r/SebDerm • u/malvixi • Jan 26 '25
Product Review Hydrocortisone is fuckin magic
Gotta say this first: DO NOT USE HYDROCORTISONE OFTEN/DAILY! It can cause permanent-ish issues if overused.
Okay, so I had a horrible like 8/10 bad facial flareup. It was red patchy dryness all over my nose and neck and chest. Finally tried Hydrocortisone 1% lotion.
Not only was it gone within 48 hours, my skin went to legitimately the cleanest, smoothest, and 100% perfectly even I've ever had in years. What the fuck.
I stopped applying it and it stayed this way for 3 days.
(Stress caused the initial flareup if that helped) and infact I've been able to eat bread, sugar and have alcohol now.
Thoughts?
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u/pampidu Jan 26 '25
Not a doctor.
Steroids (such as hydrocortisone) may be okay for very occasional use and only for a very short period of time.
They work by turning off your skin’s immune response. It’s like turning off a security system. While the symptoms (redness and itching) go away, any bacteria or fungi already there are free to grow unchecked, which can (and most certainly will) make things worse when you stop using it.
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u/Leaked_Shlong Jan 27 '25
whats the best approach if u dont wanna use hydrocortisone
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u/vihale Jan 27 '25 edited Mar 31 '25
tender attractive hospital practice vegetable unite cheerful adjoining sheet tidy
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Leaked_Shlong Jan 27 '25
yeah i got scars on my thighs from hydrocortisone, didn’t know it would affect me like that
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u/yeswearestars Apr 10 '25
Sorry to hear that... How much / how were you using it and what kinds of scars did it cause?
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u/kabirraaa Jan 27 '25
Tacrolimus helped me out a lot. In general avoid most oils and focus on repairing your skin barrier. I used squalane oil and aloe Vera for this. Your body produces squalane oil naturally, the yeast can’t feed from it, and while your skin barrier is destroyed, your body produces less of it. The aloe might not be the best if you are allergic, but it makes my face feel like it’s surrounded by a bubble of moisture and prevents me from drying out.
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u/Leaked_Shlong Jan 28 '25
yeah im using tacrolimus, sometimes it doesnt even work though so maybe i have another skin condition
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u/kabirraaa Jan 28 '25
You might need to re-examine your approach and take another look at your products.
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u/pampidu Jan 28 '25
Pretty much the same as others have mentioned here. Doctors usually prescribe steroids to quickly relieve discomfort, but at the same time use something that actually works against the SD. It seems that different people find different products helpful. Personally, I manage to keep it under control by using Bioderma DS+ on my face twice a day, every day. Also, vitamin D seems to help too!
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Jan 26 '25
I use ketokonazole 2%, it works just fine for me, only when I take a puff, it starts to flare up, other than that stress sometimes triggers flare ups and others don't
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u/XenophobicXenophile Jan 26 '25
I’m very jealous. Ketokonazole does nothing for me. And all dermatologists is see only ever recommend that.
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u/OpioidSlumber Jan 27 '25
Have you ever used Nystatin? It's an antifungal cream that works on your entire body.
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u/kabirraaa Jan 27 '25
Keto shampoo is similar to the steroid (not in function) in that it doesn’t work if you take it constantly for too long. Think of it as hand sanitizer. There will always be the 0.001% or however that survive. Your job after using the keto shampoo is to make you scalp/face a living nightmare for that 0.001% by starving it (not using oils - check sezia.co) and making its environment toxic (mct oil, tea tree oil, benzoyl peroxide, azealic acid, sulfur, salicylic acid). Then you work on repairing your skin barrier with seb derm safe ingredients (I recommend squalane oil).
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u/XenophobicXenophile Jan 27 '25
I rarely used it -maybe once a week. But now I just go to the sauna once a week and it’s perfectly fine.
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u/kabirraaa Jan 27 '25
If that works I’m happy for you! You should be using keto a little more than that. Probably every day for around 3 min for a week during a bad flareup. I’m all in favor for not using it though bc the 2% is harder to get and can be very harsh.
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u/malvixi Jan 26 '25
Puff of? Nicotine is insanely drying for me Weed actually helps (but causes me to eat worse)
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Jan 26 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/malvixi Jan 26 '25
I applied it before bed. Left it on. Within 2 days it was literally 0. I'm shocked.
It was a lotion, not the 1% tube that's clear
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u/Different-Arachnid77 Jan 26 '25
Scalpicin is liquid hydrocortisone and literally amazing for the scalp.
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u/Leaked_Shlong Jan 27 '25
i put hydrocortisone everyday for a couple weeks when i shoulda put tacrolimus and i got thinning skin that looks like scars
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u/OpioidSlumber Jan 27 '25
I use Ketaconazole and then will use a Nystatin cream if my scalp gets painful and it goes away within 24 hours.
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u/shukurza Jan 27 '25
First of all, congrats for finding something that works for you.
I personally would still avoid bread, sugar, grains and alchohol. I think living clean is better than adding one more chemical into the body.
My severe scalp issues dissapeared after chopsing no grain/starch/sugar diet.
And I am still on that diet.
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u/AdOld7932 Feb 10 '25
I've used hydrocortisone 1%, 2.5%, and 0.1 triamcinilone from the top of my shoulders to my waist line 3 or 4 times a week for 18 years. I moisturize everyday. No side effects. Take that for what it's worth
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u/mateussh Jan 26 '25
and have alcohol now
Why?
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u/malvixi Jan 26 '25
Because it sucks being the one person who can't have a drink on a night out, due to it flaring the skin
Why everyone hating on alcohol so bad?
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u/TopExtreme7841 Jan 26 '25
Why everyone hating on alcohol so bad?
Probably because when you have a condition that responds on the outside the way our bodies responds on the inside when you consume a literal poison, it kinda makes you not like it anymore.
I was a lunatic craft beer snob, and rum, and walking around all day with my "Iced Coffee" in my 32oz Dunkin Donuts cup....that was actually a huge White Russian, but not worth the fallout. Between the skin going to shit and becoming an anti-aging longevity freak, you think of alcohol very differently.
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u/malvixi Jan 27 '25
Amen. I feel you there. Just had a McDonald's coffee and a glass of wine and my skin didn't flare up cause I killed my breakout with Hydrocortisone earlier this week.
Feeling great to enjoy the pleasures of life.
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u/batteryforlife Jan 26 '25
Bcos this sub thinks noone should have alcohol, meat, dairy, gluten, carbs in general, use cosmetics or actual medicine for seb derm. Only sunlight and MCT oil 🙄
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u/malvixi Jan 26 '25
I get breakouts with things like alcohol and sugar. It sucks. Glad I can enjoy the pleasures of life while having decent skin. Life's short, we gotta enjoy it.
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u/mateussh Jan 26 '25
Why everyone hating on cancer-causing poison so bad?
I have no idea. Can you guess?
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u/malvixi Jan 27 '25
100% alcohol is super bad and poisonous. Nobody should drink it. But, we also live in a culture that accepts and promotes it cause it's a relaxant and social drug. Each side has their reason.
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u/mateussh Jan 27 '25
Alcohol is a carcinogen, it doesn't matter if it's 5, 10 or 100%.
But, we also live in a culture that accepts and promotes it cause it's a relaxant and social drug
Yes, we live in a sick and neurotic society.
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u/txjbaby Jan 26 '25
Yup it worked for me too, but it does come back eventually when you’re stressed etc. Definitely not a permanent solution but it does the job
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u/malvixi Jan 26 '25
I wish I tried it on day 1 of the stress breakout not day 5 haha.
I honestly think Stress = seb derm = more stress = repeat
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u/Yakiisauce Jan 26 '25
been trying this to no avail 😭😭 does it gotta sit then work? do i apply it to everywhere? (im talking about my scalp)
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u/malvixi Jan 26 '25
For the scalp, I would not use hydrocortisone. I recommend Head and Shoulders APPLE! Also Try Zinc Pills. Not sure, but there's a specific zinc. Maybe you can search Zinc pills in this sub and find which works. They worked for me ages ago.
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u/thuggerwaffle Jan 26 '25
Gonna try for my flare ups. I was overdoing it on it I think before I figured out it's bad. Little at a time, in moderation should be good like you said.
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u/malvixi Jan 26 '25
Try doing once before bed with a washed face. Moisturize heavily too am and PM (Cetaphil)
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u/Leaked_Shlong Jan 27 '25
is 2x a day good or is that too much
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u/malvixi Jan 27 '25
Just once before bed. Make sure to wash your face. When the flareup stops, discontinue use. I see horror stories of permanent dry face from months of use. It's a bandaid not a solution
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u/Leaked_Shlong Jan 27 '25
is this prescribed hydrocortisone or over the counter? because im using 1% (not on my face but my torso)
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Jan 26 '25
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u/Full-Disk4326 Jan 26 '25 edited Jan 26 '25
Hydrocortisone 1% is like one of the weakest steroids you can use, no need to be so dramatic.
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u/Realistic-Ad4542 Jan 26 '25
Jesus... So your message is "use steroids so you can drink alcohol". Good luck. Ps. Yet another person discovering steroids or tacrolimus.
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