In this post, I will try to cover all the seborrheic dermatitis face treatments that I have ever attempted. My experience with seborrheic dermatitis has lasted for roughly 3-4 years and started on the inside of my nasal folds.
At first it was just a few flakes, but after a few unsuccessful attempts to try to get rid of the few flakes it started to spread to the rest of my face. Additionally the issue plagued my scalp, but this was easily fixed with regular use of Head and Shoulders and I didn’t even know that dandruff equaled seborrheic dermatitis.
However, the scalp and the face are two different things. Facial skin is much more gentle and your face is the first thing people see when you talk to them. This makes treatment both critical yet quite challenging.
The treatments below are in no particular order, except the first three which were the most effective for me.
If you would like to provide more information or expand on any of them, then drop a comment at the bottom and I will get back to you.
Things That Worked
This section includes the things that appeared to have the biggest impact on resolving my seborrheic dermatitis.
Restoraderm Wash and Moisturiser
This was recommended to me by a doctor who noticed my condition accidentally.
She came up to me and said she had something similar before. She gave me a general breakdown of how she went about it and gave me a bunch of commercial samples to take home, specifically pointing out the Restoraderm.
At first I wasn’t actually too keen on giving any of her stuff I try. By that point, I’ve tried so many cleanser and moisturisers that I thought none of these would change anything.
It was only a short while after I started taking glutamine I decided to give the cleansers a try. At this time, my condition was already general improved, but I still had some dry flakes and desperately needed to find something to wash my face without causing any irritation.
Haven’t looked back ever since. The Restoraderm cleanser and moisturiser have been working for me for roughly 8 months as of this writing. The cleanser is gentle and is good for washing away sweat without really stripping the skin. The moisturiser is very light and a tiny bit goes a long way.
The best part was that this was my cheapest treatment. The kind lady gave me a huge bag of samples. In total there were about 4-5 twin sample packs (cleanser + moisturiser). Currently, I’m on my last one of the cleanser, but still have 3.5 of the moisturiser as I use it very sparingly.
Checking online I noticed the moisturiser is actually quite expensive. So I would recommend try to find sample packs of the stuff before you actually commit to it.
Maybe it’s not even the cleanser and moisturiser that’s working so well for me. Maybe it’s my general attitude. Maybe it has been the glutamine supplementation. Maybe it’s something else. I don’t know.
What I do know is whatever it is it’s working so I’ve been afraid to stop using the Restoraderm. Every now and then I go a few days without it, but typically I wash and moisturiser once a day before bed.
When I’m washing my face I can still see some flakes getting removed, but these are typically really small and from the inside of my nasal folds. Also, my ears can sometimes have some flakes as well, but these I can typically wipe away fairly easy. Everything else has been fully clear (forehead, eyebrows, cheeks).
September 2015 Update
The Restoraderm worked exceptionally well for about a year. My skin was free from seborrheic dermatitis and I was happy. However, there was
a comment posted a while back which scared me a bit and then as summer came back around I noticed my skin changing. It was quite sensitive to the sun and I could see redness in areas that my SD used to be after relatively short exposure. In the previous year I had used sun screen to protect my skin and allow to heal, but this left me quite pale and I really wanted to have a normal skin tone. So, I went back to the drawing board and studied the patent behind Restoraderm along with as much research about seborrheic dermatitis as I could get my hands on (+300 research papers). All the knowledge I started to accumulate has been going into a book and has also helped me formulate my own solution, which is discussed next.
Biom 8 – Conditioning Oil
For the longest time I believed that seborrheic dermatitis was caused by oils and that it didn’t matter which specific oils. However, once I actually started researching the topic I began to understand the importance of oil rich sebum in the protection of specific areas of skin. Specifically, the scalp, the face and behind the ears (the exact locations which seborrheic dermatitis typically occurs).
As a result of this new knowledge along with some insights from various patents of other skin care companies I began trying to formulate my own solution. After testing various combinations, I had stumbled upon one that was extremely basic yet highly effective. Skin tone evened out, no more sensitivity to the sun and it almost feels like my skin became bulletproof (knock on wood). The best part is, that I don’t even wash my face with anything anymore. All I simply do now is rinse with water and apply the stuff.
The solution was initially offered exclusively to the community here are SkinDrone and feedback turned out to be fantastic. Now the solution is available to everyone else reading this and details can be found here.
Glutamine Supplementation
For me, this seemed to have been one of the best treatment items as well. I’m not sure if it was just a coincidence, but as I started supplementing everything started to improve.
Food choices no longer seemed to have an impact. The itchy and tingling sensations lessened. Overall I felt slightly better as well. Particularly I would feel more rested from shorter amounts of sleep.
First Attempt
Originally I purchased some L-Glutamine in 500mg capsules along with Zinc Cornisone, Biotin and MSM powder based on a recommendation I found online. This combination didn’t really seem very effective. It kind of worked, but my seborrheic dermatitis was still present. Additionally I couldn’t find much research on MSM and the Zinc Cortisone.
However, as time went by and research continued I kept seeing L-Glutamine popping up over and over. Especially in areas of gut tissue repair. So the decision was made and I gave it another go.
Second Attempt
This time I opted for the pure powder form and bought a big tub online (1000g). Received the tub and started taking a bit here and there with water. I wasn’t really sold that it will fix my problem so I wasn’t really sticking to any specific dosage. Instead, I would just take a bit here and there with some water.
Well, this didn’t really work out too well and my seborrheic dermatitis was still kicking around. The tub went on the shelf and my experimentation continued.
Research I kept reading kept showing potentially links between leaky gut and that area. Other things I found were that salt actually plays quite a bit role in digestion and I had been always reducing salt (due to all the bad press it gets).
Final Attempt
Once again I decided it was time to try to fix the gut. I started eating salt freely and enjoying more salty foods that I had before. Instead of being spontaneous with my glutamine supplementation I started to take it on a regular basis. Every single morning after I woke up I would mix a half teaspoon with a glass of water and drink it down. Then I would wait at least 30 minutes before eating breakfast.
I ended up sticking with this for about 5-6 months. Every single day taking glutamine and water in the morning before any food. The improvement was noticeable after a few weeks, but I decided to keep supplementing in fears of symptoms returning.
My first tub actually ran out and I ordered a second one. However, of the second one I only actually went through about 2-3 weeks of it. After taking glutamine for so long, I started to fear that my body might become dependent on it and lower its own internal production. So I decided to take a break. Since then I’ve been doing good without it so haven’t had a reason to start taking it again.
Another strange thing that happened was roughly after about 4-5 months of supplementing with it, my muscles actually started becoming sore for longer periods of time after workouts. This seemed strange as typically glutamine is taken to help speed up recovery. Instead, it felt like my muscles would almost become permanently sore after workouts. For example, my triceps were sore for almost a month straight. This was a little weird and is actually what made pushed me to give up supplementation.
Even now, I’m not really sure if it was the glutamine specifically that had all the positive results. Maybe it’s the Restoraderm that I’m still using, I’m not quite sure. But like I mentioned earlier, big meals seem to have zero effect on my skin. When my seborrheic dermatitis was at it’s worst a huge meal would result in general inflation of the skin and strong tingling sensation of all the areas affected. It’s hard for me to believe that a cleanser alone would be responsible for getting rid of these symptoms/sensations.
September 2015 Update
Since about half a year ago, I completely stopped supplementing with L-Glutamine. Firstly I felt that I didn’t need it anymore as my skin had improved and secondly I believe that long term supplementation can’t never be good. Since this time I did some research and basically found good natural sources of glutamine and simply attempt to incorporate these into my diet. The ones I focus most on include:
- Eggs (whole eggs for breakfast)
- Cabbage (raw cabbage juice is particularly good for restoring the intestinal lining)
- Leafy greens (don’t eat too much of these, but they are a good source)
Home Remedies for Seborrheic Dermatitis
This section covers the various home remedies and natural solutions for seborrheic dermatitis that I had tried over the years.
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
One of the very first things I attempted to treat my facial seborrheic dermatitis with. It was quite effective at the beginning of treatment.
As time went on the effectiveness started to wear off. Additionally my facial skin started become sensitive to the acidity (skin would turn bright pink for most of the day). My skin’s sensitivity forced me to reduce the concentration and perhaps this is what made it less effective than originally.
In the beginning, I used a ratio of roughly 1:1 water and apple cider vinegar. Towards the end, I was attempting a mix of about 3:1. This treatment is definitely one of the top things I have tried and I’ve had many people message me through the website confirming it’s effectiveness.
Additionally I’ve tried using a variety of different brands as some claim that the “mother” has a strong impact on its effectiveness. However, in my experience I did not find this to be the case. Regular store bought Heinz apple cider vinegar worked just as well as Braggs or other unfiltered varieties. To their credit, these unfiltered varieties tasted much better for general consumption.
Also, I attempted to consume the ACV on a regular basis to treat the seborrheic dermatitis on my face. Daily consumption of apple cider vinegar with water had no effect on my facial seborrheic dermatitis.
Baking Soda
My attempts with baking soda were very inconsistent. The reason for my trial with it is that I’ve read many forum posts claiming it has been effective for treating facial seborrheic dermatitis.
The method I tried was simply mixing a tablespoon in a cup of water and washing the face with the solution. Towards the end of the wash, I would leave the solution on my face and hop in the shower. Then simply washing it off at the end of the shower.
The biggest benefit of the baking soda treatment was that it was very effective for removing the dry skin layers. Additionally it did not cause any redness/pinkness as did the apple cider vinegar treatment. It actually had quite the opposite effective on the skin. Parts of the face, where the seborrheic dermatitis was most present, gained a dull appearance and redness significantly decreased.
Major problems of this treatment started to arise a few hours after each treatment. The skin would typically become overly dry and this would actually start to cause excessive flaking in portions of the face where seborrheic dermatitis was worst.
The outcome of my attempts at this treatment, therefore, were inconsistent. Sometimes the dryness never even presented itself and when this happened the treatment was extremely effective. However, if the dryness did hit, it was quite strong and the skin would flake even worse than usual.
Additionally I’ve made several attempts to regular consume baking soda for several weeks before bed. This was picked from several forum topics I’ve read. Others claim that the baking soda works by solving interval fungal issues which then manifest themselves in the form of seborrheic dermatitis on the face. For me, the regular consumption of baking soda had no apparent effect on the seborrheic dermatitis on my face.
Dead Sea Salt
I’m not going to go into too much detail on this treatment as I’ve written a post that documents my experience in great detail. To summarize things sea salt did seem to have a significant impact on the seborrheic dermatitis on my face.
Soaking the face in a bowl of dead sea salt water would remove flakes/scales and help clear the face. However, issues with drying and intermittent hypersensitivity made the facial soaks a poor treatment choice. From all the sea salt I tried, it did not seem to matter if it was dead sea salt or regular sea salt (actually regular Trader Joes sea salt seemed to work better)
The biggest benefit for me was gained I believe from becoming more slack in the salt in my diet. Previously I had been restricting dietary sodium as most health publications repeat over and over the negative effects of salt in the diet. All the food I ate, I ate unsalted.
After some reading about sodiums impact on digestion and the connection between seborrheic dermatitis and the gut, I decided to try to bring salt back into my diet. This seemed to have a positive effect on the parts of my face most affected by seborrheic dermatitis. However, it is hard to say the exact role it played as shortly after I added several other treatments to my regimen that further enhanced my results.
Green Tea
This is quite a simple and straightforward treatment I picked up from a forum. Basically, all I did was steep some green tea and use the bag to dab my face. This seemed to help soothe the skin and had an overall anti-inflammatory effect.
My biggest disappointment with this method was that it did not do anything to help stop the flaking. So perhaps this treatment might be a good choice paired together with something like ACV or something else that effectively removes and prevents the flakes.
Raw Honey
One of my most successfully treatment approaches was raw honey. This method was one of the most time-consuming and annoying. Especially since I’m a guy and walking around for 3-4 hours with honey on my face is not very relaxing.
You can see more details on my experience with raw honey in this post. In summary, the raw honey worked amazingly well. It was effective in both removing the flakes, healing the skin, reducing inflation while additionally moisturizing the skin. Due to these amazing benefits of this seborrheic dermatitis face treatment, I’ve gone through about 2-3 jars of 500ml raw honey (did eat some of it as well).
This biggest issue with this seborrheic dermatitis facial treatment is that it is extremely time-consuming. Also as I used the treatment more and more the results seemed to diminish. At times, it seems to even begin to irritate the skin on the face most affected by seborrheic dermatitis.
Propolis
This treatment was very ineffective for me, but I did give it a few tries. Basically what I did was mix a bit of propolis with the raw honey treatment hoping to improve its effectiveness. However, this usually resulted in added difficulty trying to wash off the honey as well as it seemed to increase irritation.
Vitamin C Supplements and Serum
This one forum post, in particular, got me excited about the possibility of getting rid of my seborrheic dermatitis for good. It seemed too simple and straight forward I had to give it a try.
After multiple treatment attempts with several weeks of 5-10 gram daily doses of vitamin c in the form of ascorbic acid I saw very little improvement. The ascorbic acid did seem to have an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin and did reduce redness. However, it didn’t seem to have any effect on reduces the flakes on parts of my face affected by seborrheic dermatitis.
One thing that did seem to work really well was eating lots of grapefruit. Typically if I ate a bunch of grapefruit I would begin to notice my skin improve. My thoughts are that grapefruit has a cleansing effect on the guy and helps the body clear toxins. I’ve even read that if you eat a bunch of grapefruit with some medication that it would cause the medication to become ineffective.
Another thing I tried with all the ascorbic acid I bought was making my own vitamin c serum. However, this serum was very ineffective and produced no apparent results on the seborrheic dermatitis on my face. If the serum was too strong it would cause similar irritation to that of the apple cider vinegar due to its acidity. Perhaps a chelated form of vitamin c might be more effective specifically for seborrheic dermatitis (did not try this with chelated forms).
Commercial Products for Treatment of Seborrheic Dermatitis
This section covers the majority of commercially available products I had attempted in order to treat my seborrheic dermatitis. A portion of them are targeted at scalp treatment, but this didn’t stop me from trying them on my facial skin.
Head and Shoulders – Pyrithione Zinc
This treatment was very effective for seborrheic dermatitis on both my face and my scalp. It would remove the scales, reduce inflammation and was not overly drying on my skin. However, it did seem to have a negative overall effect on my skin (especially the face). Skin tone become dull and the skin become overly sensitive to the sun. Also, the skin seemed to gain a splotchy appearance.
Overall it felt like each time I used this treatment I was just blasting my face with a powerful bomb. It seemed to basically destroy all the living organisms and bacteria both good and bad. The effect of this was that when I did not use the treatment on a regular basis the seborrheic dermatitis would return very quickly.
One a side note, I have a strange feeling that head and shoulders might have been a part of the problem to begin with. Previously it was my go to shampoo even before seborrheic dermatitis affected my face. When I was in high school I sometimes had a bit of dandruff. So based on advertisements I started regularly using head and shoulders. To this day, I remember someone from way back told me not to use it as your skin can become dependent on it. Basically, this person told me that if I used it I’m basically locking in my dandruff problem for good. However, I didn’t take these words too seriously and continued using it for several years. Then once I started getting seborrheic dermatitis on my face I thought back to these words and thought there might be a connection. But even with these feelings I still attempted use H&S and other pyrthione zinc containing products to treat the seborrheic dermatitis on my face and scalp.
Cerave – Cleanser & Moisturizer
Around the time that I first got symptoms of my seborrheic dermatitis, I had a person who prescribed me the treatment tell me I should try Cerave. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but as my seborrheic dermatitis progressed I remember his recommendation.
Didn’t get any samples of it as I didn’t know that samples were so widely available at the time. Went into Wal-Mart and bought a full bottle of both the cleanser and moisturizer.
It was gentle and seemed to calm things down. Used it for about a week and my skin seemed to be doing okay. The results were not drastic, but it seemed to be helping the flakes and generally calming things down.
Over time, my skin started to hate the moisturizer. It would actually get more oily and greasy than usually. Additionally the flakes were still there. It would soften them up and make them more visible, but they were still there.
Both bottles are still pretty much full and sitting around. Overall I would say the Cerave was no very effective for the seborrheic dermatitis. However, I did see a review on Amazon claiming it worked well for them (which drove a big part of my purchase decision as well).
SebaMed – Cleansers & Moisturizers
When trying the Cerave I also saw great reviews for this product. Additionally I remembered it from a sample I received a long time ago (also when my seborrheic dermatitis was only starting).
When I had the sample my skin wasn’t all that bad yet. But using the cleanser seemed to make my skin was completely clear (this was before it spread past my nose).
The only reason I stopped back then was it was I didn’t think I need it any-more nor I knew the full extent of my problem. Additionally I thought it was just a coincidence that my skin was clear.
So after Ceraves failure I naturally thought back to this product. Went to the pharmacy and bought myself a moisturizing cleanser bar. Worked great for about two weeks and my skin was clear. However, results seemed to deteriorate rather quickly. Maybe this was a different SebaMed than I used before?
Went back to the pharmacy and got one of the most expensive ones they had. It was about ~$20 and the description sounded too good. However, as I tried using it my results were even worse. This one actually inflamed my seborrheic dermatitis and made it act up.
After that experience, I still tried to use the cleanser bar a few times in hopes it would start working. Never obtained any sustainable results, so eventually stopped using it. Still have about half the bar left and sometimes use it as hand soap (seems to last forever).
Aveeno – Oatmeal Cleansing Bar
This one didn’t work for me at all. Bought it roughly around the same time frame as the SebaMed. It actually inflamed my seborrheic dermatitis and made it much, much worse. Also in the shower this bar seems to melt away extremely fast. However, in a soap dish I’ve been using it to wash my hands for quite some time. It’s probably been kicking around for more than a year now.
Aveeno – Moisturizer
The Aveeno moisturizer was actually recommended in the Dead Sea Salt post on cure zone. It was the one the original poster used with great results. So naturally when I bought my big bad of dead sea salt I got a tube of this as well.
My results were not as great as the gentleman on CureZone. It would make my skin a little too oily and seemed like it didn’t let it breath. It did help soothe and moisturize the skin after the dead sea salt, but it would actually make the seborrheic dermatitis return quicker than without it.
So I gave up on it rather quickly and just resumed the sea salt treatments without it. Instead of this one I tried the Gold Bond described next (picked this up based on a YouTube video I saw).
SudoCream – Rash Cream
Was advised by someone I knew to give this a try. It’s used for diaper rashes and is known to be excellent for healing skin. It actually does work extremely well for the both the flakes and the redness. The biggest problem is it is really hard to gently rinse off.
To get this stuff off, you really need a good face wash. And that’s where the problem lies. As soon as start applying some power the wash the stuff off, it aggregates the skin. This aggression typically brought back my issues rather quickly.
I still make use of this stuff here and there. It’s really good for single small areas that can be easily wiped. As soon as you start smearing it all over, it gets’s a little tricky.
SkinMD – Shielding Lotion
This was purchased due to their effective Amazon sales page. Everyone’s skin needs a shielding lotion.. right? My logic at the time was I put this stuff on and shield all my seborrheic dermatitis away.
Bought a bottle of it down in the States during one my regular trips. Used it a few times and that was it. All it really did was aggregate my seborrheic dermatitis that’s about it.
Additionally I tried to give it a go as a hand moisturizer just so it wouldn’t go to waste, but it’s not very effective for that either. So it’s been sitting around ever since.
Grandpa’s – Pine Tar Soap
This soap just smells awesome (at least for me). It’s got the scent of a burning pine tree and the looks to match. Also, you can really feel the glycerin in this soap, it’s super moisturizing.
The only reason I found it was that I was in search for a natural alternative to Neutrogena Coal Tar shampoo which was recommended. Online reviews made it seem like the perfect alternative.
For my face, the results were actually pretty good. It seemed to destroy the seborrheic dermatitis. As soon as you washed with it, the flakes would smudge/roll of the skin. I could actually see layers of skin being melted away.
Also, the moisturizing effect was strong enough that I had no need to moisturizer with anything after using it. My biggest issue was that the peeling skin would still persist and the skin would actually become quite sensitive to the elements.
The redness wouldn’t really go away either. The skin was mostly flake free, but it still looked a little splotchy and not overly healthy. So I resumed my research for something else.
Gold Bond – Moisturizer
The one I bought was the exact one used in that YouTube video linked above. It was the Healing Aloe or something like that.
This stuff worked much better than the Aveeno. Even though it had a thicker feel to it, my skin would absorb it quite nicely and it wouldn’t cause too much excessive oil.
It was actually one of my most used moisturizers and it did work quite well. The trick was to put it on a few minutes after the dead sea salt when the skin was still moist. This would lock in the moisture and allow me to use much less of the moisturizer.
As I kept using it my face started reacting slightly different to it. The splotchyness returned and it was like my skin didn’t want it any-more. It became too thick and heavy feeling. So like all their others it went into my cupboard.
This stuff is quite good as a hand moisturizer though. Especially if your hands a really dry. It’s quite thick and leaves a nice coating. It doesn’t seem to do much of that “healing” it promises, but the coat of oil helps the hands feel good and allows for recovery.
Glycerin Bar Soap
Can’t really pick out any of the glycerine soaps that stood out. They were more or less all the same. Their great soaps and I learned what a quality natural soap feels like from trying them.
These are actually the types of soap I now use for general hand washing and showering purposes. For the face, however, they were a bit too strong.
When using them, they would dry the skin and strip the oils quite thoroughly. These seemed to quickly activate both flakiness and oil production.
So for me the glycerine soap turned out to be perfect for general use, but not for the seborrheic dermatitis.
T-Gel – Coal Tar
By now I’ve stopped using the pine tar and was finally desperate enough to give coal tar a try. The ingredients didn’t seem all that bad and what if it could make things go away..
Bought a bottle from the local supermarket and gave it a go. Turns out, this stuff works exceptionally well. Flaking stops and redness quickly subside. It is quite gentle and was much better for my facial skin than head and shoulders.
The smell of the coal tar was covered with some really potent fragrance, but the fragrance didn’t seem to have any negative effects.
Went through a whole small bottle of this stuff and bought a second one. However, even though my skin was not visually affected by the flakes I could still feel something wrong. The tingling and itching sensation was still there.
The skin also got inflamed rather easy and it seemed like it was generally much more sensitive. Going out in the sun was typically a bad idea as the skin becomes quite sensitive to it. 20-30 minutes in direct sunlight and my seborrheic spots would quickly begin to produce loads of oil and start getting quite red.
If I stay in the shade, kept away from harsh environmental factors (dirt, too much sweat, etc.) than the skin would be well off. However, my lifestyle didn’t really permit for so much carefulness. So I decided it the coal tar was not the best long term solution for me and the search continued.
Grape Fruit Seed Extract (GSE)
This one was another one of the most effective treatments I have ever tried. The very first time I tried it, I was blown away. It magically reversed the seborrheic dermatitis completely. My skin was normal and flake-free in just two days of using the stuff.
At that moment, I was extremely thrilled. This must have been it, the magic bullet that would make it go away forever. As time went by, just like the others, it’s effectiveness started to fade away.
In total, this stuff worked really well for 3-4 months. Towards the end of the 3rd month, it’s magically powers started to become less magical. It would work, but I had to start using it more often to keep the seborrheic dermatitis away. Sometimes I would even wash my face 3 times a day with the stuff.
It wasn’t long until my face began to become splotchy and flaky no matter how much I would use the stuff. That was that and I started researching again.
Additionally I tried drinking the stuff to get rid of “internal issues” that might be causing the seborrheic dermatitis. But this was never effective.
One a side note about a year later I decided to give the GSE another go as I still had some left. To my surprise, it worked its magic once again. In just a few washes, my skin was absolutely clear. This didn’t last for long this time around. About a week or two and the fantastic results went away once again.
My theory is that whatever is causing the seborrheic dermatitis (likely the malassezia) learns to adapt to the GSE. Also if you check read about GSE online you will find that it’s probably not the Grapefruit Seeds that make it effective. Actually it’s likely the chemical cleaning agent that is used in the process of it’s manufacturing (same agent that is used in many commercial hand sanitizers). There are studies that show if GSE is manufactured without this cleaning agent than it has lost all of it’s anti-fungal powers
Dietary Modifications
I’m going to try to make this section small. If you would like further information just ask me in the comments below.
For dietary modifications I think I’ve tried absolutely everything you can find online. Saw tons of naturopaths and took a huge amount of advice.
Here’s a basic list of all the things I tried:
- Avoiding red meat
- Water fasting
- Juicing
- Avoiding night shades
- Avoiding eggs
- Avoiding all caffeine (including teas)
- Lower protein intake
- Staying away from saturated fats
- Avoiding vegetables oils
- Eating tons of coconut oil
- Gluten free diet
- Cutting oats
- Eating only rice
- Avoiding carrots
- Getting rid of nuts
- Avoiding honey
- Staying away from fried food
- Avoiding fruits
- And many other modifications
The above list should give you a general idea of everything I attempted, there’s probably some stuff missing, but I hard to remember everything off the top of my head. If your thinking of tried something drop it in the comments and I’ll let you know if I’ve ever given it a try.
Overall out of all the modifications I made, I noticed some strong correlation between calorie restriction and general improvements. For example water fasting would make the skin clear right up without any topical treatments at all. It would just normalize all on its own.
Also, I learned that high fat and high carbohydrate meals would typically cause things to get worse. My theory was that the fat would slow down digestion while the carbohydrates would sit for longer in the stomach fermenting and causing issues.
These finding lead to research leaky gut and the potential of gut lining issues. Which I believe finally lead mine in the right direction. My final and most successful regimen was taking a bunch of L-Glutamine in hopes of patching up my gut.
This seemed to have done something as I have become much less sensitive to large meals and poor food choices. The full outline of my regimen is here. Since then I’ve actually stopped taking the L-Glutamine, as I felt I didn’t need it any-more and didn’t want my body becoming dependent on it.
Supplementation
In addition to dietary modifications, I attempted various supplements in order to try an minimize any potential deficiencies.
Vitamin Supplementation
This is actually another huge area of experimentation I had. Much of the information online suggests that the body might be missing some vitamin and, as a result, the seborrheic dermatitis occurs.
With all of my experimentation, I didn’t really find a specific vitamin supplement that provide long-lasting relief. Overall Vitamin C actually stood out the most. It seemed to help stop inflammation after large meals.
Here’s a general list of all the vitamins I tried:
- Vitamin C (ascorbate, ascorbic acid, and a few natural sources such as camu camu)
- Vitamin D (liquid and capsule)
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin B complex (regular one from the store and a “natural” one from Vitamin Code or whatever the company is)
- Biotin (gave me rashes all over my body)
- B6 (no effect)
The big top 3 (C,D,E) I tried a few different brand and forms. Didn’t see any difference and have most of them laying around somewhere. The Vitamin C is the only thing I’ve actually continued taking on a regular basis. It’s actually quite good as a breath mint.
The Biotin was definitely one of the worst things I tried. I started becoming itchy all over and my rashes started forming all over my body. At first I didn’t even make the connection, I thought it might have been some soap, insects, or something else. As soon as I stopped taking the biotin everything returned to normal.
Fish Oil Supplementation
Sounded like a great idea and the concept makes sense. Get more Omega 3 in the system drive down inflammation and force seborrheic dermatitis to go away. Only if it was that easy..
First I bought general fish oil and took that for a few weeks. Didn’t see much improvement and the after burps felt like rancid fish oil. So I thought maybe it went bad.
Went back to the store bought some Wild Salmon Oil capsules and thought those might be different. Took them for a few more weeks and didn’t see much difference, except those fish burps once again.
For my third attempt, I bought the more expensive liquid form online. It actually tasted pretty god and had some citrus added to hide the overwhelming fish taste. However, to my disappointment again I saw no direct improvement in my seborrheic dermatitis.
Overall I would say that fish oil wasn’t very effective at doing anything for my seborrheic dermatitis.
Mineral Supplementation
Minerals such as zinc, calcium and several others have been proposed by various online sources to be helpful in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis. However, none of the mineral supplements I had attempted did anything for my skin. Granted, I likely didn’t stick to any of the them for long enough to balance any deficiencies as I was concerned with getting too much instead. In my mind supplementation overall is not a good solution unless you are certain of certain deficiencies as you can do more harm then good.
Miscellaneous Treatments
This section includes various other things I had attempted.
Fluoride Free Toothpaste
Read on a forum someone who said their seborrheic dermatitis went away completely just by getting away from fluoride toothpaste. Well, that didn’t seem to hard, so I gave it a shot.
Bought two tubs of Jameson’s and one tube of Tom’s of Maine to give it a try.
Overall changing toothpaste had no effect on me. I’ve slowly been going through my tubes, but they are overwhelmingly minty. Personally prefer more gentle toothpaste so at least it wasn’t a total waste of money.
Oil Pulling
This is a supposedly ancient Indian practice which can remove toxins from the body and improve all aspects of health. Came across it on some forum which a member indicated that it helped with their seborrheic dermatitis. After about 3-4 weeks of daily oil pulling with coconut oil I didn’t observe any effects on my seborrheic dermatitis. This made my give up and look for something else.
Conclusion of Seborrheic Dermatitis Face Treatments
This has been quite a large post and I covered most of the things I tried along the way. Looking back there are still a few supplements I missed (mainly minerals, internal antifungals and other random things, but I’m tired of writing.
Perhaps in the next few days I might make an adjustment and add a bullet point list of whatever else I tried. If you would then like me to expand on any of the items, just drop a request in the comments.
So for the conclusion. Overall I feel like there are too many face treatments for seborrheic dermatitis available online. This resulted in lots of unnecessary stress and a huge amount of wasted time on research.
Dermatologists seemed to be of very little use and the ones I saw told me I’m stuck with this for life. Which is actually quite aggravating. Their sole job responsibility is to solve skin conditions, then why are they so useless?
Anti-fungals and commercial products did seem to help control the symptoms. However, they also seemed to force you to continue using them. While also having a general negative impact on the overall condition of the skin. Natural treatments and all sorts of supplementation were also mostly hit or miss.
Topical treatments that were effective at first seemed to wear off and stop working. Especially some of the best results could be obtained almost instantaneously, but would go away with time. No matter how hard to you wanted the results to stick around.
Everyone’s skin is different and that is apparent when you look at all the stuff online. However, many people can agree that there is some relation between seborrheic dermatitis and the gut.
Hopefully some of the treatment information I outlined here is of benefit to other who like myself have to face the ugly effect of seborrheic dermatitis. If you would life more information or have the time to share your own experiences feel free to use the comments below. Best of luck to everyone fighting this thing and hope the information I covered on these seborrheic dermatitis face treatments can be of use to you.
Hi Michael,
You said that you were using Restoraderm Cleanser and Moisturizer. I googled it to see if I can purchase some to try out but Cetaphil Restoradem body wash keeps coming out. Is that the Restoraderm you are using or a completely different one?
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
-Kelly
Reply PermalinkHi Kelly,
Sorry about the confusion. Someone actually pointed this out previously, but I forgot to clarify in my writing.
This appears to be the one I am using right now: http://www.cetaphil.ca/en/products/restoraderm.
My sample packs are labeled different, but the ingredients are identical. Here is a picture of my samples. My last sample of the cleanser/wash is almost out and I’m planning to purchase a full bottle from Wal-Mart (saw they had it on the shelves) here in Canada.
One other thing to note is that some of the ones listed of Amazon.com have a slightly different ingredients list.
Not sure if that is the newer formula or the older one. Also I don’t know if that formula works as good, better, or worse.
Maybe try a local pediatric clinic, I believe they commonly carry samples for child eczema.
Best of luck. If you can, post an update on where you end up finding it.
Reply PermalinkHi Kelly,
So I ended up going down to Wal-Mart to finally get a full bottle (samples are almost done). Here they are on the shelf here in Canada.
At first I didn’t even think they had them any more as they are not near the other Cetaphil products. They were off to the side with some moisturiser products.
As an additional bonus they have coupons on the back (wash has $2 off moisturiser coupon and vice versa).
Reply PermalinkMichael, thank you for setting up this website and passing on your knowledge. I have had red and flaky skin (nose, sides of nose, eyebrows) for the last 20 years. I didn’t even realise it was seb derm until someone mentioned it about a month ago.
When I washed my face with soap, acne lotion, or most types of cleansers, it made my face dry and didn’t clear it up at all. So I tended to just use moisturiser (nivea and then e45). I realise now although this helped with the dryness, it just led to more inflammation.
After reading your blog, I have been using cetaphil cleanser twice a day for the last two weeks and my skin has cleared up and is the best it’s been for 20 years. I don’t really use the moisturiser as it seems to make me a touch red and shiny.
It’s great to just have normal skin again at last and once again thanks so much for your help!
Reply PermalinkHi Nick,
Thank you for the update. Glad to hear that the Cetaphil helped. It’s shocking how long some people can suffer with seborrheic dermatitis. 20 years is a significant part of ones life.
Did you also get diagnosed and prescribed creams? Did you previously attempt any anti-fungal creams?
Similar to your experience none of the other cleansers were as ever as effective as this one.
As for the moisturizer I use an extremely tiny amount. Typically while my face is still wet I just take a dab and it mixes with the water on my face. The 30ml samples can last me for 3-4 months with nightly use. It feels great massaging my skin like this. However, it’s good to hear that even without the cleanser is just as effective.
Thanks again for leaving the update. Glad my writing has made a difference. All the best.
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
Reply PermalinkI went to the Doctor a few times. I was diagnosed with adult acne as my skin would often erupt and was prescribed steroid tablets or cream. I also tried dakatarin and hydrocortisone and the odd acne cleanser. But I must admit I was quite sparing with these treatments as I was wary of them being too harsh and they didn’t seem to help much.
I assumed the problem was diet related and cut down on processed wheat which seemed to help a bit. When I tried keeping to just vegetables and fruit this definitely seemed to clear up my skin, but this was unsustainable as I was losing too much weight.
Thanks for the tip re the moisturiser and I will try again at some point in a smaller dose.
By the way you mention in one of your articles your cleanser is ‘clearasil’. I think this is a different product (for acne) and you mean ‘cetaphil’?
Cheers Nick
Hi Nick,
Thanks for checking back. Additional thank you for spotting my “clearasil” mistakes. Sometimes mix the two up. Went back and made sure everything is corrected. Originally I meant Cetaphil and I’ve never tried using clearasil for treating my seborrheic dermatitis.
Definitely agree with you on the diet thing. My weight and energy was always up and down when going on vegetables/fruits.
How good are your results with the Cetaphil?
Thanks again.
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
Just spent a few hours reading through your site, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I will be purchasing the cetaphil tomorrow. I have used the normal cetaphil face wash in the past but never the restoraderm. I actually avoided trying it a few weeks ago because I thought it was meant as a body wash. The one I saw had lanolin and oils in the ingredient list. Is there a face wash version of the restoraderm meant for sensitive skin? Thanks again for your insights on this horrible condition!
-Steve
Reply Permalinkhi MICHAEL,
i would like to ask if this cleanser , Cetaphil Restoraderm bodywash is suitable for the face?
and also what is your routine on these two products for each day?
how many times do you wash per day with this cleanser and how often do you apply Cetaphil Restoraderm moisturizer ?
i am currently using La Roche Posay Toleriane cleanser once daily with great results as a cleanser and cetaphil classic moisurizer, small amounts of it . Im thinking of trying what you suggested.
Reply PermalinkHi Steve,
Same as you I saw this stuff a few times in the store before. However, I wasn’t really sure if it was meant for the face.
On several occasions I purchased other cleansers instead of it (Cerave, SebaMed, Aveeno). It wasn’t until I got a bunch of samples that I gave it a try.
Don’t think there is a face wash version, but this stuff is super gentle. In a way I can’t really see myself using it as a body wash.
The ingredients list of my bottle doesn’t seem to have Lanolin, but it does have Shea Butter and Sunflower Seed Oil (even though oils seems to be bad in general, in this they are fine for me).
Here is a picture of the wash and moisturiser at my local Wal-Mart.
If you have the time please share any updates you may have.
Best of luck and hope this stuff helps.
Reply PermalinkHello Again,
You can disregard the cleanser question in the other comment :).
The labelling threw me off as well in the beginning. The Cetpahil Restoraderm is quite gentle.
Can’t really see myself actually using this stuff as an actual body wash.
My routine is now really bare bones. This is what I do practically every single night (have missed an odd day here and there without any negatives):
With this approach I barely use any moisturiser at all, but I feel the tiny amount I do use goes a long way.
For the scalp I actually went against most the suggestions I read online. Instead of controlling the oils on the my scalp I went and bought a quality moisturising shampoo.
This is all I use now. Sometimes I can feel the dandruff flakes start to appear, but a bit of extra massaging the scalp with the shampoo seems to make it go away.
However, my scalp and hair are much better off now that I stopped using Head and Shoulders.
Additionally I’ve stopped the glutamine supplementation and currently only wash my face once a day before heading to bed.
Right now I eat whatever I feel like, can drink alcohol (even beer finally seems to be okay), exercise and sweat are no longer a problem, and even intense stress doesn’t seem to cause any issues.
Hope this helps.
Reply PermalinkBest of luck and look forward to hearing any updates from you.
Hello again Michael,
thank you for your answear i will check some other potential remedies first and then buy the cetaphil products as i already have the classic moisturizer which is actually very good.
For my hair i use ACV(leave it for 5 minutes) after i shampoo with orzene shampoo every now and then and i dont have so much flaking now . I will also have in mind this shampoo which seems good.
I would like to ask you something. Is it wrong that after i shower i wipe with a clean towel the dead skin out off my face(usually white small pieces of dead skin) ? it really feels good when i do this but im worried if this action damages my skin and then it is easier for incredients or things i might be allergic to,to penetrate my skin(?)
i would also like to tell everyone that i am a member of a forum which one thread is about seborrheic dermatitis . So here is the link and my nickname is the same there:
Reply PermalinkHi Again,
Yeah the shampoo is probably much better than I have previously described it being.
The ingredients list includes many things which are suppose to be quite good for helping control seborrheic dermatitis.
For example the main ingredient is Aloe Vera (as opposed to water being the main ingredient in most others). Alongside of this it contains manuka honey, argan oil, arginine (an amino acid the restoraderm actually also contains, supposed to improve circulation), milk thistle, vitamin e, hyaloronic acid, borage oil, jojoba oil and a bunch of others. Granted since there is so much stuff it’s hard to known if there is actually enough of any of them. The smell of the stuff is enough for me (it’s like orange candies from childhood).
So I guess the shampoo is not really a “simple” moisturising shampoo as I have described it before.
It might actually be some of the stuff that’s been controlling the SD on my scalp, not sure though.
Maybe if someone else gives it a try, we will have more evidence.
Thanks for the link to the forum. I’ve gone through that whole thread before and picked out all the potential solutions.
If I’m not mistaken I tried about 75-80% of the stuff that people had good results with there.
Actually used Evernote to collect some of the stuff from there and other places.
Here is my notebook for that: https://www.evernote.com/pub/vzeazy/forumscrape
Hope that helps. All the best and thanks again for updating.
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
Reply PermalinkI went ahead and bought the Restoraderm, and going to try out. I’ll be giving you weekly updates to see how it turns out. It’s labeled as Cetaphil Restoraderm, Eczema Calming Body Wash. Is that the same thing? It gives me somewhat a burning sensation when I use it, but goes away shortly after I wash it off. Did you experience the same thing? I’ll be also starting on the L-Glutamine to see if that makes a difference at all. Thank you again for this informative website!
Hey man, I just wanted to thank you for all this. I’ve struggled with dandruff since I was young, and then in my teens I started suffering from painfully dry skin and seborrheic dermatitis. Your suggestion for cetaphil restoraderm has been the only thing that has left me essentially symptom free. Thank you so much, you’ve changed my life if even in a small way.
Reply PermalinkMan, I’m glad I came across your website today.
I just started having flakes and redness on the sides of my nose beginning a few months ago, previously nothing but occasional light dandruff. Thought it would go away but it didn’t and since it wasn’t super bad I did nothing.
Could be coincidence but I think it started when I started using this rose oil for my face, and now that you mention it my diet did change from mainly meat and vegetables to high protein/fat and high carbs. Been eating bit of sugar too, which I normally don’t like. Generally pretty healthy with no digestion/gut/food issues though.
Anyway, decided to do something about it tonight. Went to Shoppers and bought some tea tree face wash and Selsum Blue 2.5% after minimal research. Like yourself I was a little concerned about going so chemical/broad anti-fungal bacterial approach. I also agree with you that the over-researching health issues on the internet really is detrimental if not outright depressing.
I’m going to head back to store and return that Selsum Blue (stuff’s expensive) and head to Whole paycheck and find that Andalou shampoo. Looks to be what l was thinking would work… I agree with you about needing the conventional stuff in perpetuity or risk it coming back worse.
I actually have a bit of glutamine somewhere as well. Couldn’t hurt.
Anyhow, thanks a bunch for the information and well linked pictures of the products you’re using. It helps that I think we’re from the same city. Take care.
I’ll let you know how it works out.
Reply PermalinkHi Luis,
Yeah that seems like the same thing. Here is the ingredients list of the one I have, you can compare yours:
aqua (purifed water/eau purifée), butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), sodium trideceth sulfate, glycerin, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, sodium chloride, sodium lauramphoacetate, cocamide MEA, citric acid, niacinamide, sodium PCA (filaggrin BP), tocopheryl acetate, 1,2-Hexanediol and caprylyl glycol, disodium EDTA, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, allantoin, potassium sorbate, arginine (filaggrin BP), methylisothiazolinone
For me I didn’t get any burning sensation, how bad is your skin at the moment?
When I started my skin wasn’t flaring much. Has your skin calmed to it since?
Thanks for the positive comment. Hope it ends up working out for you as well. Looking forward to hearing any progress you make. All the best.
Reply PermalinkHey Kyle,
Reply PermalinkThanks for the update. Glad that it worked out for you and it impacted your life in a positive way
You have any certain approach with the washing?
All the best.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for the update. I’m in Vancouver if that helps.
Let me know how the shampoo works out? Are you using anything for the face?
Yeah, I’m not really still 100% if the glutamine really helped as much as I think it did. Might be more clear if other people confirm it as well.
Also one thing that I did right before going to the Andalou was use a more natural anti-fungal shampoo. It used a mineral based coal tar variant. This stuff had a transitioning faze and was more of head paste (didn’t sud) than a typical shampoo.
The reason I switched was that stuff was really expensive (+$30) and the only place I could find with a reasonable price was the US Amazon (inconvenient). The ingredients of it can be found on their page here. However, mine doesn’t contain the xanthan gum and recent reviews on Amazon seem to be for that formula (here is mine).
Not sure if that shampoo was a good transitioning step to the Andalou.
Also towards the end you mentioned “Whole paycheck”, I’m guessing Whole Foods?
Reply PermalinkLook forward to hearing any updates. All the best.
Hi Michael,
This is the ingredient list for the one I’m using: Water, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Pentylene Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Sorbitol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine, Niacinamide, Allantoin, Panthenol, Arginine, Disodium Ethylene Dicocamide PEG-15 Disulfate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Sodium PCA, Ceteareth-20, Sodium Polyacrylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric acid, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA.
Not completely the same…
I did start using the Restoraderm when I had a flare up, maybe that’s why it burned? I was using it daily, but it was irritating my skin somewhat. I would wake up in the morning more red than the night before. I noticed though, that my skin would clear throughout the day. I’m going to use it every other day now, and see if that helps. I’ll wait until I’m a bit more clear and less irrirated before I try it again. I unfortunately could not find the moisturizer at my local stores, so I just ordered it online (a lot cheaper than in the stores too!) so I’m waiting on that. Hopefully that will help with the dryness.
Reply PermalinkHi Nick,
Reply PermalinkAre you using just normal Cetpahil face wash or are you using the RestoraDerm face wash?
Hey Michael,
I want to start your Cetaphil RestoraDerm, but was wondering if it is still working for you and have you changed your application routine with it?
Adam
Reply PermalinkHi Adam,
Still using the Restoraderm, and my technique hasn’t changed form the original posting.
Simply just do regular daily washings before bed. Here is an outline of the routine:
That's all I do now.
I’ve stopped the Glutamine supplementation because I feel like it finished it’s job.
Hope that helps, and let me know if you need any more details.
If you find the time, would love to hear any updates you may have. Best of luck.
Reply PermalinkThanks for the clarification Michael. As of right now Im on the Honey/ACV/DermaZinc Lotion routine. Day 4 right now. Funny thing is, as Im typing this, I have my face smothered in Honey at the beginning of the 3hr mask. Im seeing good results so far. 5 days ago I got off of Elidel so my skin is going through the stages of getting off of a suppressant and flaking lots, but redness and itching has gone down dramatically.
This might sound like a weird question but I have to ask. If you only wash your face before bed, what do you do when you wake in the morning? I imagine you dont splash your face with water because that would rinse off the RestoraDerm from the night before. Do you just do nothing and keep ur skin untouched? How do you get ur hair wet in order to comb or style it without getting ur face wet?
See. Weird questions for sure haha!!! But it would help me out a lot…
Adam
Reply PermalinkHi Luis,
Yeah the one you have looks like the same one I saw on Amazon.com (not sure if that is an older formula, newer formula, or a US formula).
That formula you pointed out seems to be mainly sold in the United States. All the Canadian retailers seem to carry the formula I’ve got here.
Since Cetaphil is a Canadian company, I would imagine the would have their most recent SKU available to the Canadian market.
Also unsure if the slight change in ingredients makes a difference.
Maybe as other readers report their results, it will become clear if the small differences have an impact.
If it helps I saw the exact formula I’m using on Amazon.com as well, however it was from secondary suppliers.
US Wal Mart doesn’t include the ingredients on their online listing, so not sure which one they carry. CVS and Wal Greens have the same ingredients as mine listed.
Perhaps if your still not seeing any improvements I can try to send you one of my samples (could show if the ingredients make a difference).
Reply PermalinkLook forward to hearing any updates. Hopefully it works out in the end.
Hi Adam,
Yeah it’s really not that strange of a question actually :). I do have a bit of a special approach.
Basically I wash and moisturise at night and let it do it’s thing while I sleep. When I wake up my face is good to go.
In the morning shower I just tilt my head back and wash my hair, without getting the face wet.
Perhaps using the stuff morning and night might be allright as well (I believe another reader here is doing that). My own goal was going as minimal as possible.
In terms of other swimming activities (pool, sauna), they seem to be okay.
If anything I just wash my face with the Restoraderm at my last contact with water during the day (if I shower or go to the pool early in the evening I just use the Restoraderm then).
Haven’t gone swimming in the ocean since everything balanced out. In the summer I’ll update on how that goes.
Reply PermalinkThanks for the clear response. Now I know how to go about it.
Reply PermalinkYeah, I thought I read in one of your posts you were from Vancouver. I just got a bottle of the Restoraderm moisturizer from London Drugs, so now I have both. I find that if I moisturize the nose fold area (only area red and flaky) it flakes very little. Since we’re both from the same city, likely using the same formula.
I just started, I’ll post back in a couple weeks and let you know how it’s working. I’m hoping it goes away completely.
The shampoo seems good. Smells good. I have a bit of Nizoral left, so I’ll just finish it while alternating with the Andalou stuff. I know the first time I had dandruff bad, Nizoral worked completely and I stopped. This time it doesn’t seem as effective, but I’ll finish the bottle. My scalp isn’t bad right now.
Thank again.
BTW, I bought the gluatmine for recovery from weights. Weird that you stayed sore while on it. Seems like the opposite of what it’s suppose to do.
Reply PermalinkGreat to hear from someone in the same city.
In terms of the glutamie, when I first started supplementing with it, I felt the usual effects (quick muscle recovery). Things only changed after about 6-7 months of practically daily supplementation.
Also found this reversal strange. My explanation for this was that my body was just telling me it had enough. Maybe everything was sore for others reasons, not sure. Either way I took that cue and stopped supplementation.
Also maybe because I was taking it on an empty stomach every morning, it absorbed differently (as opposed to someone taking it right after training and/or with food).
Overall though I felt great when taking it. Especially seemed to have great energy in the morning.
Look forward to hearing back from you and hope it works out.
Reply PermalinkHi MICHAEL
My gluten free diet ended after 20 days with a flare up so i guess gluten free doesnt work for me.
i am currently testing raw organic honey method . I started today actually . I will share results asap .
i’m also planning on buying the 2 products (cleanser and moisturizer that helped you so much) .
I would like to ask you about glutamine supplementation.
How much did you take each day in terms of mg ?
i read here ( http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/glutamine ) that doses as high as 500-1500 mg are generally safe
for how much time should i consume it order to heal my gut?
Reply PermalinkHey Michael, thanks dude! It’s been about a week using the Cetaphil Restoraderm, and I guess I was lucky because the redness and flakes on my nose fold is gone. Pretty much started looking better right away.
I suppose it wasn’t too bad of a case to begin with but it wasn’t going away on it’s own. Hope it stays gone. Fingers crossed.
I just use the wash and moisturizer like a normally do, when I wake up and when I go to sleep. The moisturizer seems to really work to keep the flakes away, I apply it liberally in the area.
Still have the dandruff, but the shampoo seems to help. Guess it moisturizes my scalp. The Nizoral just made my scalp ultra dry, itchy and dandruff got worse.
I never did start with the glutamine. Been lifting a bit more lately so just started taking 5 mg a day. Figure it can’t hurt. Have taken it before for working out.
Anyway, thanks man. Appreciate it.
BTW, do you use the moisturizer sparingly because that’s how you usually do it, or are you concerned it may lose it’s efficacy through overuse?
Reply PermalinkHi HopeDiesLast,
Thanks for the update.
My “gluten free” results were similar to yours. Personally it seems the initial improvements were more mind of matter for me.
Let me know how the raw honey method is for you. Typically it was quick to calm my skin down.
Most of all I am interested on how your results from the Cetaphil products turn out.
So far there have been a number of positive outcomes form others. Hope it helps you as well.
Each morning I would take a teaspoon to a glass of water. That’s about 4-5 grams of pure l-glutamine powder.
On the container it says to take 1/2 teaspoon (~2 grams). The dose I was taking was based upon reading some stuff on scholar.google.com (this study was using ~16g/day) and reviews on Amazon.
Perhaps you may want to look around scholar.google.com for some more specifics on dosages. Personally I didn’t want to take much more than recommended on the packaging, but from what I read, higher doses might be needed to restore intestinal barrier.
Overall I supplemented with the glutamine for roughly 6 months. In total I went through about 1.2kg of pure powder.
Hope that helps and let me know if you have any further questions.
Best of luck and look forward to any updates.
Reply PermalinkHi Scott,
Great to hear that it worked out so well for you and thanks for checking back.
Yeah, hopefully it stays away for good. Mine’s been gone for ~9-10 months now.
In terms of the shampoo, glad to hear it might be helping as well. Sometimes I get a few flakes on my scalp still, but nothing too bad.
Typically though my scalp is clear and I wash my hair almost daily. Maybe the specific shampoo doesn’t even matter, maybe it was the glutamine, hard to say exactly.
As for the moisturiser, I guess it’s a bit of both. The thought of it loosing efficacy has definitely crossed my mind before.
But also, I just feel like less is more. When the face is still moist, the tiny amount I use seems to do it’s job adequately without leaving much actual product on my face.
Best of luck and hope your results continue!
Reply PermalinkI have tried a lot of the above home remedy methods, and found that: ACV seemed to work a bit in calming it, but irritated it overtime. Baking Soda though is not a good idea. I read somewhere that SD is due to yeast, and while baking soda calms it at first, it actually makes a more livable ph level for the yeast.
My current method:
And I have a scrubby shower cloth for the flacks that I use to lather Restoraderm wash and scrub my nose area with.
Wash with tiny amount of Restoraderm Wash using cool water, pad dry, pea size amount Restoraderm lotion all over my face, go to school
For the coconut oil, I found in Shoppers, a huge bottle of organic coconut oil in gel capsules. When I first started, I got “die-off symptoms”, some bloating etc. but that does away. I feel like this helps a lot.
My SD is still about 1/3 of the size from when it was worst. Some friends say it’s not that noticeable, some say it just looks like mild acne or I have cold. However, it’s not really improving anymore. What I did notice is that after drinking a lot of alcohol, it gets a lot worse. So I do feel that what we put IN our bodies matters more than what we put ON. I will try the diet changes next.
Reply PermalinkDear Michael.
Reply Permalinkgreat site. Clear writing. Awesome person (you are).
6 years since SD is a part of my life - and as we all know - a big big part unfortunately…
I tried it all. some stuff didn’t work, some stuff made things worse… I used to pill off the flakes and rub my face daily with my Baird hands - and it gave me more reasons to be worried - dark spots… Fustrating toke control in many points during this six years… What I got left is hope - and your site gives hope. Now a days, my SD is not that bad. I simply wash it with a gentle face cleanser. No muistriser at all. Sun block in the morning (are u using any son block? What kind? - it’s seems to help a bit soprisingly, but some times cameos with burning sensation…). that’s it basically.
The truble is, that its not enough off course. After few days the flake and redness build up and take over… When they does, I use head n shoulders, but it’s make my face dry and stiff. As you see, things are quite fragile… but it’s the best I can do.
Now, I want to buy the restodarm you suggested. I’ll give it a try. Really, got nothing to lose… I have to order it cos I couldn’t find it here ( they only sale the regular one in Israel - and its not good for me). I’ll let you know how it goes… By the way, have you heard of Serna lotion? It’s sounds like the same ‘family’ of restodarm lotion. Maybe you saw the YouTube film white the guy who hade a good result with it…
Sorry fore the long post - I have so much on my chest : ) thanks again (and again…)
Kaye.
Hello, your journey sounds so much like mine. I have tried so many things and I have spent so much money trying to find a cure for my seborrheic dermatitis. I have been taking the l-glutamine for six days now and also using the Dead Sea salt for six days. I’m not seeing much improvement. How long does it take to start seeing results from the l-glutamine and the Dead Sea salt? I have looked for the cetaphil restoraderm but can’t find the one that you are using. I bought some at cvs but it’s the skin restoring moisturizer for eczema. I’ve tried other cetaphil products in the past and they seem to be harsh for my very sensitive skin. My rash or dermatitis is on my forehead, between my eyes and on my nose. I am not getting any of the flakes or scales but in seeing two different dermatologist they said I had seborrheic dermatitis. I’m tired of spending so much money on this lotion, pills and the steroids and everything else to only see no results. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated as I am sick and tired looking online for something that will take this rash or dermatitis as I have been told off of my face. Thank you.
Reply PermalinkHi Nikki,
Reply PermalinkThanks for checking in here as well. I’m going to try to write a new post on the whole mental aspect of this thing soon.
All the best.
Hi Kaye,
Thanks for checking in. Glad to hear that things are somewhat under control for you now.
I’m personally not using sun screen at the moment. However, I’ve noticed it does help. This is likely due to the zinc present in most sun screens. The zinc seems to be responsible for helping control any bacteria that might be present.
A really big aspect of seborrheic dermatitis seems to also be a psychological one. After reading so much negative information on the internet, it is really easy for the mind to get stuck in a negative feedback loop. If you believe something you eat or do might trigger your seborrheic dermatitis, the negative thought process that occurs seems to be strong enough to trigger inflammation alone. This further enhances your belief. For example think about a person who turns red from blushing when they are nervous. Hopefully, I can put together a post looking at this phenomenon in more detail. The above comments relate to this as well.
As for the cleanser you inquired about (Serna), I was only able to find one called Sarna Anti-Itch Lotion. However, I have not tried this one, so I can’t comment on its effectiveness. Looking at the ingredients page it is definitely different from the Restoraderm, as it contains things like Menthol and Camphor. Haven’t seen the video either. Quick search pulled up this one, but it’s a women who touches upon it.
Yeah, I would definitely give Restoraderm a try. Several others have reported that it helped them as well. Let me know how it goes for you. Hopefully it helps.
Best of Luck.
Reply PermalinkHi David,
It seems like the journey of many seborrheic dermatitis sufferers is quite similar. Personally I believe this is actually part of the problem. The amount of personal testing and daily analysis most people with seborrheic dermatitis go through is quite intense.
The dead sea salt was almost instant for me. However, it didn’t last for too long (2-3 weeks). Also I actually found that regular sea salt from Trader Joes was actually more effective for me than the expensive dead sea salt I bought on Amazon. When it stopped working it actually seemed to make things worse when I attempted it.
I think the skin restoring moisturizer might be the same. Several people here have pointed out that it goes by several names (particularly in the states). Here are the exact ingredients from mine:
Let me know if it’s the same one.
Also I believe a big part of it is psychological. It’s as if people get stuck in a negative feedback loop. Hopefully can put together a post on this subject in the next few weeks. Check the comments above for some more discussion in this area.
Keep in touch and let me know if you need any other information.
Reply PermalinkTake care and thanks again for checking in.
Hello I have read your above posts and the Cetaphil I have is not the same ingredients. It seems like they don’t carry this specific kind in the United States. I have looked at the pictures of the bottles you have shown and i am not seeing this specific brand of restoraderm in any of the stores that I am going to. Just the restoraderm for eczema, the kind I bought but have not used because it is not the same kind that you are using. I am having a lot of itching going on with my forehead but I’m not sure what to use on it. I am very sensitive to so many things I have tried on my face and it gets frustrating trying to figure out what do to next. I am still taking the L-glutamine and probiotics and using the Dead Sea salt but I haven’t cleared up very much. I have redness and I wish I could find a way to get rid of the redness and the itching.
Reply PermalinkHi David,
Sorry to hear that. Strange why they would sell a different formulation in the states.
If you like, I’m going down to Bellingham (US) and can try to mail you a sample pack (need to see if that paediatrician still has any available). Just contact me using the “Get in Touch” and we exchange details.
As far as the dead sea salt washes, if your not seeing too much results maybe it’s not the right thing for your skin. For me it only worked initially and started actually causing more inflammation later on.
Just out of curiosity, what pro-biotics are you taking?
Reply PermalinkHey Michael, just found your website the other day due to a recent flare up that seems to be the worst one I’ve ever had. Been dealing with this for roughly 12 years (I’m 27 years old), and for the last 3 or 4 years I’ve been prescribed Desonate gel by my dermatologist, and for awhile before that I was prescribed Elidel and something else. I’ve been using mostly Head & Shoulders and sometimes Selsun Blue (just finished a bottle yesterday) and today I even tried my roommate’s Axe Dandruff Shampoo that does seem to work for his scalp dandruff (whereas mine is scalp, face, and sometimes behind my ears).
Earlier today, I ran to my local Walmart and picked up some Cetaphil Restoraderm “Eczema Calming” Body Wash as well as the Cetaphil Restoraderm “Skin Restoring” Moisturizer “Formulated For Eczema” after running across this website and seeing your recommendations. It’s been roughly 3 hours since I put it on and so far so good! I live in Auburn, Alabama, so obviously I would have the USA formula (if there is a confirmed difference).
For the sake of keeping up with how comprehensive you are, which I GREATLY appreciate, here’s the ingredients list on the back of my Cetaphil Body Wash:
-Water
-Butryrosepermum ParkII (Shea Butter)
-Sodium Trideceth Sulfate
-Glycerin
-Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
-Sodium Chloride
-Sodium Lauroamphoacetate
-Cocamide Mea
-Niacinamide
-Tocopheryl Acetate
-Allantoin
-Arginine
-Citric Acid
-Methylisothiazolinone
-Sodium PCA
-1,2-Hexanediol
-Caprylyl Glycol
-Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
-Potassium Sorbate
-Disodium EDTA
I also picked up a bottle of Denorex “Dandruff Control” shampoo, which I had never seen before but figured maybe it was better than the other shampoos I’ve tried. Fingers crossed that this Cetaphil stuff returns the same great results for me that it has for you! I’ll be sure to report back after awhile. Thanks again man!
Reply PermalinkHello, my Cetaphil restoraderm has different ingrediants in it from the kind you are using. Where can you find the kind that you have in the United States. I have looked on Amazon but I’m just seeing the same kind that I have. On the bottle is says skin restoring moisturizer formulated for eczema. I would like to try it but I’m afraid it will make things worse like so many other products have done in the past. Thank you.
Reply PermalinkHi David,
Got your email/details and have sent you a response directly.
If it works out for you I think I’ve seen the correct one listed on US Amazon as well. For example this listing appears to list ingredients identical to mine in the Q&A section. However, it’s probably best to contact the seller and double check that.
All the best and stay in touch.
Reply PermalinkHey Casey,
Sorry to hear that you’ve been fighting this thing for so long. Can’t imagine how draining that must be. However, I’m using using the anti-fungals has controlled it for the most part.
If they have a similar affect on you as they did on me, I’m guessing the texture/tone of the skin suffers though. Or was your experience different?
Happy to hear that the Restoraderm feels nice. I’m guessing 3 hours in it was a little early to see the final outcome. How are things now?
Thanks for providing the ingredients list. Mine is identical to that one.
Excited to hear what happens with the Restoraderm. Are you using any of the typical supplements that most people try along the way?
Best of luck and really hope it works out for you. Look forward to hearing from you.
Reply PermalinkHi Michael, long time no see.
I finally bought restoraderm body wash and moisturizer and guess what , this is day 34 seborrheic dermatitis free. I started using these two products twice per day morning and night (before bed) applying minimum possible moisturizer and at noon i wash my face with water( when i am at home) . I also bought some gentle cloths for the face for each day of the week. I still have flaking on my sculp but i control it with ACV , but i still use sls shampoo as the no sls shampoo didnt work well for me. I also didnt use any supplement.
Finally i would like to add that my dermatitis usually occurs around 14 days of the application of fungoral cream ( ketoconazole cream 2% ) but this time it hasnt yet appeared, i hope it continues this way. Also it is nearly summer here so the weather is good.
How is your condition going?? how much time have you been seborrheic dermatitis free??
HopeDiesLast
Reply PermalinkHello,
Great to hear it! I’m glad to finally decided to try it. I saw some of your posts on the other forum and noticed you were skeptical. It’s crazy how well it works though, right?
ACV is really good for the scalp. Especially since the main objective is flake and scale free. The pinkness doesn’t matter as much and the scalp doesn’t have too much pigment anyway.
For me, my scalp went away without anything too special. Perhaps the l-glutamine supplementation was responsible for this. Perhaps it was something else. Not sure. Sometimes I see a few flakes appear, but they die down rather quickly.
My face has been clear since about last June-August. So almost a year now. My scalpe has been mainly clear (see comment above) since then as well. I haven’t done anything special to the scalp and have just been using the restoraderm on a regular basis. Like I mentioned previously I use a very minimal ammount.
Additionally, I recently started supplementing with glutamine a bit again. Still have a huge tub of it left and thought it would be good for sports recovery (it’s most common use).
Hope that answers all your questions. And glad to hear it worked out so well for you as well. Also thanks for spreading the word on the other forum, I haven’t found the time to reach out anywhere else yet.
Take care and perhaps consider joining the community
Reply PermalinkHi Michael,
Ive been to see 2 dermatologists and they both said hands down I have Seborrheic Dermatitis. The thing is I don’t get dry skin around my nose and ears or suffer from yellow scaly patches on my eyebrows or suffer from bad flaky dandruff like I’ve read some people do. If i use Head and Shoulders daily, my dry scalp is under control. What I do have is redness on my face, my two cheeks and my nose which bothers me a lot , I don’t have it on my forehead or ears or anywhere else. Ive been prescribed anti-fungal creams and even protopic gel ointment, none which have worked in any way. Ive heard all about yeast and fungus and my facial skin producing too much oil which is causing the redness etc. If yo ask me the Dermatologists haven’t a clue. Have you any routine or formula to combat the redness caused from SD?
Thanks, Padraig.
Reply PermalinkHey Micheal,
Reply PermalinkI just found out your website today. It feels so good to know there are many people struggling with the same problem and finding solutions. Thanks for sharing this information with us, it’s really helpful. Trust me, my skin problems have ruined my life and it sometimes make me think why am I even alive. I have been suffering from SD and acne from my teenage (I’m 23 atm) on the cheeks. I also did got scalp itching and hair loss last year but it’s under control now and recovered thinning hairs as well. Dermatologist’s are the worst kind of doctors, they have always prescribed me with steroid creams (advantan). This ugly thing has caused premature aging, wrinkles, discoloration, post inflammatory hyper pigmentation, acne bumps and scars. 2 weeks ago dermatologist gave me retrieve cream(form of retin-a) for scaring,wrinkles and pigmentation ( and I was finally happy) but it rebounded my dermatitis. All hopes lost again. Even if I cure my dermatitis I still have to go through alot of pain in recovering my cheeks to normal.
Things that helped my condition:
Diary and diet:
When I was consuming milk and coffee/tea, my dermatitis was rebounding all the time. It caused me burning, itching, redness, rashes and bumps. I was continuously using steroid creams. From last 2 months I had stop consuming milk products and stopped drinking coffee and tea. This was the first time my dermatitis didn’t rebounded for almost like a month. My skin used to be extremely oily but not anymore. I am also not getting any whiteheads. But if I consume some junk food, milk product, very spicy food or random foods they trigger my dermatitis and pimples. I am still confused about my allergies. It’s like eating random stuff cause redness and rashes. Definitely I have a gut problem and I will immediately start with l-glutamine. I am consuming vegetables and fruits on daily basis.
Even if i am dermatitis free, my cheeks are never clear. They still have redness, red spots, tiny bumps, post-inflammation and pigmentation. I still have no idea how can I get clear cheeks. This looks like an impossible job for me. If you have any guide for these issues I would be very thankful to you
Products:
ATM i am washing my face with cetaphil face wash with salicylic acid and sulphur cream 2%. It does helps with itchy bumps and rashes. If I get very bad rashes I use hydrozole cream (it’s a weak steroid). I don’t know of any other cream to calm them down, any suggestions?. I am currently in australia and restoradem here is called Skin Restoring Body Wash and they have the same ingredients. I will also start with this product and update you if this is helping me. I am not using any sunscreens, the one suggested by the doctors leaves a white cast on my face and tiny white particales on my beard. Do you have any suggestion for good sunscreen?
It’s a terrible journey for everyone. Again, thank you for helping people out.
Hi Padraig,
The Restoraderm has worked quite well for people who gave it a try. I’m still not 100% sure why it works so well, but I’ve recently been researching deeper into the area. Currently I’m under the impression that the Arginine in the moisturizer helps my normalize blood flow on the top layer of skin. However, with the tiny amount that I use I’m still left wondering how this could be so.
I’m currently trying to write a thorough analysis of what latest research has to say. For the most part the medical community has kind of agreed the best treatment option is an anti-fungal one. However, even with anti-fungals being the recommended treatment, they still say the cause remains unknown and widely disputed.
Will update as soon as the post is ready.
Reply PermalinkHope that helps and feel free to join the community.