Overview of Seborrheic Dermatitis Face Treatments

Article Discussion
107

Hey Jay,

Thanks for the positive feedback. Yeah, I think that a combined effort is the best approach and yeah trying to battle it alone is rather stressful.

Thanks for the story. Yeah, antibiotics appear to play a role for many people. One thing that you must consider though is the gut may not be the only place of infection or issue as many people believe. It’s possible that other areas of the body may be having issues. I really believe that people over focus on the gut, but it is obviously quite an important component of our immune system health. Not sure if you have seen it yet, but I’ve been working on a book on the topic of seborrheic dermatitis and have covered quite a broad amount of related topics. Here are the links to the chapter drafts for reference:

Let me know what you think.

Overall my story is more mild, but shares many similarities. However, currently my skin is really good and actually get lot’s of compliments about my skin. So, it’s definitely possible to not just get rid of it, but completely turn things around. The last chapter of my book goes into more detail on my own approach and should be ready in the next week or so.

In essence, at the core of my approach is stop stressing about diet, eat lot’s of sea-food, not much red meat, lots of carbs (potatoes, apples, bread), lots of vegetables, no more supplements, lot’s of physical activity, hardly any vegetable oils (omega 6), and use my own topical formulation (Biom8).

Q1) Try to reduce vegetable oils in diet. Stop over-stressing things. Try to reduce the amount of products you use at the same time.

Q2) Have got various medical testing, but never deficiencies. However, I believe that eating a well balanced diet full of vegetables and sea-food should reverse any deficiencies without the use of supplements. Over-thinking the gut connection and the issue in general, can obviously cause a lot of stress and this affects hormones, sebum production, and overall immune function.

Consider joining the community. Planning to make it much more interactive in nature so that people can really help each other along. It’s rather difficult for me to handle the large amount of questions coming in through the website.

Hope that helps and let me know if I had missed anything.

108

Thanks for the reply, Michael.

I’ll be sure to look at the drafts tomorrow at some point - might be worth creating a discussion for the drafts / upcoming book in the community forums for feedback & additional ideas?

Glad to hear you’re getting compliments on your skin now, that truly is a turn around, must be a massive relief to not having something like SD lingering over you. I think the possibility is out there for everyone, it’s just constantly testing things to find out what works I guess. And in reply to your answers…

  1. I avoid pretty much all vegetable oils and focus on extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil for of my oil needs. I also balance my Omega 3s and 6s at about a 1:2 ratio (5g:8g roughly) thanks to eating salmon several times a week, chia seeds and a good fish oil supp.

  2. Interesting, would love to get some pre-testing done, but it’s fairly costly if you do it privately, and trying to convince the NHS to run a lot of tests on you is pretty difficult for a “small skin condition”.

I’ll obviously try and help out where I can as I’m fairly sure I’ve done a lot of research I’ve done will be relevant to questions, but it’s always nicer to hear it from someone who has conquered the condition!

Tempted to try one of the following to reduce redness next, which would be your best recommendation in order of how much they helped take away the inflammation with your SD?

  • Baking Soda
  • Green Tea
  • Diluted ACV (I’ve seen this recommended a lot on Earth Clinic)
  • Sudocrem (slightly apprehensive as I think it’s difficult to remove without scrubbing the skin and causing more inflammation)

Thanks,
Jay

109

Second that Mike, only water, with one application of Biom8 at night, and moisturizing cream once every two to three days and your golden. Clean diet’s a given - everyone should be doing that anyway.
#Battlestillrageson

110

Hi Jay,

In terms of the treatments you specified, the results were very brief and never lasted.
The ACV would probably be my favorite out of the 4. Raw honey was the best thing of out DIY treatments. Sudocream just didn’t clean well enough to make it viable.

Nothing has worked as well as Biom8 at restoring skin tone, skin feel and getting rid of it at the same time.
The Restoraderm made it go away for quite a while, but skin remained sensitive overall. Hope that my results with the Biom8 continue, but user feedback has been reassuring.

The forum has been setup for book discussion, but not much activity yet.
Likely need to make it more visible and integrated into the website.

Hope that helps and let me know how things go.

111

Hi Michael,

I’ve had a read over the drafts and everything in there so far is really good. A couple of parts could do with more studies to backup the information, but aside from that it’s shaping up great! I’ll go into more detail when I go over it again later this week and I’ll post in the discussion on the forum :slight_smile:

Initially trying out Nystatin to see how that compares to other anti-fungals I’ve used previously. My first application (just put it on 5 minutes ago) seems to have gone okay, no stinging or anything, so I’ll see how this progresses over the next couple of weeks. Then I imagine I’ll try ACV and possibly the Restoraderm or Biom8 following that… Fingers crossed I don’t need to take it any further than the Nystatin, only time will tell!

112

I have been battling Seb Derm most of my life, with the most recent serious bout a few months ago. I tried all kinds of things. Seb Derm is due to an internal condition (sluggish liver or toxic colon), so you can treat it all you want externally; however, the greatest results come from taking care of your digestive system. I drink a glass of green juice first thing every morning (celery or cucumber). I have increased my water intake and I put coconut oil all over my face. I also take zinc and flax oil. My skin seems to be improving, but it can take time…several months…

113

Hi Gloria

Intresting to read about the cucumber and celery juice. Those are some of the vegetables included in John Vales Clear skin programme which is free for download on the net.

It contains vegetable juices, soups and sallads. I’m going to do this after new year.

Tried coconut a few years ago. It made my face extremely red. I only use luke warm water on my face.

Håkan

114

I promised myself to stop putting oils to my face, but just had to try borage oil on my eye lids and in between my eyes yesterday.

My skin looked great from the moment I put it on and still does after 20 hours!

If the John Vale Skin Clear programme does not work I will try borage on the rest of my face.

Merry Christmas

Håkan

115

Hi Gloria,

Thanks for the update. Definitely agree with your comment. However, there appears to be a myriad of other things which can be responsible for SD, with this being potentially only one of them. For example stress, hormonal issues, infection, and some can be extremely unique (one woman’s seborrheic dermatitis was documented to be caused by a Mirena levonorgestrel intrauterine system and resolved completely after its removal, source)

Understanding each individual case is likely the best and most complete approach to long term treatment. However, I do strongly believe that topicals have a significant role to play as well. They allow you to live life, become more social and provide a bit of breathing room while you discover your own issues.

Happy holidays and look forward to hearing how things progress.
Best wishes for the New Year!

116

Hi Michael!

I wanted to ask you, was your facial skin oily when you had SD?And now, do you use any kind of facial wash cleanser or do you wash your face with water only? My facial skin is oily and I have tried washing my face with water only, but with no results, the dry scales were piling up and the skin was reddish, but I used different facial cream then, Dr. Hauchska ice plant. Maybe the cream was not the one. So, I am basically trying to find a face wash cleanser that is gentle so it won’t dry my skin and at the same time clean the excess sebum. Can you please suggest something? Also I look forward to suggestions from other facial SD sufferers who have oily skin on the face.

Regards,
Sanya

117

Hi Peter,

I wanted to ask you if you are still using Restoraoderm moisturizer on your face? You mentioned above that it seemed ok on your forehead, but not on your face. I have SD and my face is oily too. I read the ingrediants of Restoraderm: Water, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Helianthus Annus (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, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cetyl Alcohol and I wonder if the oils contained in the cream are the ones that have negative effect? I really do not know. One year ago I used a cream rich in oils, but it did not have any effect on the scaling. It was there. If your are not using Restoraderm now, what cleanser and moisturizer are you using on your face?

Regards,
Sanya

118

Hi Michael,

Sorry for the new post, but I really need your view regarding this:
I also wanted to ask you about your opinion on the ingredients of the Restoraderm moisturizer and your Biom8 and that’s why I asked if your facial skin was oily. Since I have oily face and SD, I am very sceptical at trying out moisturizers with oils in it. As I have menitioned in my post below, before Kelual DS, I used Dr. Hauschka Ice plant cream. Its ingredients are the following: Water (Aqua), Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum Extract, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Glycerin, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Alcohol, Tricaprylin, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Lanolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Bentonite, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Lysolecithin, Glyceryl Oleate, Xanthan Gum.
It did not have any effect on the flaking. I still got white flakes on my face. I still do, even now, when I am using Kelual DS cream and Eucerin Dermopurifying facial wash cleanser. I mentioned that I have tried Bioderma Sensiobio DS + gel for washing my face. But it seems that my face got oilier and little whiteheads appeared. So I returned to using Eucering cleanser. So I am trying to find a solution that will clear the white flakes, but not increase the level of sebum.

I started the dairy free regime. And I will see what will happen. Also I wanted to ask you what medical examinations did you do for the SD? Maybe my problem is internal in my body functioning, but I really do not know what to test. Can you please share your thoughts on this, I would be very grateful.:slight_smile:

I know that I have many questions, but I really want to find a solution. :slight_smile:

Regards,
Sanya

119

Hi Sanya!

Now im not using cetaphil at all.
Im using la roche p. tolarine to clean my face. Im using canesten cream and a very simple moisturiser.
And im using selsun blue on the rest of my face. But not around my nose, because there my skin is too sensitive. Strange but now my skin is mosoly dry, its not perfect, but i like it better than the oily.
If you have any question, write it.
Bests, Peter

120

I’m on the John Vale Skinclear program since 6 days ago.

My face had already improved alot before starting it due to going back to completely avoiding sugar, wheat, alcohol coffe and junkfood in general. I no longer avoid being social, like I did past autumn.

I noticed today that my eye lids has healed.

I followed the first three days on the program completely as far as foods go. This means raw vegetable and fruit juices made at home and fruits and Brazil nuts as snacks.

I’m not following the rest of the 30 day program completely but I avoid night shades like white potatoes and red meat which is not allowed. And unhealthy shit of course.

This means I eat fish and chicken sallads and soups and berry and fruit smoothies and fruits. Some dried fruits and Brazil nuts are allowed too.

A bit cheese and bread is allowed to but in meals together with healthy stuff.

I continue to wash my face with water only and it’s just as clean as when I used organic plant soap.

I still use organic schampo on my scalp which works great since years ago, thanks to cutting my hair really short, and pushing away the dandruff with my fingers. Warm water works best here of course.

The face has a different type of skin compared to the scalp, as we can learn in Michaels Seb derm ebook.

I only use oil free water based topical probiotics on the face after it has dried from showering.

I’m worried for those who have found improvements by using msm for example, but still eat sugar. Since sugar will damage the health in so many ways. Just look at the amazing high quality research studies carried out by Harvard medical school foor proof.

Best wishes

121

Here is a new research studie on 50 teenagers with acne, that resulted in ca 50% less zits and inflamed zits, after eating cheap barberrys for one month. Amazing results.

122

Hi Sanya,

When SD was at it’s peak I would say that my face was only mildly oily.
However, I do remember that a few years before I got SD my skin started to become very oily.
To try to combat this I started washing fairly frequently with soap or various cleansers. Somewhere along the line I believe I may have distributed my skins own natural defense barrier and this may have started this whole thing in the first place. Hard to really say though.

Currently, I haven’t used anything except water and Biom8 Skin Conditioning Oil on my face since the end of August 2015.
Wouldn’t even call it “washing” it’s more of a mild rinse with cold water and then application of the oil. Somehow the skin simply absorbs it all and remains fairly matte in appearance.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
All the best!

123

Hi Sanya,

There are various things that you may be doing (diet, hormones, etc). That may simply be increasing your skins sebum production.
Personally, I don’t believe that any cleansers or topical solutions can fully solve oily skin. This is more of a sebaceous gland issue and has to do with your skin functioning.

Our skin needs oils to protect itself and for normal barrier function. Perhaps disruption of the natural balance of these oils can accelerate oil/sebum production…

Hope to cover this topic (and hair loss) more in the second edition of the eBook.

PS. Sorry for the huge delay in responding to your comments.

All the best.
Look forward to any updates.

124

Hi Michel, Hi everybody!

As i told you before my dry sd went to a crazy oilness aruond my nose and on my forehead. If i wash it with anything(i really tried everything) because of the dead skin build up, for the next morning my face will be a lot oilier. Tanning bed helps a bit, but no real solution.
What is very intresting, in january i was in Eilat, in the desert for vacation.
The humidity is very low, and in january temperture is quite warm 25-27 Celsius.
After a week my face dryed out, after two weeks i had no real sign of sd! And i didnt touch my face, éven no washing.
After too weeks i returned home to europe, and the oilness came back.
Now im thinking to by a machine what is lowering the humidity, because i think its a big factor.
But im not sure it will be enough.
If it s not enough i have to move to a country where the humidity is lower. P.

125

Hi Hakan,

Thanks for the update! Happy to hear how things are turning out!
Completely agree with you that sugar is not our friend, but I have to admit I have been indulging in lot’s of sweets and chocolate lately. However, overall my diet is fairly stable. However, it’s not even as close to as good as it was when I was actively trying to fight SD. Now, it’s much more slack.

A huge thing I believe is important is mental health and hormones. A strong diet can help stabilize this, but I think the brain plays a big role here as well (irrelevant of diet).

Happy to hear that your topical regimen is so minimal and doesn’t contain any strong anti-dandruffs. Likely, the skins natural defence barrier and sebum production is stabilizing. :slight_smile:

Thanks again for the detailed update. Hope this program can lock in results for you.
Look forward to hearing again from you.

126

Hi Hakan,

Thanks for the link. Not sure where or when, but I’ve mentioned and tried barberries before. They contain a good level of berberine and various acids beneficial for digestion. Berberine appears to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health (blood sugar regulation) and impacts lipid levels in the body. Here is the wikipedia article.

Previously attempted to forcefully integrate these into my diet, however for some reason discontinued. Sometimes add them to rice though. :slight_smile: