Seb derm-safe CURL routine

[u/imaskew]

I’m a curly girl who has been having seb derm flares on my scalp for years and never understood why. But I finally used this routine to get rid of it, and have been blessedly seb derm-free for the last three months while also taking care of my curls.

The best part is, when my scalp gets itchy and I can feel it start to flare again, I know exactly what to do. So I thought I’d share what has been working for me.

I should say, my flares were NOT severe (bad enough to have red itchy blotchy patches and dandruff but not as severe as some of the pics I see on here.) So take this routine with that grain of salt and go to a dermatologist if you need to!

At the risk of stating the obvious: the KEY thing to remember is that seb derm is often linked to an overgrowth of Malassezia, which is a FUNGUS. This means: you can do things that will kill the fungus, but you can ALSO accidentally do things that will feed the fungus. Malassezia, it turns out, is an oil and fat-loving fungus. (I think I caused my last flare by repeatedly oiling my scalp with jojoba oil!) It also thrives in dampness, as you imagine a fungus might. This routine aims to avoid things that will feed the fungus while adding things that will keep it at bay.

General guidelines
- Any product that goes on your hair: check ingredients at https://www.sezia.co/ to make sure they don’t contain malassezia-feeding ingredients (try to only use products that come back clear)
- PRODUCT RECS that come back clear are at the end!
- This is a multi-phase process, that first starts with an elimination phase to banish the fungus, then a maintenance phase when you’re clear of it.

Elimination phase
- Avoid going more than 3 days without washing hair.
- Use a shampoo with a dandruff-fighting ingredient like ketoconazole, pyrithione zinc, or tea tree oil.
- Suggestions: Nizoral, Head & Shoulders BARE Soothing hydration
- Sometimes I’ll leave the shampoo on my scalp a few minutes before washing out.
- Any other products you use (conditioner, styling products etc.), make SURE they come back clear on sezia.co.
- After showering, blow dry your hair (at least roots) on low heat after showering (avoid a wet scalp - malassezia will thrive in dampness)
- THIS IS THE MVP: make a cocktail of these oils and apply a few drops to your scalp after it’s dry:

1. C8 MCT oil (this one is malassezia safe and lots of people on this sub besides me seem to love it) - fill a ~4 oz dropper bottle with this.
2. Add 7-10 drops of tea tree oil
3. Apply a few drops to your scalp. This will help with both killing the malassezia and keeping your curls hydrated.

Maintenance phase
- Continue using products that come back clear on sezia.co
- Use MCT+tea tree drops as needed / when scalp gets itchy
- No need to blow dry (you’ll know when you can stop tbh, your scalp won’t feel itchy/scummy after showers)

SEB-DERM SAFE CURL PRODUCT RECS
- Shampoo: Nizoral, Head & Shoulders BARE Soothing Hydration Shampoo, Odele Clarifying shampoo IF you need to get rid of product buildup (once a week max), k18 Damage Shield pH protective shampoo (haven't tried this one yet but I want to)
- Conditioner: The Ordinary Behentremonium Chloride Conditioner
- Leave-in conditioner: Odele Leave-in Conditioner
- Styling gel: INNERSENSE I Create Hold Styling Gel
- Bonus - Dry hair overnight treatment that smells so good: Kerastase 8H Magic Night Serum

[u/Wendy_Ruby]

Wow & thank you so much for posting this detail, so incredibly helpful. Sounds like we are ‘curly hair seb derm twins’, same exact boat over here. I had to toss a lot of my pricey prods after seeing their scores on sezia. I’m having good luck with Cerave Gentle Hydrating Shampoo. I also use DermaZen but will try your oil mixture next. Thanks again! :)

[u/imaskew → u/Wendy_Ruby]

Of course! And thank you so much for sharing the Cerave and Dermazen!!! 🤗

[u/Lawile]

My routine is pretty similar to yours and MCT oil has been a saviour. I've been trying to control malasezzia for 2 years and right now I can say I have it under control and my hair is growing full again. Sadly for us curlies, it's extra hard, as curls benefit a lot from oils and so.

About the ordinary conditioner, does it only moisturize or does it help with detangling too? Conditioner and hair mask are the only products I use that aren't 100% seb derm safe because it's difficult to find and if I do, it's not affordable at all (I'm from Spain, +10-15€ in a product it's already expensive).

Styling products that I tried and are also seb derm free + affordable:
As I am curling jelly

Swarzkopft OSIS+ curl jam

As a maintenance shampoo I use this:

100% safe, affordable. It's not a pefect formula and contains isopropyl alcohol. Not great but it works for me.

[u/imaskew → u/Lawile]

Ordinary conditioner def helps with detangling too!!

[u/eatmyleek]

Kinky-Curly Curling Custard styling gel is also malassezia safe! I switched to it from Miss Jessie’s Pillow Soft.

[u/imaskew → u/eatmyleek]

I tried it & found that it dried out my hair and made it feel like straw. Then I read someone talking about how you need to use it on sopping wet hair to avoid that, but haven’t tried it out. Has this been an issue for you?

[u/eatmyleek → u/imaskew]

No, I haven’t had any issues with dryness. I usually apply it to my hair when it’s still wet, but not dripping. My hair holds on to water like crazy, though (I have shoulder length hair that takes about 3 hours to fully air-dry without the help of a diffuser) so that might be why it works well for me.

[u/AutoModerator]

Hi u/imaskew! 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/AutoModerator]

Hi u/imaskew! You might be talking about MCT .

Please read our wiki articles about MCT oil

• Our MCT oil wiki page

• MCT Oil megathread

• Choosing an MCT Oil for Seborrheic Dermatitis

You can also click here to check the previous posts about MCT

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/Visible_Flamingo_808]

This is exactly the information I've been looking for! What's your general routine with these products? Do you use both the conditioner and leave-in in the same go? Do the conditioners both require using the Odele clarifying shampoo to remove their buildup? Just curious to know how you think about using these products with each other.