkHi Nina,
After spending so much time and money fighting seborrheic dermatitis the least I could do is provide all the information I learned to others.
Hope some of the stuff helps you.
Best of luck with your seborrheic dermatitis and will be happy to hear about your results.
Regards,
Reply PermalinkMichael
Thank you so much Michael.
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
My scalp so itchy and sore last night after i apply acv (1:1) and waited 5 hours before wash hair. How often should i apply it and how many times a day?
Reply PermalinkI will try the andalou shampoo and conditioner, hope that can help.
Thank you!
This seemed to be the case for me as well when the skin was already damaged from previous itching. My best results were achieved with the ACV when I had thick scaling/flaking without much damage. Also when massaging, I made sure to apply pressure, but not tear the skin. ACV itself has quite a strong astringent effect, so as the pores tightened the skin felt quite tense and caused a strong tingling sensation. Previously I wrote a more detailed post in all the ways I tried to use apple cider vinegar (you can see it here).
The concentration you used seems quite strong for such an extended amount of time. At such concentration I wouldn’t leave it in for more than 5-15 minutes. If you are that dedicated, perhaps the raw honey will be more effective.
On a side note, I’ve seen the shampoo in local stores cheaper than I purchased it online. Here in Canada I saw it in a local SuperStore for roughly $8.
Best of luck.
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
Reply PermalinkI have never heard of using honey but I am very interested in trying. How often should I start off doing the honey & water treatment? Does it matter if the honey is raw or bought in bulk from costco?
Thank you.
Hi Ariel,
When I was using the honey treatment I started off with every other day. Then as it got better I would scale the treatment down maybe to once every 3-4 days.
Initially this treatment was extremely effective for me. However, the longer I used it the more inconsistent my results became. Additional it’s quite a lengthy treatment requiring 2-3 hours per treatment.
To be honest I’ve never tried using the regular Coscto honey. I have a feeling the results wouldn’t be very different. However, from everything I read online people swear that the raw honey is much more powerful. Even though I had Coscto honey at home I bought a few different jars of raw honey from the store and was using that. You would be surprised how common it is (almost every super market I checked had it), except sometimes it’s on a separate shelf then regular honey.
Additionally here is the regimen I’m currently using and it’s been working extremely well (haven’t had any breakouts since last summer). I’ve stopped supplementing with the glutamine about 2 months ago as well Also two other people have contacted me through the website. One of which is using ACV to successfully treat the dermatitis, while the other was prescribed an anti-fungal by the name of Nyastatin.
Hope that helps. All the best and good luck.
Reply Permalinkhi michael
Reply PermalinkI have just started the honey and water treatment but i was wondering should i continue the lotion and shampoo my dermatologist recomended (both lotion and shampoo contains beta methasone, and it really keeps my SD in control, it doesnt vanishes completely it just stops it from getting worse)
Hey Salman,
Hard to say. First time I actually heard of someone using Betamethasone for SD, but it’s a steroid cream, so that makes sense…
Overall it seems that steroids have caused more difficulty long term for most people.
What I would do is start the honey treatment and see if things improve enough so that Betamethasone can be discontinued.
If the honey doesn’t do much, consider checking out my Overview of Seborrheic Dermatitis Face Treatments post. It covers most things I attempted and lot’s of good info in the comments there as well.
Do you notice any correlation of your symptoms to food intake?
Best of luck and hope that helps.
Reply PermalinkThankyou michael i took your advice and discontinued the steroid lotion and started the honey treatment and Its been 3 weeks since i started putting honey on my scalp, initially i didnt notice any improvement on my scalp for the first 2 weeks, but by the end of the 3 rd week i noticed that the flakes were starting to go away, theres no itching or any redness, i just hope that the hair loss will stop eventually as well
Reply PermalinkAgain thanks alot for all the research and hardwork youve put through to help people like me suffering from SD
Hi Salman,
Thanks for the update. Great to hear things are improving. The biggest issue with the steroid creams is that long term use can really lead to some ill effects, so happy to hear your shifting away.
In terms of the hair loss, I’ve been doing lots of research lately. And even though I haven’t had any real issues with hair loss, much of the research I’ve done provides some insights into this as well. Will update once I have it down in writing.
Additionally, I’ve stopped using all products and have been making my own custom creation. It’s not perfect yet, but I think it’s almost there. If you like I can send you a sample to try when it’s actually done.
Hope that helps and best of luck mate. Look forward to any updates.
Reply PermalinkThanks a lot for your really helpful post. I am trying the honey water approach as suggested by you and have a query. Is it fine to use normal honey in the absence of raw honey? Or do you think raw honey is an absolute must?
Reply PermalinkHi James,
Personally, not sure. I remember one person on here had good results with Manuka honey as well.
The only one I tried was raw honey (one I bought from the store and one I got from Amazon). The one I bought from the store seemed to be more effective, but hard to really say…
Have you tried using it yet?
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
I have been facing serious hairfall issues since I was diagnosed with Seborrhoeic dermatitis. I just came across your site and have started using the honey water solution. I have been taking medications for more than a year. The dermatitis goes away for a while but comes back soon. So, I was just looking for such a home remedy. How should I go about taking care of the hairfall?
Thank You
Reply PermalinkHi Shivam,
Regarding hair-fall, personally I only experienced a tiny bit on my eye brows, which went away as soon as SD went away. However, from all my research so far, it seems that topical arginine (a non-essential amino acid) may be beneficial for restoring and stimulating hair growth. However, most of the information is contained in patents (example) and not medical trials. Perhaps you may want to look for arginine containing product. Additionally, it helps in wound healing and may even act as a antibacterial. The shampoo I use, the lotion I’ve made for myself and the Restoraderm lotion I used previously all contain arginine.
This medical paper may a good read as well.
A friend of mine swears by castor oil for hair-loss, however I haven’t done much research around it.
Also, it appears that medical anti-fungal shampoos (such as Nizoral, Head & Shoulders) can also stimulate hair growth and prevent hair loss. However, I’ve moved away from these products. Personally, I believe they were part of creating my issues in the first place.
Hope that helps. All the best.
Reply PermalinkThank you Michael
I’m glad that you are helping us out here. Please update anything that you cognize about hairfall due to Sebborheic dermatitis and its cure.
Reply PermalinkHi Shivam,
From everything I currently know it appears that the associated hair-fall is reversed once the infection of the sebaceous glands is resolved. The malassezia that is believed to be in part responsible for SD loves to reside in and around the sebaceous glands. This can result in the hair fall you are experiencing. However, the products that you are using must also be considered.
Hope that helps.
Reply PermalinkSo, If I find this honey-water solution effective, then should I stop the medications, as they may cause side effects when used for a long period, from the dermatologist and continue with this solution and a mild shampoo?
Reply PermalinkHi Shivam,
Sorry for the delay in response. It’s really hard for me to make any specific recommendations because everyone is different and I’m not a medical professional.
From my own experience the hair loss stops and reverses as soon as the SD is contained.
Also, in terms of the medications, it really depends what you have been prescribed, how long you use it, and how often.
Hope that helps. All the best.
Reply PermalinkSorry to sound ignorant, but how much is considered a “part” in reference to the honey and boiled water remedy?
Reply PermalinkHi Judy,
Basically by part I meant in proportion to the water.
So 1/5 of the teaspoon would be water and 4/5 would be honey.
Hope that helps.
Reply PermalinkJust a warning that rubbing raw garlic on the skin can cause dermatitis! I have it at the moment from preperation of raw garlic.
Reply PermalinkIt is a common allergy and particularly affects people in the catering trade.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the update. Will probably remove that garlic method all together. Seems way to aggressive and I would also imagine it may do more harm than good.
All the best.
Reply PermalinkGreat post, Michael! The only home remedy I’ve tried is Tea Tree oil with no success at all. I’m so tired of Rx solutions with inconsistent results and visits to the dermatologist.
Prior to reading this post, I was planning to start an ACV treatment. Now I’m not so sure. My itching is BAD to damage is probably extensive. I can’t imagine the burning that may result.
So I’m thinking honey, but here’s my question… How in the world will this work with long, think hair?! The stickiness seems like it would be impossible to get out!
Reply PermalinkHi Adriane,
Thanks for the feedback.
Yeah, tea tree oil wasn’t too effective for me. Typically made things worse on the scalp and was quite intense for the facial skin.
Lot’s of people seem to have fairly good results with the ACV, but over time it seems that it’s only a partial solution. For me it didn’t really take hold at all.
The honey method I was never brave enough to attempt it on the scalp/hair. Just seemed to messy and tedious. However, had really good results on my facial skin, but again was hard to maintain the procedures.
This is what I’ve been doing for the past ~1.5 months with good success:
My Seborrheic Dermatitis Skin Regimen
It started as a home remedy approach, but took a lot of time to fine tune.
Have been doing a ton of actual research on the subject and you can access the draft copy of the SD chapter of a book I’ve been working on here:
All About Seborrheic Dermatitis
It goes into detail on the majority of info I have collected on SD.
Reply PermalinkHope that helps.
Adriane, I use honey all the time on my hair! I have super thick hair that is way past my shoulders, and I have had no trouble with honey. Start off with a honey rinse, once you feel more comfortable you can gradually move onto mostly just honey (I use a table spoon with a tiny splash of water just to loosen it) this is then massaged into my scalp. I don’t really use a conditioner as I find honey leaves it soft and without tangle
sometimes I’ll use ACV rinse as a deep conditioner but this is usually once every two weeks.
honey is amazing!
Reply PermalinkAs October has hit, naturally SD has come fighting so I’ll be upping the anti! I only seem to get it on my scalp, although this may have something to do with my weekly facial scrubs which are also all homemade remedies.
Hope this helps
Hi Kstones,
Thanks for sharing!
Happy to hear that this approach has worked well for you.
All the best.
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
In the honey-water solution,
Reply PermalinkShould I use raw honey only or can processed honey also work?
Re the “Honey/Boiled WAter” treatment. Can it be used on the scalp? If so, where does shampooing fit into the routine. Same question for the ACV treatment of the scalp. Please share the steps to be taken as Step 1, Step 2, Step 3 etc. Sincere thanks. RK
Reply PermalinkHi Shivam,
The research paper used crude (raw) honey. Based on this I strictly used raw honey when using this treatment.
However, others on here have reported results with regular high quality Manuka honey.
Hope that helps. Best of luck.
Reply PermalinkHi Rita,
Personally do not have much experience with using raw honey on the scalp. For me it just seemed too messy.
However, in the study they simply applied the honey-water solution to the scalp at the same time as all other affected skin and left it for 3 hours before washing. No mention of any special recommendation for shampooing were made.
Another person recently shared her approach in this comment.
The ACV vinegar treatment has been described in more detail in the “Treating Seborrheic Dermatitis With Apple Cider Vinegar” post.
For additional information please check the comments section of that post. Lot’s of good information there.
Hope that helps. All the best.
Reply PermalinkHi, thank you for your advice, I have read it but it does not say to use the treatment before or after shampoo, would you please advise?
Reply PermalinkHi shivam,
Reply PermalinkSame problem here bro. Yar mujhe 3 year se ye problem hai.jab tak tablet lo tab tk sahi rhta h yr. Iska kuch desi ilaaz mile to batana bhai.please.
Honey-water aur Baking Soda solutions bohot effective hain. Apni skin condition aur severity ke according dono mein se koi solution try kar ke dekh lo. Mujhe lagbhag teen mahine ho gaye use karte huye aur ab medicines lene ki zaroorat nahi padti.
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
Which brand of raw honey did you order from Amazon?
Reply PermalinkI am using Societe Naturelle Raw Honey ordered from Amazon but it doesn’t seem to be effective.
Thank you for providing such valuable information. I have SD around nose and I was using medicine for it since 4 years and now even they were not effective to control it. Tried every dandruff shampoo and all kinds of face wash but what really worked for me is Apple Cider Vinegar that I tried after reading this article. Peeling and itching of skin has stopped totally and redness has also reduced to quite an extent. I would like to try the honey method as well but I am not sure about the purity of honey available here, they all contain sugar and antibiotics.
Reply PermalinkHi Lourdes,
Sorry for the delay.
Reply PermalinkJust wanted to clarify which treatment are you referring to?
Hey shivam
Reply PermalinkCan u tell me how to use honey and water combination on my scalp
Or any other recommendation.
I am also facing problem of sebhorric dermatitis
Plzzz reply soon
Or if you can email me personally
That would be really helpful.
I am also facing this problem from last two years.
Thanx
Waiting for ur reply
Hey Michael
Reply PermalinkPlzzz suggest some ways to remove sebbhoric dermatitis
I have read ur post for honey water combination.
Shall I use it and how
Plzzz suggest me something.
And what’s the best weather to stay.
Because I sweat a lot can this be the reason for not getting rid of it.
Because I read somewhere sweat increases fungal infection…
So plzzz suggest
Email : tarunstays9 @gmail.com
Thanx
Hey
Reply PermalinkAnd plzzz suggest me things I should avoid to eat in my diet
Or some food I should eat it.
Thanx
Hi Shivam,
From all the honey I had used a random local bought one was the most effective.
This is the one I bought from Amazon, it seemed to be mildly effective. However, at that time I was getting very inconsistent with treatments as well.
Hope that helps. All the best.
Reply PermalinkHi Hashim,
Thanks for the positive feedback and happy the Apple Cider Vinegar worked out so well for you.
The honey treatments are much more difficult in my opinion and were really hard for me to sustain. The best place to get local honey would be from local bee keepers. This would likely be the purest form.
All the best.
Reply PermalinkAnd which company raw honey u are using…
Reply PermalinkBhai bta Dena jab time mille…
Thanx
Thank you Michael, I used the coconut oil treatment, I felt much better after I used it and waited the 3 hours, then I washed my hair, but it keeps coming back
Reply Permalink