My Seborrheic Dermatitis Skin Regimen

Hey Michael. I have severe SD and have been trying everything. Right now im currently soaking my face 2-3 times a day in warm sea salt water, which tames but throughout the day it does flare up and make my face very dry. Was curious why you stopped ingesting the sea salt? Also have you ever tried anything else? Apple cider vinegar, specific oils. i’ve heard of people swallowing whole pieces of garlic. Appreciate any feedback.

Hi John,
I’ve tried an immense amount of things to try and control SD. Everything from Apple Cider Vinegar, to Grapefruit Seed Extract (external/internal), Clay Masks, Honey Masks, MSM, Biotin, diets, cleanses, fasting. Pretty much everything that you can find online I’ve tried it. I’m even putting together a post that outlines every single thing that I’ve tried (will be a huge post). However, my current regimen has been working for the longest and it’s been quite bulletproof so far.

The biggest thing I recommend against is strong anti-fungals. Seems like they just burn the intestines and cause things to worsen.
If you have Skype, message me your ID (I wont make the comment public) and I can try to walk you through each step of my process and regimen.

Thnx for your thoughtful comments!
I read this info quite a few days ago but read it one more time as you linked it.
I read comments as this morning my skin feels so hot and redness gets severe after soaking dead sea salt water. It feels like sun burn. Also dryness was so strong that i applied moisturizer a little bit. Although it calms down little by little now but i think sea salt water is harsh to my skin. My skin got worse after trying it 5 days. Some says patience is needed as it can be worse at first but im worried.
Should i give it a try for one week more or quit?
Or just doing once a day?(night)

I think cetaphil would be great to me so i will give it a try.
I once tried cetaphil gentle skin cleanser but that was awful as it made so many pimples.
But i think restoraderm line will be different.
I used organic cleanser,skin and cream before using sea salt water and that improved my
Sd so much but didn’t cure it entirely. My redness still presents.

Also i will try l-glutamine. But worried about it a little bit as some said it made sd worse.

Anyway do you know astaxanthin and tumeric are good in curing sd?
I read it in the internet. They are anti oxidants.

And do you recommend probiotics?
People say immune system is important and some’s improved very much after taking it.

Also i tried candida test at home(saliva in glass of water) and it seems like i had many candidas. Leaky gut, maybe. I kept my diet healthy for 1 yr and it helped me a lot. I didnt quit bad things entirely but consumed it twice or third a week although didnt quit brown rice.
Do you think quitting them entirely is the answer??

Thanks for reading this long comment.

Oh sorry
I wanted to edit sth and then it seems like i cant erase mine.

Haven’t heard of astaxanthin, but have tried tumeric. Went about two-three weeks taking a tablespoon with some almond milk.
Personally the tumeric didn’t have any affect on me. However I have a friend that uses it for his sport injury and it seems to work well for his inflammation.
It’s quite gritty and unpleasant to take as a supplement. Sometimes I still add it to fried onions, but that’s about it.

As far as anti-oxidants and supplements go. I’ve tried tons based on recommendations found online.
N-acetyl-l-cysteine, resveratrol, quercetin, high dose vitamin c (in many different forms), colostrum, msm, zinc l-carnosine, regular zinc, vitamin d, plus tons of others.
Honestly in about 3-4 years I spent a ton of money trying all the different supplements people online recommended.
In the end nothing really had any long term effects on the seboorrheic dermatitis and now I got a ton of supplements laying around that will soon expire.

My experience with practically every single treatment option that I tried was the same. If I didn’t see results and positive changes from the first 1-2 times, they never came later on. For example I used aloe vera for about 2 weeks and it made my seborrheic dermatitis extremely inflamed and red. However, I was convinced by stuff I read online that it should heal it and that if I kept at it everything will go away. The aloe vera never ended up working for me and instead it forced me to go school and work with a blistering red face.

Another takeaway from all my experimentation is that much of the time less was more. For example too much sea salt (too alkaline) or too much apple cider vinegar (too acidic) would burn and damage the effected skin. This resulting damage would make the skin more prone to bacterial penetration and also actually be the cause of much of the inflammation. As a result more damage would be done than the benefits gained. Using milder solutions, taking things slowly (allowing the skin to adjust) and being gentle with the skin seemed to produce the best results.

For probiotics I tried a bunch of different store bought stuff (let me know if you would like a list) and experimented with home-made.
The biggest effect was that they made me go to the wash-room frequently. As for the seborrheic dermatitis it was still coming and going on it’s own schedule.

Two that stood out where biotin which gave me strange rashes all over my body and caprylic acid which made seborrheic dermatitis vanish completely for about a month.
Not sure if the caprylic acid was just a coincidence or it actually did something internally. After it’s initial success it never did anything again.

In regards to candida and all the diets. My opinion is that a lot of it is misinformation written by uneducated people. If you believe you have candidadis you should be able to get simple testing at any local medical facility.
To be honest though, for while this whole theory drove me nuts. I had all of kinds of scary thoughts about deep fungal infection or something of the sort. At one point I attempted to cut carbohydrates completely, but this just made me weak and my mind was always in a foggy state. Honestly I think all of this misinformation serves to make seborrheic dermatitis as it spikes stress and the bloods cortisone levels. Lots of the stuff written out their is quite scary and can easily put you in a constant state of tension, fear and anxiety.

H pylori is much more common than candida. When I went to take full medicals they actually found that I had h pylori and I was given some antibiotics for it.
At that time I was quite hesitant to take the antibiotics since so many forums say that antibiotic use is one of the initial causes of seborrheic dermatitis. However, in the end I took the antibiotics, got rid of h pylori, but this didn’t have any effect on the seborrheic dermatitis.

My biggest progress actually came when I read about leaky gut in some research papers (exact reason I started supplementing with l-glutamine).
At the same time I took a moment to reflect on the past and remember how things were before the seborrheic dermatitis started effecting my life.
I decided to completely stop browsing the internet for solutions suggested by random people, stopped reading forums, stopped searching online in general.
Instead I enrolled in a nutrition course through Coursera and re-learned the fundamental basics of modern nutrition.

Returned my diet to normal and the only two supplement I would take were l-glutamine and vitamin c.
At this point my seborrheic dermatitis became much less aggressive and the areas that remained were eye-brows, ears, nose and scalp.
Then completely by chance I was taking my little brother to his paediatrician and the doctor noticed my flakes. She said it looked very similar to some eczema she had and that the Restoraderm worked well for her. When I was leaving she gave me a whole bag of different moisturiser and cleanser samples (a few of which were the Restoraderm). A few weeks went by and I didn’t touch the bag of samples since my skin was mostly doing well (also I previously tried so many different cleansers and moisturisers that I really had lost hope for them).
Then one day that I had a bit of redness that appeared I decided to give it a try. It ended up working very well and since then it’s been my go to cleanser.

Hope this answered some of the questions you had.
Wish you all the best and hope you find something that finally works for you.

Thnx then i don’t have to control my diet too harshly, right?
Thanks for ur comments!
After trying l-glutamine and cetaphil,
I’ll let you know how’s it going.
Thank u!

Everyone is different. If your concerned about candida or food sensitivities the best thing to do is get tested.

For me all the diet restrictions and modifications seem to have resulted in unnecessary stress. Currently I eat mostly anything, except dairy (which I’m not really a fan of anyway).

Too much fatty foods especially mixed with lots of carbs seem to get the skin tingling though.

Never found the exact connection, but I do believe that the seborrheic dermatitis is somehow linked to digestion. Something along the lines of fat not being properly assimilated and causing all sorts of immune responses.

On the few occasion I attempted water fasting my skin would normalize completely. At about the second/third day even the worse of it would heal.

All the best.

Yesterday night i tried honey cleanse wanting to soothe my skin.
It felt like boiled water+raw honey was a little bit thick but i just put it on my face. I couldn’t rub it as it was so thick.
Just put it on and washed it after 1 min.
Tzone and place near nose became red(worst of all moment)
I thought it would relieve overnight but it didn’t.
Redness is the worst and my face feels hot.
Does this mean honey is not suitable for me,
Or bcuz it was so thick?(maybe i put water so little)
I wanted to try it in the morning but it could be even worse so i just washed my face with kiehl calendula cleanser(what i used for one week before)

Should i quit honey too?

Maybe the honey isn’t right for your skin.
It does sound like your mixture was too thick. My mix was the consistency of a typical cream and application was very easy.

Perhaps try patch testing before fully committing to a treatment. Like a small application in the area of skin behind the ear on near the hair line. This could give you clues on how your skin should behave to the treatment.

Wish I could give you a more concrete answer on which treatment option will be best for you. Seems like each persons skin behaves differently to things.

Wish you all the best and hope you manage to finally get it under control. If you have any updates/changes it would be interesting to hear back.

Hi Ladies and Gentlemen.

I actually came across this blog because I suffer from SD myself. However I didnt come here for a solution but because I was amazed at the results that dead sea salt had on me, so I decided to look around online to see what others have experienced, in a way to convince myself that this isnt a temporary treatment.

I have tried a billion things in the past (just like michael). But this seems to be doing it for me.

I dont just suffer from SD but also from bad eczema . Both combined is a very distressing exoerience.

in the past two weeks I have stuck with dead sea salt called “magik” (bought from holland and barratts) and aveeno eczema therapy moisturiser. That was it.

My method. I would use a bucket and put very hot water and then pour ALOT of the sea salt. I would then mix it and taste it to make sure its very concentrated. I then will use a cloth to soak it in the solution then slowly place it over my face very slowly and lay down for 5-7 minutes. Whenever I feel the cloth getting cooler, I just soak it again in the solution. I spend about 20 to 25 minutes repeating this method. Its very painful but I just think of the relief that follows. I’ll then rinse my face with luke warm water under the shower for 10 minutes. Straight after ill pat dry my face and apply the aveeno.

I repeat this method 2 -3 times a week before I sleep. It has been amazing. The comvination of the cream and the salt has been so good that my skin feels normal. I am praying that this carries on so that my skin heals. It has been the most promising method I have uswd within the 4 years I have seeked relief. I also want to try it with hamilayan salt. Ive never drank a salt solution but will deffo start that tomorrow.

Please dont underestimate my situation with SD …it is worse than most people I have seen with SD. the method my seem basic and obvious but it has been great.

Am tired at this very moment to cover everythingI want to say but please ask any questions if u have any.

thanks

mo

Dear Mo,

Thank you for taking the time to get back online and write about your experience and provide details on your specific approach.

I’m glad to hear that you have finally found some relief and excited to hear that it was with the sea salt.
Seborrheic dermatitis is a horrible condition and has a detrimental effect on day-to-day life.
Even though it is not life threatening, it can really impact a persons well being.

Definitely stay in touch!

PS> If you have the time and energy, send me a write-up of your exact approach and I can add it to the sea salt post.

Best of luck.

Michael.

your very welcome.

I think this is a link sent from God himself. I cannot believe someone has found relief and a cure from the methid I strongly believe…read this …I couldnt have written it better. Its EXACTLY what I do/use (the aveeno etc). I believe that this is a cure. There is hope people!

Hi Mo,

This was one of the first posts/places I had heard about the sea salt treatment. Followed the exact method there and even purchased that specific dead sea salt.

For me I had to adjust the treatment. Aveeno didn’t work too well so I used Gold Bond Healing instead (was recommended on Youtube video). Also the dead sea salt actually had worse results then my regular one from Trader Joes.

Thanks again for the update.

Hi Michael,

I will find out the name of the dead sea salt I tried. Of course everyone is different but to be honest the sea salt I was using didnt work for me in the beginning and I was just using it for desperate days. There was an occurance were I poured too much of it on a small bucket of hot boiling water, I knew thatit was too much for the little water I had in the bucket but I was so desperate I didnt care. I soaked a cotton cloth and placed it on my face gently pressing without moving the cloth…it hurt like hell! But I didnt care. The next morning I felt a huge difference and the parts that were so bad and had no hope of feeling soft have softened without any itching or tightness…I will find out the exact name of the dead sea salt and will let u know…

Hi Mo,
Yeah, i heard similar experiences from others online (intense treatment approaches that pay off).

For me it felt like there could be a possibility of damaging my skin. This made me very cautious and I would give up quickly if my skin experienced any intense reactions. For example my sea salt treatments were always very gentle.

Look forward to hearing which brand of dead sea salt you used. The one I bought was the Minera one (believe it was cited in that curezone post). Also have you tried actual sea/ocean water? I found it was even more effective for me.

Beat of Luck.

Hey Michael, I’m Darryl and I just turned 30. And I have been diagnosed with SD. I’ve nevrr experience anykind of allergic reactions or skin conditions in my life. Tho exsema and psoriasis both run in my family. 4 months ago I tried a hair fertilizer cream for a few months and it irritated my scalp and started the SD. Ever since I’ve noticed a correlation between irritation and inflammation and my hair fallin out which has been happening ever since. The GP just told me to use selsum blue and won’t refer me a dermatologist cuz she so sure she knows SD so well. I had to beg her for some kentonazole 2%. My cousin, with SD, just sent me a bottle of selsum 2.5 and the flakes are minimal but my scalp is so dry and itchy! And I haven’t out anything but on my head for the last month cuz the GP recommend me not to. Can you please give me some advice. Btw in a black male with course hair so I have to use somthin to keep my scalp moisterized and a pomade to hold style my hair. Thank you and it’s most appreciated.

Hi Darryl,
Currently the Restoraderm has still been working well for me. Haven’t had any significant seborrheic dermatitis on the face for over 6 months. Also I’ve stopped supplementing with L-Glutamine as outlined in the post. Wanted to stop supplementing with it for a while as I don’t enjoy supplements very much.

For my hair (which had pretty intense dandruff) I’m still using this moisturising shampoo . Has been working well for me. When I feel the dandruff starting up I just wash thoroughly with the shampoo and it seems to balance out. When I was using anti-dandruff shampoos previously they seemed to work by nuking the scalp and killing everything there. The moisturising shampoo approach has been quite different, it seems to balance the oiliness quite well and the dandruff never get’s a chance to build up. Not sure how this would work for you. I’ve got have regular short blonde caucasian hair. In conversation with Jina I outlined quite a bit of my whole experience so far.

Let me know if you have any updates or questions.

Best of Lucky Darryl

Thanks gent, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. I’ll def get these products you mention. Especially the glutamine. I used to take it b4 the sd anyway. How often do you wash your hair with the shampoo and can I find it at a whole foods store or just online? And do you use any oil to moisturize your scalp or just the shampoo? And again thanks for your help.

Hi Darryl,
Typically I shampoo almost everyday just because I exercise regularly and usually use styling gel (both of which require washing).

As far as oils, I haven’t been using any oils on my hair, strictly just the shampoo (no conditioner or anything either). In my whole experience with seborrheic dermatitis oils always seemed to make it worse. Most research papers I looked at typically demonstrated that oils feed the bacteria which is believed to cause the seborrheic dermatitis.

In terms of availability, my guess would be that it is available at Whole Foods and many others. I’ve seen it for sale in two of the most popular supermarkets here in Canada (Superstore and Save on Foods both had it in the natural section).

Best of Luck in 2015

Thanks Michael its appreciated. I recently went to the derm and he gave me some nizoral shampoo and luconazole. And a steroid for the face. I feel like they’re effective but are too hard for my skin. Yet and still I’m still having flaking and even a few sensitive patches that still are going away. My hair is still thinning and kinda got me depressed. Just trying to shake It off. This is so frustrating. On the days I don’t use the nizoral shampoo, I use the shampoo you recommend with a natural conditioner but i find even the oil on there kind off feeds the dandruff maybe. It’s just a lot of trial n error I guess. Thinkin of trying acv with baking soda and see what that does. Thanks as always.

Hope everything start improving for you. During my time with seborrheic dermatitis I had quite a bit of ups and downs. It was like a roller coster ride to be honest. One day you find something and you see things improve you get all happy and think its over, then bam it comes back out of nowhere. Then you have a bunch of bad days and you feel like staying home all day so no one sees your messed up skin. Main thing is hang in there, stay calm and keep trying things I guess.

For me the transition to this shampoo was quite strange as well. Especially coming from shampoos like Head and Shoulders and T-Gel. It definitely took a couple weeks of adjustment. However, I believe it was key to getting my scalp under control without anti-dandruff/anti-fungal shampoos. The only reason I went for the switch is because everyone who has dandruff is advised to use oil controlling shampoos, however this never seems to actual solve the problem, but control it instead. So I thought why not try the opposite, give my scalp an highly moisturizing shampoo and try to trick it into stop producing oil on its own. Seemed to pay off in the end. Everyone is different though, so i’m not sure if your results will be the same.

Baking soda and salt was quite effective for my head dandruff, but did very little for my face. The apple cider vinegar was more effective on the facial skin and not very effective for the scalp. Let me/others know how they work for you.

Here in Vancouver I saw some of the best dermatologists and to be honest I got ton of crap advice along the way. The top rated dermatologist in my city told me that the seborrheic dermatitis will never go away, that it’s genetic, and the only solution I have is using anti-fungal creams and shampoos for the rest of my life to keep it away. At the time his words really affected me and I thought I had to live with it forever. After a bunch of other visits to different clinics one young Indian doctor told me she had the same thing and got rid of it. She is the one that advised I try the Restoraderm and the importance of protecting the affected area from the sun. If you have medical coverage you could keep trying different doctors/dermatologists if you have the time. Maybe you stumble upon someone who gives you that magical advice.

Did you end up trying the Restorderm by the way or is the issue just on your scalp?

In terms of hair loss, this was never an issue for me. However, a friend of mine who doesn’t have dandruff had rapid hair loss and balding. He read about using some Jamacian Castor oil treatment and that seemed to get things under control for him. Maybe you should look into that, somewhere in my research I remember reading that it might be effective for seborrheic dermatitis as well.

On a side note.
My treatment is still going strong. Even during the holidays when my diet went to shit and I was drinking a bit, I had no inflammation. A few flakes in the ears, on the scalp and the nasal folds sometimes still appear. These are really minimal though and nothing problematic like before.

Also I found a lot of the depressing aspect can come from reading stuff online. Some of the stuff people theorize and state can be really disappointing, frustrating and even frightening. My two cents is don’t get too attached to most of the stuff you read online and be wary of people who state they know exactly how the condition works.

Once again, best of luck. Hope you find something. This condition is a real pain in the ass.

Michael/Mo,

I tried the Sea Salt in a basin with water, each nite I would wash it up onto ,my face and pat dry, to be honest it stung like crazy and didn’t do any good, same if I go to the beach and swim when I have a break out, it makes it worse, but if I am clear it doesn’t sting…Im sure its different strokes for different folks.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Initially the sea salt treatment was very soothing for my. However, sometimes I would have similar results as you (it would actually inflame the skin and cause excessive dryness). Not sure exactly why this happens, maybe its proportions, maybe its just when the skin is too damaged it has a negative effect.
Overall I definitely agree with you, what works for one person might have a completely different effect on others.

Good luck.

Hi Michael. I am feeling unbelievably low as I am currently suffering the worst outbreak of seborrheic dermatitis I’ve ever had. I now have patches of dermatitis all over my body and cannot go out as my red, inflamed and itchy scalp and face draws too many unwelcome looks and comments. I read your post sometime ago and was initially getting good results with the iodine and l-glutamine. I made the mistake of not taking the products with me when I went to stay with a friend, and consuming lots of sugar (I also had good results with cutting out gluten/sugar in the past) My whole face was so inflamed that I ended up in a and e. I saw a fantastic doctor who, very reluctantly, prescribed oral steroids (in her private practice she is a qualified nutritionist and said she has seen total cures in people with cases worse than mine, once they follow a low carb/gluten and sugar free diet and begin drinking raw milk and eating fermented foods) I’m currently so depressed about it all I’ve lost all faith in anything. Sorry for the long winded reply, but I don’t know anyone in person who suffers with this. I’d be very grateful if you could Skype me too, I’m back taking the l-glutamine, but finding the iodine now brings me out in an immediate rash. I have tried sulphur soap, raw honey masks, tea tree oil, coconut oil, sea salt washes (which initially cleared my skin completely but now don’t seem to work), aloe Vera and lush dream cream (which some people swear by) I take biotin, high strength b vitamins, a liver cleansing multi vitamin, 2 billion live bacteria and vitamins d3 and k2 daily, along with the l glutamine and hydraulic acid. I am currently waiting for a delivery of high strength zinc supplements and kefir grains. I also oil pull with coconut oil every day. I would gratefully accept any health and advice. Thank you.

Hi Shelley,
Sorry to hear the bad news. To be honest, your current approach seems a little overkill. For me, the complex supplement combinations typically had poor results.
I’ve emailed you my Skype ID. Look forward to connecting.
All the best and I’m sure thing will improve.

Not to butt in but for in the meantime, in between time this website has a great spray that keeps the redness/scaliness at bay. I’ve had SD for 20+ yrs and it’s been God sent, in all honesty. I’m not a salesmen nor exaggerator. Check out all the info she provides [LINK REMOVED - CONTACT ME IF YOU NEED IT]

As a side note, I haven’t noticed a real mention of this offender but I know for sure when I consume hot sauce, ie., Tobasco or Tapatio my skin inflames within a day and takes a few more days to calm down. Andddd… Ayurvedic practice and approach can take you far. Find your dosha and try adhering to their suggestions when it comes to the foods you consume and what you should eliminate. Food combinations. Sleep/water/exercise/sunlight/meditation… To heal oneself we have to address yourself as a whole rather than treat a symptom. Mind/body/soul type deal. Focus on energy. What you put out and what you allow in. Pay attention to the circadian rhythm. Eat foods that are actually in season and such. I stumbled across this site because the perfectionist in me still can’t let go of the thought that there’s an easy, one-size-fits-all not out there. Message of the day (of my life): Find What Works For Me and stick to it. Best wishes to us all

Hi Jyll,
Thanks for your comment. Had to take out the link sorry. A quick search brought up a bunch of spammy links to the same page you provided. For this reason, I have had to remove it.

The rest of the post sounds like good advice. However, personally I felt like this is exactly what I had to get away from. Trying to take a bunch of advice on the things I should do, follow, consume. Trying to improve yourself by constantly judging your actions can be a stressful practice in itself.

My current approach has been to just do what feels right. Don’t pay attention to anything except my own inner feelings. Don’t listen to people who say you should eat this because it’s healthy and not eat that because it’s not. I feel the body is quite good at telling you if you are doing something. Learning to understand your body without over analyzing and second guessing things seems to be key for me.

When my seborrheic dermatitis was bad, I was constantly trying to figure out what food it might. What it was I was doing that kept it from going away. This barrage of negativity seemed to only make it worse. Only once I stopped and just let things be, I was able to calm down and just tune-in to what is right for me.

All the best.

Hi,
Well to say I am delighted is an understatement! I am so grateful to have found this website. After 13 long years of trying different products and diets, I finally have my sebohrreic dermatitis under control! I purchased and have been using the Cetaphyl Restoraderm lotion with amazing success. My skin has been clear for 2 weeks.
My story is that I have always had sensitive skin but started to get strange rashes on my face so saw a dermatologist in 2002 who diagnosed me with Rosacea. I was prescribed a low dose antibiotic and steroid cream which seemed to clear it for a time and was sent on my way. Back then my outbreaks were a few times a year and cleared fairly quickly with the meds. Fast forward it was getting worse and worse to the point where I was permanently irritated and peeling around my nose and chin. At this point I saw another Dermatologist who told me I didn’t have Rosacea, I had sebhorreic dermatitis. Similar meds were prescribed which as soon as I stopped using them, the dermatitis came back. I noticed my skin thinning and was concerned that I was doing myself harm on the meds so started looking for alternative solutions. After trying all sorts of different products and ideas, including buying from overseas and trying different diets over a 3 year period, I became very depressed. Then I found this website and as they say, the rest is history. I got the Cetaphyl Restoraderm which cost Aud $24 (compared to what I’ve spent on other products which mostly burnt and made my skin worse), this is reasonable. I use a pea sized blob of it which does my whole face and neck every morning (it’s a great, non greasy moisturiser as well). Within 2 days my nose and chin were clear and the Seb. Derm has not returned.
It’s fabulous! Thank you for caring enough about others to post your findings so that people like me can get relief. I hope others have the same success.

Another week sebohrreic dermatitis free! (That makes it 3 weeks clear now). My skin feels amazing and hydrated. Doing nothing else but putting a tiny bit of Cetaphyl Restoraderm lotion on my face every morning and every night after washing my face with a gentle cream cleanser (Simple is the brand). I use tepid water- never hot to rinse it off.

Hi Donna,
Great the hear the goods new. Really happy it worked out for you, as well as it did for me.
It’s crazy how much stuff people recommend can be ineffective and yet something as simple as some eczema wash can have such amazing results on the SD.
Another reader mentioned she improved with just l-glutamine, so that was interesting to hear as well. Maybe the combination approach really hit it off for me.
It’s been almost a year now and it’s been smooth sailing. A couple months ago I had some intense tingling and slight redness come back, but it went away quickly. Strangest thing was that it was in a spot on my face it was never present before.
Hope others stumble upon this post as well, I’m going to add a big link on the other pages as this approach seems to have the highest success rate.

Look forward to any updates and best of luck!

Thanks for the second update.

This sounds fascinating. I will buy the Restoraderm and the shampoo. One thing though…As magical as they sound I want to know why they work. The shampoo makes sense because of the organic and fruit based ingredients. I’m just concerned about the Restoraderm in the long term. It does not seem any more natural than other synthetic/artificial/chemical based products out there. In any case it is fantastic that so many people testify to it clearing the skin and I will report my results soon.

Michael,

Thanks for all of your thorough posts. I have a quick question: you mentioned “protecting the affected area from the sun”. I was under the impression that the sun might be good for vitamin d and because the yeast wouldn’t want to grow in the uv environment. This is the first i have heard of staying away from sunlight as a part of a treatment. Can you please elaborate on that theory?

Hi There,

As for the Restoraderm, if you look at the ingredients it’s actually not that bad. Especially if you compare it with many of the other things people use.

The one issue I personally had was the preservative in the wash. However, I usually wash really quick and only with a tiny amount so I doubt it would have any negative effect.

My theory is the arginine and ceramides are responsible for much of the results. Medical papers suggest that topical application of arginine regulates skin responses, improves skin circulation, and help with hydration. Creams for arthritis frequently make use of arginine. I’m planning to put together a comprehensive post that looks into why it works.

Additionally my skin feels quite health using it. Can’t say the same for many other products I’ve tried.

Honestly though, I wouldn’t stress too much about the ingredients. Just do what feels right.

Hope that helps and best of luck. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Hi Marcel,

Thanks for the kind comment.

It is true that the sun is very good at destroying bacteria. However, it is also very good at drying out skin. This can be especially problematic if the skin is already damaged.

What I did, was found a gentle sun screen (used one meant for babies). This protected the skin form the sun keeping it from drying out. Yet, it allowed the sun to do it’s job in killing off the bacteria. Additionally the zinc used in most sun screens seems to help malassezia yeast.

Are you currently attempting any of the treatments?

Hope that helps. Best of luck.

Hello Everyone,

First i have to say how glad i am to have found this site. Michael, what you are doing here is awesome! I’m 29 and have been dealing with skin issues since my late teens. I had some face acne and persistent cystic acne on my back and when i was 27, after have tried a bunch of things, i went on accutane.

I was somehow scared about the drug, but after so many dermatologists telling me that with regular blood tests it would be safe and the best alternative i said what the hell. It did clear my cystic acne and during treatment no seb derm on my scalp. Some months after the treatment not only the seb derm on my scalp came back, but i had it on my face as well. There are also other side effects that came after the treatment, but this is other history.

I went to the dermatologist and the same bullshit, cortisone creams and palliative measures, symptoms management as always. Reading all of your testimonials and thinking about my history i’m convinced that we are somehow alike, but everyone is unique, therefore, the goal is to improve our “body awareness”. We must understand how our body words in order to heal ourselves. Some tips that i found here are helping me to control my seb derm, but i’m on my way to build my method, there is to say, the method that works for my and may work for others, but certainly not everyone. When i reach this goal i will share it here.

We learned that the scientific method with its universal claim it’s the key for solving our problems, well, it works for exact sciencies, building machines and shit, but not for us, human beings.

Thank you for your support and sorry for my English.

Would you put the raw honey mix on your scalp,if so what do you wash out with as it is in your hair and how many parts honey to water do you use? Do you have an example of a whole food shampoo? Do you know where to buy the Cetaphil Res cleanser and lotion?
I just used a dead sea salt water rinse after a mix of oil of oregano,tea tree,cocoanut,aloe mixture overnite and my scalp derm. seems to finally be a little better. I have been rinsing with a apple cider vinegar water mix as well as drinking apple cider vinegar,honey water mix and liquid aloe vera supplement. I added biotin to my vitamin intake. I just found a leave in conditioning spray that contains sea salt sea kelp and morrocan argon oil. I stopped coloring my hair except with an all natuaral henna . Do you think a henna color is still part of the problem? I had seb.dermititus onboth sides of my scalp .Only one side is back to normal. Do you think brewers yeast supplements would help? I tried mineral oil topically and scraped the crusting like i did with my baby’s cradle cap a long time ago but it did not seem to help. My only symptom is the crusty build up,no itching or flaking. Do you think scraping off the crust helps the condition? Tonite I an going to try a homeade garlic (7-8 cloves)juiced topically i read about. Ive also stared eating 1-2 cloves garlic a day.

iwrote lon email but sit wont accept

plz dont put my last name on posts

Hi Margie,

I’ve gone ahead and updated your name in the previous comments.

Hi Margie,

For the hair it’s likely easier to use a more diluted concentration (8:2 or 7:3). However, I do not have much experience with this. Only made one attempt and it was too difficult to sustain.

The Cetaphil Restoraderm is available on Amazon. Here in Canada it is widely available in stores as well (cheapest at Wal-Mart).

Brewers yeast did not provide any benefit for me.

Minimizing the number of products I was trying to use and removing all additional topicals helped the most. Do not have any experience with henna oil, but anything that has the ability to impact the lipid composition of the skin can potentially aggravate SD.

The crusting is the result of lipid break down by bacteria on the skin. Removal of the crusting isn’t the most productive approach as it can sometimes speed up the cycle. It seems the best results are achieved by either removal of bacteria with a proven topical anti-fungal (nystatin, ketocanazole, pyrithione zinc) or through regulation of sebum production and composition (an extremely mild washing routine and proper nutrition).

When removing the crust it is essential to do it as gently as possible. If you are forceful you may be forcing the bacteria and irritants further into the skin. This leads to more issues.

Garlic was personally of no use to me. Let me know if it helps.

All the best.

Hi Brazillian Guy,

Thanks for the positive comment and glad to hear that the site is helping people. :)

Yeah, it definitely seems that everyones issues are different, but there are some common items between us.

In terms of the scientific method, I do thing it still hold a huge amount of value for us human beings as well. Even if science dones't yet have an answer to SD, we can still use the principles of the scientific method to find and solve our own issues. Hypothesis -> Testing -> Analysis -> Results.

I've been looking at a ton of medical literature lately. I think I've read atleast 70-80% of all the studies you can find regarding SD. The biggest issue seems to be that there is little innovation in most of the studies around SD. Much of the same topics are still being examined as back in the 50s.

The topics are typically related to trying to control the bacteria through topical approaches. The overall consensus is that cortisone creams should not be used for treatment as treatment is typically ongoing and side effects of cortisone use are often unavoidable.

In essence what is happening with our skin is that the sebum being produced is unprotected from consumption by yeasts and bacteria. This allows of proliferation (spreading) of the yeast and an increase in by-products of their feeding process ( The role of sebaceous gland activity and scalp microfloral metabolism in the etiology of seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff). The results of this are the irritation and scale formation that we experience.

It is interesting to note that the yeast and bacteria that cause issue for us are found on the skin of health individual as well. So it seems our sebum is lacking in something that protects it from consumption by foreign bacteria. And everything I've seen points to antimicrobial peptides and antimicrobial fatty acids. Luckily there seems to be more research in this area since about 2008.

Hoping to write a comprehensive post on all this in the near future.

All the best and look forward to any updates. PS. Your English is great and better than many native speakers. :)

Hi Michael,

Thank you for your clear science based explanation

I guess i wrongly addressed my critic to the scientific method. I agree with you, scientific method holds a huge amount of value for us as well. When i wrote my post i was thinking about all the crap i have heard from doctors i recently went. When i asked about alternative methods that i found on the web (honey, apple side vinegar, changing diet, etc…) they were likely to discredit it based on its lack of scientific results. Thinking about theirs answers i realized that they were likely to take in account only what works for everyone, or most people, i mean, treatments that work only for some aren’t worth for further studies, they are then forgotten and, therefore, most doctors don’t even read it. For instance, there is a study about honey masks as a treatment for SD with good results, we can easily find it online (i guess you even mentioned somewhere), nevertheless, no doctor said anything about that when i mentioned honey.

Actually the problem is not with the scientific method, but the commercial logic that guides researches. In this perspective a treatment that works for some is probably not commercially viable and, therefore, not taking into account as “good enough science”. It seems that the scientific value subordinates to commercial value, in other words, “good enough science” is “good enough product”

I’m not saying that commercial value is worthless, it’s not, simply because is the reason why so many treatments are available for so many people. But it’s not absolute and it shouldn’t misguide doctors approach on alternative treatments.

More over, it’s also the easiest way, i mean, if you are a doctor you would rather give a prescription that works for everyone than one that works for some and if you don’t have this prescription for everyone the best is to assume that there is no cure for the case. Treatments that work only for some raise questions, it means more work, more research to find answers that would only help some, a minority. It’s just easier to ignore that minority when you are profiting well enough with the majority. Sadly for us that’s the big picture.

Happily not every doctor is like that and there are some thinking out of the box. But i guess that for sufferers of diseases that are not that commom the best is to follow the “do it yourself” motto. We must read every study about SD to figure out what are the causes, because i’m convinced that it’s not a simple cause and probably individual differences raise different causes for different groups of people. It’s is a tough work, i saved some studies and information from forums that i judge relevant, we could create a “SEB DERM LIBRARY”. In fact, you are already doing it and i highly encourage you to keep up the good work.

By the way, i’m using the Restoraderm for a week now, good results, i woke up today with my face almost 100% cleared, but now, 20:00, it’s a bit red.

Longing to read the near future post about the studies that you have mentioned.

All the best!

Hi Brazilian Guy,

Definitely agree with you, as there does appear to be lot's of doctors who don't really have a deep understanding of SD. For general doctors this makes sense as they need to deal with such a wide variety of conditions and topics. However, I have been a little shocked with the lack of detailed understanding dermatologists have in this regard. I wish they provided more information as to what is really going on with the skin, then simply relying on medical textbooks which are lacking any concrete information regarding SD.

It becomes somewhat hard for people to spend so much time and money on something so mysterious as SD without any social gain. Thus, commercially viable solutions to the issue will always make it to the top. For example, doctors typically prescribe ulcer treatment drugs for ulcers (examples). However, it has long been documented that fresh cabbage juice is powerful enough to heal practically all ulcers (source). And this is one of the most perfect examples for commercial interests taking precedence over effective non-commercial approaches.

I've actually got quite a large library of SD related research papers and associated topics. Will try to find a way to share this. However, I'm not sure what the legal aspects of sharing scientific papers is (as they cost money). Hopefully there is a way around this.

Will update you when I have more concrete information. However, if you like for now I would highly recommend trying fresh cabbage juice and drastically increasing consumption of cruciferous vegetables. As they have been documented to increase peptide production, improve cell health, contain potent anti-inflammatory ability, natural source of l-glutamine (cabbage juice specifically) and many other benefits.

Also I'm thinking of buying a good variety of different products that have worked for others and putting together a sample pack. Perhaps this can help people find the right product for their skin. What do you think of this idea?

All the best and hope things keep improving. Glad to hear the Restoraderm is helping.

Hey Michael,
Is this still your current routine and also are you still SD free? (Hopefully)?

Today I’ve brought some products to hopefully clear up my SD,

A bit of background on it is that I’ve had it for around 8 long months and being a 17 year old in year 12 it can take its toll but my SD is weird because I’ve never actually had any of the redness symptons all I get is the yellow greasy skin look.

I’m going to start using L glutamine in the morning 1 teaspoon
Range of tablets, eg vitamin C, K2
Have been gluten free since 7 months ago but going to try dairy free as well now
Trying to reduce the amount of sugar intake
Drink 1 tea spoon of ACV
And hopefully not applying anything to the skin and see if I see any reactions in the next 2 weeks,
Have you got any tips or suggestions?

Thanks Connor

BTW it’s amazing that people witu the condition are able to find out research and information from websites like this. So thank you for creating this website it has benefited me a lot.

Hey Michael,

Good to know about cruciferous vegetables, this a motivation to keep eating lots of broccoli as i already do. I read somewhere that some vegetables, such as spinach, were bad for SD, but due to poor information about it i found this really controversial and just ignored it. Do you know something about vegetables that are contraindicated for SD sufferers? About the cabbage juice, i didn’t know that, but makes a lot of sense, i was doing some research about sauerkraut and its benefits to gut issues, have you ever tried?

I didn’t mention, but i’m facing some weird symptoms since last year and SD came along with them. I’m going to share a bit of my history, i spent last year taking accutane and eating lots of junk, this year was also very stressful - due to professional problems and a disease that is affecting my mother and has bad prognosis. I think the symptoms are related to either stress or accutane/bad food side effects, or (most likely) all of it.

Since march i have developed joint pain (specially finger joints), an itchy throat, cold sores inside the mouth, genital candidiasis and - in the same weekend that candidiasis appeared - SD came along. I also noticed that my sinus area, specially nose, would get inflamed pretty easy, along with my throat that was constantly itching.

After all that i got pretty worried, specially after reading about candidiasis, SD and it’s relation to AIDS. I haven’t engaged in risky sexual intercourse for a long time and the HIV test was negative. Solving that i went to many insurance covered doctors that prescribed usual blood tests - that came normal - and tests for many autoimmune diseases - that came negative. Then i decided that i wasn’t going to loose anymore time with these ordinary doctors.

I remembered that a school friend, after many disappointments, went to a well respected General practitioner that successfully treated him after diagnosing a rare syndrome. I schedule an appointment with this doctor, insurances don’t him and It was expensive, but worth it. The appointment took about an hour, i showed all the recent tests and said everything i could remember. He was really interested in all health problems i ever had and based on my symptoms and my vitamin d low levels he guessed that i was maybe suffering from a magnesium deficiency. In the end he prescribed me a detailed immunological test and some magnesium chloride supplement.

For some time now i have been eating really healthy and found partial relief in some symptoms, but after taking magnesium for 1 week the joint pain got almost nonexistent and i didn’t face inflammation issues easy as before. After this week My Cd4, Cd8, Cd 19 (and another bunch of cds that i can’t recall) test came back and i went to another appointment. The result was that my immune system is really out of balance, the GP said that based on its current configuration it seems that it’s really a magnesium deficiency which cause we are investigating.

Well, my magnesium supplement is helping me with my joint pain and chronic inflamation, but, till now, does nothing for my SD (which is also a sort of chronic inflammation?) Anyway, since SD is a symptom of immune deficiency and many SD sufferers usually have other issues related to immune deficiencies i thing this test is worth it. I’m obsessed to balance my immune system, probably this will solve my SD. I just finished a liver flush and plan to start glutamine tomorrow. I also started taking pau d’arco tea, which is known as a great plant for gut issues and fungal infections. It seems to be a long battle, i see some improvements, but the goal is getting back on track,how it used to be.

The sample pack idea is great, most SD products/approaches aren’t for everyone, but if one tries a bunch of them one is very likely to get good results from at least a few.

About the library, you could share all the free stuff and point the papers that requires payment for whom might be interest. If one is interest one goes to the website and pays for it.

Another maybe interesting thing would be to develop a questionnaire with SD related questions. Example: How was your diet before SD? Did you take many antibiotics? Stressful life when SD came? Everyone that visit this page could contribute and increase our knowledge. What you think about that?

Al the best.

Also does gluten free bread contain any yeast? And what foods contain yeast? Thanks

Hey Connor,

The routine was working great for about a year. About a month ago it started being not as effective, but this was mainly due to my lack of consistency. Additionally, I've been doing lots of research again to really delve deep into the issue. Particularly, I was after why the routine was working and what other factors played a role. Currently, I've actually stopped washing my face and use the Restoraderm. Instead I have been testing my own concoction and only washing my face with water.

Also, I've slowly started bringing a bit of dairy back. In terms of gluten, I personally still think that it is not really an issue for SD. However, everyone is different.

Stopped supplementing with l-glutamine, but still have some left. Instead, I've replaced it with fresh cabbage juice (intermittently) which is an excellent whole food source of l-glutamine and other healing agents. Some more of the stuff I have been testing can be found here. Overall this strategy is focused on jump starting the body. Unfortunately I haven't covered everything in full detail there, but I've been working on a book with all the details.

Thanks for the positive comment. Yeah, the internet can be both great and punishing at the same time. There's so much information out there that it can be overwhelming. This website was a means of trying to organize and make sense of it all. :)

Will update you once the book is ready. Here is a preview of the chapters:

• Introduction
• What is Seborrheic Dermatitis
• Current Medical Understanding
• Holistic Explanations for Seborrheic Dermatitis
• Your Immune System
• Your Digestion
• The Omegas and Your Health
• Supplements to Know
• Reducing Topical Yeast and Bacteria
• Dysbiosis or Synbiosis
• Yeast and Fungus
• Exercise, Sleep and Your Health
• Understanding Stress
• Immunotherapy and Vaccination
• Understanding the Skin
• Finding the Right Products
• Long Term Management

Some gluten free bread does contain yeast, however you can always check the ingredients list. However, I don't think that total avoidance is the path to success. Especially long term, instead I think focus must be shifted on the enhancement.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Hi Michael

Thank you very much for having created this website. I have a SD since last May and I’m really stressed and depressed about it. I’m french so sorry for my english. Could you give me more information about Restoraderm ? It is a moisturer or a cream that washes the face ? Is it this one http://www.beaute-test.com/nettoyant_hydratant_-_restoraderm_cetaphil.php ?

One more thing: have you heard anything on thermal waters and if it can help us ?

Once again thank you for what you are doing !

Ive been reading all these stories on here and thought I’d share my story, I’m 46 and have been dealing with SD since my early 20’s…I had acne as a teenager so basically since I’ve been 13-14 I’ve had skin issues. I’ve spent 1000’s on dermatologists and lotions,potions the lot, I’ve been to acupuncturist,herbalists,naturopaths,dieticians,Chinese doctors,I’ve been to everybody who claim that they can help but it keeps coming and going,no patterns either,sun is good sun is bad,cold is good cold is bad…can’t put my finger on anything that triggers it,I’ve tried diets,cleanses,yoga,I exercise,I meditate,i can be stressed and nothing triggers it,I’ve given up alcohol and it’s come back,I’ve drank hard and been clear skinned…no triggers,it just comes and goes,some creams work sometimes,I’ve used every face wash and shampoo known to man,I only have it on my face,my scalp is good,i do think it’s gotta do with the production of the malessia that’s produced in the skin,I think if there is some kind of drug that stops the production or reduces the severity of it we would be onto something…thanks for reading and keep the ideas coming,I’m still open to finding a “cure”
Mark