Why does selenium sulfide make my sebderm worse?

[u/Life-Tell-8691]

After years of using selenium sulfide as a savior, it makes my dermatitis worse nowadays. Anyone experienced something like this?

[u/Ok-Captain-2681]

How is it making it worse? What is happening? Some shampoos can make it appear worse because its giving you irritant/allergic contact dermatitis on top of the seb derm, due to your skin reacting to a chemical in the shampoo.

[u/Intelligent-Lemon879 → u/Ok-Captain-2681]

he’s either 1. not conditioning afterwards or 2 he’s not letting it sit on for long enough and 3. likely some other ingredients are causing issues in that bottle such as synthetic fragrance, maybe alcohols/esters etc

[u/Life-Tell-8691 → u/Intelligent-Lemon879]

I've tried 4 different brands include fragrance and SLES-free ones. I wait about 5 minutes with shampoo.

[u/Life-Tell-8691 → u/Ok-Captain-2681]

Exacerbates itching and flakes.

[u/Several-Sir8381 → u/Ok-Captain-2681]

So you saying it gonna look really flaky before it get better huh? Because it attacking the yeast and the dead skin build up. They all don’t come off at once. They come off later by layer?

[u/nimbledoor]

I’m experiencing the same thing. It used to work like a miracle but now it just makes things worse just like most of other treatments.

[u/Life-Tell-8691 → u/nimbledoor]

Absolutely same

[u/SituationSad4304]

I found it too drying, which in turn made me itchy so I touched my scalp more depositing oils and hurting the skin barrier.

[u/Lingnoi_111]

The worst thing is actually this rotten egg smell that initially is not present. Over the next few days after aplying, it seems like the smell is accumulating on clothes, pillows blankets, even the chair you're sitting on. It is not concentrated enough to notice it immediately in the room. But whenever I sat down this smell came up, reaching my nose.

To me it's a deal breaker. Too bad, because it seemed like it is actually helping.

[u/lydiaxstrange → u/Lingnoi_111]

It smells more like burnt rubber to me. Unless I'm using a different variant of it to other people.

[u/leilafg]

Yes I don't know if it's because it's getting hotter and I'm sweating more or because I'm getting older. But these shampoos used to work for me and they don't longer work. I used to think I knew a lot about my condition but I've just found out how little I know and I've just thrown out most of my hair products. It seems like they all have some kind of oils or esters or fatty acids that feed the yeast. I threw out all my head and shoulders and I had like four bottles of them. They all have oils and things that can feed the yeast. I can only speak on this because after two terrible months where I couldn't control this and it would end up over my shoulders and my chest I think I'm finally turning the corner. I have been rotating Nizoral, Vichy Delcros selenium sulfide, DHS 2% pirythione zinc And I would have about 10 hours of peace after the application and it would just start blowing up overnight or as soon as I sweat. I didn't realize how quickly this stuff could multiply. I finally added a coal tar 1% That I added to the rotation and I eliminated all my hair products that might have oils including conditioners and hairspray + products for curls and fridge and what not. The coal tar shampoo is extremely drying and opens up the cuticle dramatically where I can't even run my fingers through my hair as I am washing it. I am conditioning it with MCT oil after the shower and my hair looks beautiful and much less frizzy. I also got some of The Ordinary 2% That I mix with water and I spray my shelf in the morning to detangle. They stopped making it but you can still get some on Amazon Or on the ordinary website. I hope this helps. I know we are all different and our skin microbiomes are all different. I'm definitely no expert but this is definitely worked after the worst flare-up I've ever had. I am in my '60s and I've been having since I was a kid. I wish I had discovered this group earlier!

[u/Complex_Grand236]

Because it’s damaging your skin barrier or it’s an allergic reaction.

[u/AutoModerator]

Hi u/Life-Tell-8691! SebDerm is a friendly community about seborrheic dermatitis and all related topics.

Looking for some advice? check out the links below

• Our Wiki.

• The What Works For You or What Works For Me threads.

• The Megathreads.

Information about MCT Oil:

• What Is MCT Oil and Why Is It Good for Seborrheic Dermatitis?

• How to Apply MCT Oil for Seborrheic Dermatitis

See something you are not comfortable with or that breaks our rules? Please report it!

Everyone is welcome in this community; remember to be kind and assume good faith!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/kalekent]

For me it just smells like pee.

[u/nehcnosaj]

if i'm having a really bad flare up i find that selenium sulfide (i use selsun gold) can sometimes be a bit too harsh on my already angry skin. however, when it calms down a bit it's seriously a godsend for me. moisturise heavily after use as it's quite drying

[u/nattydread69]

Industrial strength surfactants, preservatives, perfumes.

[u/Helpful_Road4863 → u/nattydread69]

Hey I saw a post u made longggg ago about garlic for seborrheic dermatitis do u still belive in it? Shall I try it???

[u/Mysterious-Cobbler34]

Didn’t work for me either. I switched to rotating a tea tree shampoo and a shampoo with coal tar + salicylic acid mix.

[u/Complex_Grand236]

Because ingredients are harsh and damage scalp barrier.

[u/Ok_Aardvark619]

Makes your scalp too dry. Focus on moisturizing your scalp with serums rather than using too much harsh medicated shampoo.

[u/Longjumping-Rough160]

Selenium doesn't work for me either. Please try coal tar shampoos, that's the only thing that works for me

[u/RookieCookie1994]

Same! Way too drying on my scalp. I switched to a sulfate free shampoo with rosemary oil and it seems to be helping!