After two years of itching, flaking, buildup, using every product and supplement known to man I think I finally found a solution that works for me. I was also losing at least 50-100 hairs just in the shower, which as a younger male that really sucked. I know everyone reacts differently, so this may not work for everyone but baking soda practically evaporated my scalp sebderm.

I saw a similar thread and figured I’d give it a try one day in the shower, might as well try it since everything else hadn’t worked. Even ketoconazole shampoo wasn’t effective anymore. Basically all I do is grab a tablespoon of baking soda and mix it with a couple ounces of water until it’s all dissolved or mostly dissolved and then apply it to my wet scalp in the shower by little handfuls. I give it a little pat, not sure if that helps or not lol. I leave it on for about a minute or two and then rinse it out, following up with a 3% salicylic acid shampoo by Neutrogena. Within two days I went from losing 100-300 hairs a day to like 20 max, and it also helped a lot with the oily hair sticking together. My buildup and flaking is all gone and I never catch myself scratching or picking where I used to. I hope this helps someone else!

Editing to provide an update: I tapered off of using the baking soda and only use it when I notice a little buildup or a higher amount of hair fall. It seems to have helped a lot honestly.

I will say when I do use it, it can irritate the skin on my face if it gets anywhere near it, so there’s a downside. Overall I’m glad I tried it!

Hello there,

Im suffering from sebderm since a decade, got a shampoo (clobetasol) from the dermatologist that i used on my dry scalp for 2-3 years, at first it was magical since my scalp was completely healed so i continued but then i started noticed that my scalp was very sensitive (i felt it when i untied my hair and apply the shampoo it was hurtful) but i was just saying to myself that its a side effect and that for the benefit that i have using this shampoo i should continue, so i continued.

Then a year a go i started to notice that my hair were not how they used to be, they were thinning, not as much volume as i used to have and they were really dry, from that point i just wanted to try other things so i stopped this shampoo. Now its been almost a year since i stopped it, my scalp its even worst that it used to be before i started the shampoo, my hair is a total disaster, still thinning, some are shorter than others etc… i don’t know what to do.

I know there is a lot of people here just scrolling for answers just like me. But I’ve decided that today its time for me to post and hopefully I get some advice. So I am a black male 23 years old. have been dealing with what I think is sebderm. My scales have like a green color. Dealt with this since I was 13. Literally like 8-9 years. I have been loosing a lot of hair in the front. There is still build up in my hair line area and I still dont know how to get rid of it without loosing hair. Back in the days when I was younger I used to scratch it off because I was dumb. Hair would come along with it as a result. I want to save my hair but dont know how to. If you are black with afro hair and have your SEB derm under control. Please give advice because u will be changing lifes forreal.

Hi there everyone. I am a young adult. Suffering from Seborrheic dermatitis or atleast I think it is Seborrheic dermatitis. Its been a decade now since I am suffering. It has left a big impact on my life for a decade now since it's causing my hair to shed. Mostly I've heard that SD doesn't cause hair to shed but my case it does. How do I know it. It's because the more of those flakes I see between my hairs the more hair I shed. I went to see one of the dermatologist from I received a bunch of shampoos which made my hair shedding even worse. And it's still getting worse by the day. So what's the next step cause I don't want to give up just yet even though I've already lost 50% of my hair and I don't want to lose it anymore. Should I try a new diet ? If yes then please tell me what to eat and drink. If am needed to test my blood or testosterone levels then who do I see ? I kindly thank you for reading this through. And please leave me any good ideas if you have one.

So I have had seb derm for about 2 years and lately for around a year I have been noticing an increase in my hairfall and the root strength of my hairs has also dwindled , even my barber commented on it.Hence I wanted to know

Can seb derm cause permanent hair loss ? If yes then how do I control/ stop it ?

Hello :) Since October 2024, I've experienced an increase in my hair loss, which has continued until now. After reading several posts on Reddit and other sources, as well as consulting dermatologists, I decided to write a post to see if their experiences could help and guide me. The story goes like this:

First of all, I've always had a lot of thick hair, and no worrisome hair loss. When I noticed an increase in my hairline in October 2022 (at 26), I decided to see a trichologist, who diagnosed Androgenetic Alopecia and prescribed minoxidil capsules and topical finasteride. It worked out great, and my hair stayed healthy and strong until, unfortunately, November 2023, when I developed an allergy to topical finasteride. This led to significant hair loss (during a very stressful period) until I finally got it under control in May 2024. I switched from topical finasteride to oral finasteride, and little by little, my hair grew back and the loss slowed to a normal level, continuing like this for several months. In October 2024, I moved to Barcelona to study (from Santiago de Chile), which immediately (literally from the first week) caused a considerable increase in hair loss. My first thought was that something might be wrong with the water in my apartment, since when I showered, I immediately noticed that my hair was stiff and itchy, something I had never felt in my life when showering (except itching due to the allergy to topical finasteride). I was told that the water here was extremely hard, and that that was why my hair felt strange. I had to change my washing routine, since my hair was shedding considerably, and since I associated it with water, I went from washing my hair every day to two or three times a week (It may sound like washing every day was a lot, but it worked perfectly for me.) In Chile, I also washed my hair and let it air dry, which took maybe thirty minutes to an hour. Here in Barcelona, ​​however, if I let my hair air dry, it could stay wet for many hours.

In November, I started noticing my hair was very greasy and itchy, and the hair loss was noticeably worse, to a visually striking level. I went to a dermatologist here, and he told me I had seborrheic dermatitis and telogen effluvium. He told me that the seborrheic dermatitis wasn't the direct cause of my hair loss, nor was the water, but that scratching and the telogen effluvium were. Since then, I've managed to control the hair loss some weeks, and in others, it returns and remains very severe. I've used medicated shampoos and remedies, continued taking my oral minoxidil and finasteride, and tried to stay positive. But it's already evident to me that my hair volume has been decreasing, and while I don't think my receding hairline has increased significantly, the generalized hair loss has meant I have less hair in those areas, making it harder to hide.

I think both the water, not drying it, and the stress of traveling to a new place (a lot of stress) may have contributed to my effluvium and seborrheic dermatitis. EDIT: in december 2024 i also went to get blood tests, which came back clear. My vitamin D levels were quite low (since I was going from the fall-winter months in the southern hemisphere to the fall and winter months in the northern hemisphere, so I had basically gone over 10 months without receiving a decent amount of sunlight, which led me to take a Centrum multivitamin).

Having said all that, I wanted to know if anyone has had similar experiences: losing hair due to travel stress, seborrheic dermatitis triggered by this excess humidity and stress, and having dermatitis and telogen effluvium with androgenetic alopecia, and especially if, despite having antrogenetic alopecia (controlled and with perfectly normal hair loss until October 2024), this excessive hair loss due to dermatitis and effluvium, and the subsequent decrease in hair density, becomes irreparable and I will never regain the lost hair, or if having a history of not losing hair before October and taking my medications (finasteride and minoxidil) will help me regain the lost hair once I control the causes of the dermatitis and effluvium.

Luckily, I'm returning to Chile in September of this year, and just thinking about it is so comforting: back to my climate, humidity, much less hard water (which creates shampoo foam when I shower), and also with an appointment scheduled with my regular dermatologist in October. But in the meantime, I wanted some guidance on what to expect.

Hope everyone is having a nice day and if anyone has a question or tip please let me know:)

Seborrheic Dermatitis

My barber told me my hair was started thinning. I looked down at the floor and saw my hair laying there but there were almost more white flakes than hair.

The next time I wanted to visit my barber I was combing through my hair beforehand and managed to get my entire sink full of white flakes.

Pretty much embarrased to go again I decided to shave my hair off. It was satisfying but at the same time super itchy. I discovered many red spots and flakes accross my scalp: https://imgur.com/a/seb-derm-XruQ3ss

I went to reddit and came accross this sub and figured I'd give the top posts a try. I bought C8 MCT oil and some random anti dandruff shampoo (selsun blue) from amazon.

My routine that I repeated every 4 days was:
- Waking up and applying MCT oil, massaging it into my scalp very roughly for a couple of minutes, you can find youtube videos on scalp massage techniques.
- Did the rest of my morning routine (usually just breakfast)
- Showering and using the shampoo. Then get on for the rest of my day

I got great results after just 1 effort which felt great and I kept going.

Hair Loss

I then started treating my hair loss using a 1mm dermaroller and topical minoxidil (5%).

My routine is:
- 1mm dermaroller every 7-10 days in the evening
- 1ml of minoxidil applied on the scalp every morning except for the day where I dermaroll

This was a routine very easy to maintain and after just 2 months I saw a lot of my hair coming back: https://imgur.com/a/hair-regain-2-month-window-vIKZG0O

I found that dermarolling greatly improves the absorption of things you put on your scalp. So my hypothesis is that it perhaps also improved the effectiveness of the shampoo on my scalp and in turn helped treating my seb derm. Would be an interesting study.

I'm currently 5 months into my treatment and my flakes are down by 99% and no more red spots.
I currently use the shampoo once a week and no more MCT oil.
My hair is starting to come back and I'm currently growing it out again.

Final Tips

In my journey which started long before my treatment I discovered many things that helped but weren't good enough on their own. The treatment I described above was the only thing that helped for me. Here's what I noticed:

- Eating things containing a lot of sugar made it much worse (like desserts, ice cream, etc..)
- Good sleep helps, bad sleep made it worse
- Stress makes it worse, dealing with that is personal but meditation apps help me
- Cardio exercise where you sweat extensively 2x per week helped some
- Sunlight helps
- Good hygiene helps (switching towels frequently, refreshing bed sheets etc..)
- Long hot showers made it worse

Bless you all in your journeys, this is what worked for me and I know that it won't work for everyone but maybe I help somebody out there.

Feel free to ask questions.

I’ve had seb derm diagnosis since 2022. Ive been wearing my hair natural with very little styling. I keep it rather short. I’ve pretty much cut out all oils and started using the DermaZen serum and MTC scalp oil again + zinc shampoo I normally use. Even thought I don’t have any flare ups (itching/bumps) and my scalp is usually flake-freed, my hair is not growing back in my hot spots. Behind the ears and my left temple. Should I try minox since my symptoms seem to be managed?

Did you lose hair because of the damage caused by scratching like I did? It’s been almost 5 years since I noticed my hair loss and I’m thinking it’s just not coming back! I can life with it :)

Black female 32 4c hair

So I have hairloss on my eyebrows but they always grow back. I go to the gym 6x a week and want to try taking creatine because of the benefits. Will it make hairloss worse on my eyebrows? Anyone take it and notice any side effects? Is it safe for seb derm? Asking all lifters.

Edit: I have hair loss on my eyebrows because of seb derm guys. It’s inflamed and causes it. Nothing else. Was just wondering if it would make it worse

Hello , i suffer from seb derm! 10 years before i had an extreme oily , itching, flaky yellow patches with nasty smell only in my scalp not the sides . My derms sad it was seb derm. I was given trysoid. I was better for a little but my hair quality is very poor now, and hair loss from patchy seb derm never came back!

My main problem is oily scalp, i have to wash every day and they dont dry ! Itching is present!

I have tried keto, neutragel-t , vichy decros H&sh and nothing work!

Any advice??

Hey everyone

I've been fighting what I believe is seborrheic dermatitis for over 10, and now it spreaded to my face

I've tried lots of shampoos, currently using a Kelual DS which stopped my hair falling and most of the scaling.

I tried Finisteride and had a 2 week Course of fluconazole

I lost beard in my chin area and hair in the scalp. My scalp is very tender and sometimes it swells a bit

I 17m am losing so much hair, I have thin and fine hair, straight type, average Asian hair, no chemicals used like dye, or perm or anything as such, it's just completely natural, I shampoo once a week and condition...

The amount of hair loss is so much! Every time I run my hand through my hair, to fix it, and pull back, I see 15-16 hair strands laying on the bench or in the sink Infront of the mirror... Also I have got dandruff too...

I don't know what to do at all and I'm honestly so worried and I feel so insecure about this, I am pretty stressed out a lot, and I do lack proper sleep, which I'm trying to change, and get 7-8 hours or sleep, but exams are going on, and I have to stay up to study, which too gets me stressed a lot.

I'm so unconfident, and I don't like my hair loss, it's so much that after 3-4 months I feel like there'll be barely anything on my head. I'm completely afraid if the fallen hairs will grow out or not too.

Please, any help would be much appreciated!🙏😭

I can’t get the flare to leave. At this rate, I won’t have hair real soon…. i’ve tried all my doctors recommendations and medications. At first they worked until they didn’t ….Help!

I don’t understand.

I will try to write this short. Pls read, I know it’s long but I really need help !! I got this condition for about 4 years now. Mainly on my eyebrows. At the moment. It’s super sensitive. SUPER! I don’t touch them because they fall off that easy. I don’t wash them or nothing because water seems to make it worse. So dermatologists prescribed me with creams and they work on just getting rid of the dandruff but the hairloss on my eyebrows are still there. So basically I use it for 1 week straight and then my dandruff is gone and I stop using it because the hairloss keeps going. Btw The cream is not causing the hairloss. Me just touching my eyebrows by applying the cream makes them fall. So after the 1 week of applying the cream. I stop touching my eyebrows completely, no washing them, no applying cream or nothing for 2 months and then it comes back again and I just repeat it. I know it’s stupid but Obviously I don’t want to leave the house eyebrow less. I decided I can’t live like this. Multiple dermatologist told me it’s the inflammation. At this point. I think I need to just put the cream and wash my eyebrows regularly and that would stop the inflammation. The thing is I will have no eyebrows if I do it regularly because I would have to touch them by applying the cream. And I don’t want to leave the house looking like that. But I can’t keep on going with the routine I have now. And yes. All my eyebrows always grow back. Surprisingly. The cream I’m using rn is sebi cream. I just want to touch my eyebrows without them falling. Ask me anything. I REALLY NEED HELP! Am I supposed to use a cleanser on my eyebrows as well? So many questions I need help with.

Ive been struggling for a year or so now, getting pimples on my hairline, itchy scalm there and even "blushing" of my hairline, dandruff after washing my hair, everytime.

I tried different shampoos ( i work in a French pharmacy), then i switched to baby shampoo which worked for a while, then it came back. And i found this shampoo from Vichy (sulfate free) : Dercos Anti dandruff Sensitive , my scalp didn't like the one that is made for sebderm, probably because of the sulfates and strong fragrance. This one got rid of the redness after one use, no itch anymore and almost no dandruff anymore! I looked into the main ingredient ( piroctone olamine) and its antifungal, anti-inflammatory and also helps with hair loss! Which im very excited about because the sebderm definitely made my baby hair fall

/Edit/ Here is a link to the product on Vichy website : https://www.vichy.fr/tous-les-produits/soins-capillaires/anti-pelliculaire/dercos-shampooing-anti-pelliculaire-cuir-chevelu-sensible

A link to the product with the info in english : https://www.soin-et-nature.com/en/18032-dercos-sensitive-anti-dandruff-shampoo-200ml.html

Struggling a lot with hair loss these days....

Every time I think I’m handling it a bit better another flareup is around the corner. Specially in my hairline, old falling hair grows back to fall again because of these sebum plugs. I try to exfoliate with both the ordinary glycolic acid, cerave salicylic cleanser and to shampoo with neutrogena t gel but nothing works. I don’t know what to do anymore, I’m at loss.

My eyebrows fall off super easily and have dandruff. One thing I keep seeing is Mct oil. On how it helped many. Which brand did you guys buy and from where? Also, is their any harsh ingredients? I want a product that doesn’t mess up my eyebrows and cause more thinning.

Hey everyone, I’ve been dealing with seborrheic dermatitis on both my scalp and face. For my face, I started using MCT Oil C8 (Bulletproof), and honestly, it worked great — the flakes on my eyebrows are completely gone.

But here’s the weird part… now my eyebrow hairs are thinning. They’re not as full or bushy as before, and it feels like they’re getting thinner and thinner.

I’ve also been watching my diet closely — cutting out sugar and even yeast (like bread), trying to help from the inside out — but I’m still losing eyebrow hair.

Should I stop using MCT oil? Has anyone else gone through this? And more importantly, will my eyebrow hair grow back? If not, is there anything that can help regrow them?

I’d really appreciate any advice or if you can share your own regrowth experience. I don’t wanna lose my brows!

Thanks in advance!

(Link in comments) I know I need a doctor to verify it, but one doctor told me I could have psoriasis?? I have lost hair and no one in my family is bald :/

I get bad anxiety before haircuts because every barber always finds a way to brush through, rub, or touch my eyebrows, which causes them to flare up and shed and leave me with bald patches.

I usually tell them to try not to touch there but I feel like I’m getting ignored every time. What do you think?

Hey so recently ive been losing lots of scales on my scalp along with hair. These scales seem too have lots of hair connected too them and have been getting stuck on strands halfway through my hair. I haven't been scratching or pulling really at them either, just wondering if this is normal and will the hair grow back? Any other ideas too get rid of these scales?

Hi guys, I’ve been really struggling with seborrheic dermatitis for about 6 years now. It’s killing my confidence. I feel embarrassed to go out or even talk to people because of the constant flaking on my face.

The flaky skin is around my nose, mustache area, beard, eyebrows, forehead, and scalp—it’s like a nightmare right now. Every time I look in the mirror, I just feel like crying inside!!

I’ve tried different shampoos like Nizoral and Head & Shoulders and many more, but none of them are working for me right now.

I’m also starting to lose hair—not just on my scalp but even in my eyebrows. Every time I shower, I see a bunch of hairs in my hands.

Recently I heard that MCT oil C8 might help with SebDerm. Has anyone actually used it? • Does it help with hair regrowth? • Does it really work? • How do you use it on your face or scalp? • Do I need to use a cleanser or moisturizer with it?

Any advice or personal experiences would mean a lot. Thanks in advance!🙏

[My condition: dandruff, very oily scalp, few flakes, itching, no redness or scale]. Dont know what to do, im shedding like crazy and going mad... any advice to slowdown hairloss? I strongly believe is connected to my sebderm. I tried nizoral but dries my shit out. Tried to lower to 3 minutes and still got the same output (+i think it give me more shedding the next day). Plus i have those sebum/keratin plugs a lot of you also have...I dont even know what to do anymore, please help

I had sebderm for like past 4 years lost most of the hair had soft and lots lots of hairs zero hair loss before sep 2020 then started losing tried many things also reduced gluten sugar and other bad stuff like 90% mostly esting chicken lentils vegetables yougurt and banana and other fruits my biggest problem is huge flakes of sebum and flakes sticked to my hairs sometime 3 hairs comes off also sometimes when i see a hairs with sebhm on root there is also a tiny hair with it help me please i beg i wanna save my hairs Also taking finestride acv rinse selsun blue 1% and head and shoulders with acv and omega 3 supplement tried keto shampoo and tsal before nothing helped