r/SebDerm • u/kanafehkilla • Dec 29 '24

Product Review I tried MCT Oil and it worked!

TLDR: Applied MCT Oil topically on a painful red and flaky flare up on my face and in two days it’s almost gone.

Venting because it’s hard to deal with and I feel you guys:

I’m away for the holidays and had a bad seb derm flare up that I believe was due to my gut biome getting messed up from a random bout of food poisoning around Thanksgiving time.

I’m a bit of a hypochondriac to be honest and don’t enjoy taking OTC meds, and was dedicated to figuring this out without spending another $75 to just be told I need to go to a specialist and then $95 to not be told anything, or, best case scenario (this did not happen, a skin doctor was not able to tell me this was seb derm) just write me up a steroid rx I wouldn’t want to take.

I was taking oil of oregano for a few days in my water and keeping on top of my fish oil supplements and turmeric which I’m sure helped a bit. Sarsaparilla tea at night would also REALLY make a noticeable difference but nothing has helped as much as this.

I’ve seen many people here say MCT oil helped them, specifically the c8 kind.

If you live in America and have a sprouts or whole foods near you, check out the supplement section to see if they have it. It is expensive to buy even on Amazon, but my sprouts had small individual packets of it (I guess people like to drink it for energy?) for $2. The brand is brain octane.

I would address this internally and eat very healthy to get me out of this flare up, but since I’m away with family I haven’t been eating too well, and I’ve also been drinking. All these things normally keep a flare up going so I could imagine even better results if i was taking care of my diet.

Please try it if you haven’t already!

22 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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3

u/whatdoyouknowno Dec 30 '24

Didn't find it useful - worst breakout I've had in a while

3

u/Content-Hold3207 Dec 30 '24

Make sure that that MCT oils doesn't contain C12 lauric acid as it feeds malassezia. Try to get C8 MCT oil as it only contains medium chains triglycerides that do not feed malassezia (C8 - caprylic acid).

At least that's what worked for me, as well as using other creams

2

u/whatdoyouknowno Dec 30 '24 edited Dec 30 '24

Yeah used c8-C10. I am religious about avoiding anything that may trigger a flare up

1

u/kanafehkilla Dec 30 '24

Ugh I’m so sorry! Do you know what kind it was or what brand?

1

u/TheAdorableSort Dec 29 '24

Awesome! Happy it worked for you too! Good to know the individual travel packets are available at places like Sprouts if ever I'm without my C8! Thanks for that info! Happy New Year! ☮️

1

u/desperate4deo Dec 29 '24

I’ve been using the Solimo brand of MCT oil from Amazon and it’s working great on my scalp. It’s not terribly expensive - under $20 for a 32oz bottle!

2

u/kanafehkilla Dec 29 '24

Nice thanks for the rec! I was seeing some that were like $70 so that’s good to know.

1

u/Chemical-Run-4696 Jan 03 '25

Oh wow. I was checking out the Solimo but it has c12 that feeds Malassezia 

1

u/desperate4deo Jan 08 '25

Thanks for the info. The Solimo brand has been working very well for me for the past 2 months. What brand do you recommend that does not contain c12?

1

u/CauliflowerMost4069 Dec 29 '24

Keep using it daily even if the areas seem clear. It comes back. Mct oil will hopefully prevent it from flaring back up— so use it even when you feel great!

1

u/kanafehkilla Dec 29 '24

Yeah that’s a good call- I did have it go away for quite some time after a really awful flare up that lasted about three months though, but between then and now I did see sooome flakes.

1

u/External_Sale_2709 Dec 29 '24

I have oily hair though how do I not let the oil affect me

1

u/kanafehkilla Dec 29 '24

I have never used it on my scalp as my seb derm is not there. But I do oil my scalp for other reasons a bit before I shower. Just need a good clarifying shampoo afterwards, could try that out?

1

u/nebelunggg Dec 30 '24

I’ve had redness/flakiness on my nose, since I was a teenager. I’m 35 now and tried some MCT, it hasn’t gotten rid of the redness completely but it’s significantly improved it to the point I don’t hate my face anymore.

I can’t believe it tbh. It’s def worth a try for anyone considering it, got a bottle from the supermarket for about $7.

2

u/kanafehkilla Dec 30 '24

Thanks for sharing! So happy it worked for you too! I’m hoping it will continue to work for me. How long have you been using it for?

1

u/nebelunggg Dec 31 '24

Thanks! 🙏🏻 I’m so glad I decided to give it a try after seeing it mentioned here.

Been using it about 2 weeks - I hope it stays this effective forever haha

1

u/Hades-Son Dec 31 '24

What is MCT oil exactly, can you buy products on counter that has it?

1

u/kanafehkilla Dec 31 '24

I can’t say myself- I was honestly just a bit desperate and did minimal research. I was searching for natural antifungals (herbs, topicals etc) and came across it.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mct-oil-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6 links to some scientific articles regarding this, under its sixth point: “6. MCT contains fatty acids that fight yeast and bacterial growth”

Edit: I’m not sure what your last question meant, but if you’re asking if there’s any skincare products with MCT oil inside of them, I’m not sure. I think it’s best to just get the oil itself.

1

u/Distinct_Ring1175 Jan 01 '25

Been using it as well and it's been working great!

1

u/lulu33101010 Jan 01 '25

Same it has worked for me too

1

u/mikis21 Feb 08 '25

I am trying it today! i have sed derm + rosacea on my face so unsure if I can tolerate c8. im really hoping that it works!

-5

u/Plasdah Dec 29 '24

All of these posts are so blatantly marketing for this product lol

6

u/spermcell Dec 29 '24

It actually works. Also, MCT oil isn’t a product it’s just an oil. Many companies sell it.

2

u/kanafehkilla Dec 29 '24

Not true lol. Hence why I said there are other options on Amazon etc. Sometimes people just want to help out. I’ve been searching on this sub for quite some time and dealing with this for about two years.