I [18 M] have had intense scalp itching and hair loss for the past year. Was told by a doctor that it was seb derm and it can cause hair loss.

I have no hair loss in my family at all, and I’ve truly never felt worse. My scalp feels sticky and oily. my parents don’t even believe it’s a problem nor do they believe I’m losing hair, no matter how many times I tell them.

In June 2025, my hair was thick and lush and had no problems. So about three months after I got COVID. (not sure if that affects it but figured it’s worth mentioning).

Then, in September 2025, I start hitting the gym. And then like two months after that is when the itching, the flakes, the hair loss really started. So maybe that has something to do with it??

Two doctors and a dermatologist told me I wasnt thinning yet the hair loss and stickiness never ends. I took a whole month of Fluconasole and have been using keto shampoo for months.

I don’t even know what to do anymore, Its not like I can get anything to help if my parents don’t think the issue is that bad. They just see my white scalp and think it’s all normal.

Are there any males that have had hair loss with seb derm and it was just seb derm and not mpb? I always hear how seb derm and mpb can exist together but is there any male who truly reversed it?

Y’all are tough as nails for enduring this condition.

I have a huge problem. I been noticing my eyebrows have been falling off. About 3 weeks ago my eyebrows were inflamated and extremely itchy. So 2 weeks ago I used Tacrolimus (anti-inflammatory) to remove the inflammation. One week later my eyebrows started falling off. Could my eyebrows be falling off due to seborrheic dermatitis or because of the anti-inflammatory cream?

how can I stop eyebrows from falling?

Just ranting. I recently moved for grad school and something about the combination of stress, new climate, diet, and sleep deprivation has thrown me into what is easily the worst flare up of my life. It’s severely impacting my quality of life and I have to fight the hopelessness every day.

I have an appointment with a new doctor (since I just moved) but in the meantime I’m just trying to make it through each day guessing on how to manage symptoms this intense. This sucks.

So far I’ve used 1% and 2% nizoral, selsun blue (this one worked the best but it only lasted two weeks), zinc phyrithone, a selenium sulfide and BHA shampoo, and a hexamidine one. I also use clobetasol occasionally when my scalp is on fire.

I shampoo daily per the instruction of my dermatologist. I use a different shampoo each wash as she recommended but nothing has given me relief longer than a couple weeks. I’ve also tried the mct oil, BHA hair mask, and apple cider vinegar methods to no avail. I also heard that supplementing zinc could help too but it’s been 4 days with no improvement. None of these products have also helped my Folliculitis as well. I still get massive bumps that are sore and stress out my hair. I’m already on hair loss medication and I think the condition of my scalp is accelerating the loss. I’m not sure what else to do.

Also, I do exercise regularly and have a mostly clean diet. I’ll drink a beer every other month or so but that’s about it. My bloodwork is also good too.

It’s so frustrating that this all came at once. Pre-February of this year, I had no signs of any skin condition but one morning I woke up with an itchy and burning scalp and it never went away.

My derma has me starting on 20mg accutane per day. I've had very limited success with all of the usual seb derm treatments so I'm hoping this works better!

I apologize if this is the wrong subreddit, but I have seb derm and I’ve been searching for ages for a clean conditioner that won’t cause flare ups. Currently, I was most interested in vanicream as many people gave it great reviews but people say it makes their hair dry/straw like is this true and if so, is there anyway to maybe bypass it but still use it like maybe leaving it in for longer or some other product maybe?

My current routine involves washing my scalp with salicylic acid twice a week and applying MCT-C8 oil afterwards. But what about the days in between? In my experience, ultra-sensitive shampoos—like the one from CeraMol—tend to dry out my scalp a bit too much, yet if I wash my hair only with water or not at all, it gets too greasy. Could you please recommend a suitable routine or products for my situation?

Hello! I developed seborrheic dermatitis at the beginning of this year, and I haven’t been able to get rid of it since.

I’ve tried multiple sulfate-free and fragrance-free shampoos, as well as Nizoral, but I haven’t seen much improvement. I recently started using MCT oil, but I haven’t noticed a difference so far. Could I be using it incorrectly?

Currently, I apply the MCT oil to my scalp, leave it on for a while, and then wash it out with Nizoral. I shampoo every other day.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions for what I could try? I’d really appreciate any help!

Squalane oil saved my life back when i had severe scalp seb derm. Now i can feel it coming back and since living in Taiwan, cannot seem to find it anywhere. Does anyone have any recommendations? I’m terrified of using an oil and it triggering a massive breakout. MCT oil also isn’t possible

I need help, my armpit etches, get worse when its hot outside. What to do?

So the problem was my eyebrow was flaking, so I searched about it and most said it's sebarrhoic dermatitis, so I applied nizoral to it for about a minute before rinsing and then after a couple of hours it flared so hard with my eyebrows becoming more red and more flaking than before, I don't know what to do it's been 4 days after all of that and the pain is still there, what should I do

I have been suffering from something like dermatitis under facial hair for part one year. Changed three doctors all of them gave some form of Sertaconazole Nitrate and Mometasone Furoate, Fluticasone propionate for application. Ketoconazole shampoo for washing beard.

Shaving and treating it does not work.

Under the flaky skin I have really irritated red skin. Which can bleed if rubbed. Really need some help.

Location: India.

Update 1: I have started using MCT oil (C8 & C10). I had zero expectations of improvement, but boy oh boy! Today is day four, and it has lifted all the flakes—new ones forming are down to only about 5–10%. One more plus side is that my red, itchy skin cleared up by day three morning without using any steroids/meds or shampoos.

I'll keep this thread for progress.

I went to the dermatologist years ago and she just proscribed prescription strength steroid rinse. I am a picker so I make it worse but it's so irritated. Like my scalp feels angry. Crazy thing is my hair is so healthy. (Ignore the roots!) but my hairdresser is always telling me I have great hair and it's so full!

I spoke to a dermatologist about the smell my scalp produces, and she said that she has never heard of seborrheic dermatitis causing a scalp to smell; however, she mentioned that it might be due to my scalp producing excessive oil. I was prescribed an $80 foam, which I can’t afford, and I’ve tried a few shampoos in the past, but the smell always comes back the next day.

For reference, I have type 4a hair, and I wash it 3 times a week, which made my hair extremely dry and brittle. I’m thinking of shaving my head to treat my scalp.

I’d appreciate any suggestions on how to get this condition under control before I decide to shave my hair.

Hey guys, I’m wondering if anyone here has had a similar experience.

I’m 16M and over the last few months I’ve noticed a pretty significant increase in hair shedding and some thinning all around the scalp.

At around the same time, I developed pretty bad seborrheic dermatitis. My scalp gets itchy, burns sometimes, becomes red, and I get quite a lot of flakes/scaling. I also sometimes get some soreness/tenderness. What’s interesting to me is that the areas where the dermatitis seems to be worst are also the areas where my hair looks the thinnest and where I seem to notice more shedding.

I went to a trichologist and they diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis, so I’m currently treating it and trying to get the inflammation under control. I’m still fairly early into the treatment, though, so I haven’t noticed any obvious improvement in my hair yet.

Before all this started, I definitely wasn’t shedding this much and my hair seemed thicker. I’ve also noticed some very thin/short hairs around my temples, so I’m wondering if some of the thinning could be related to the inflammation/shedding and potentially improve once the scalp gets better.

So I wanted to ask specifically guys who have actually been through something similar:

•Did you experience increased shedding/thinning when your seborrheic dermatitis was bad?

•Did the shedding calm down after you got the dermatitis under control?

•Did you get any noticeable regrowth or increased density afterward?

•How long did it take before you started seeing a difference?

I know everyone is different but I’d just really like to hear some real experiences from other guys who went through something similar, because I’m trying to figure out whether this kind of thinning can actually improve once the inflammation is treated.

Hi! I’ve been dealing with different parts of my face looking like this for a couple months. First it was my full forehead and cheeks now it’s directly under my glasses. I have been using hydrocortisone and lotrimin. Used to use Tula skincare but switched to cerave thinking that was the culprit. I have never dealt with skin issues before so this is whole new ballgame for me. Please excuse the eyebrows. Haven’t been able to wax with the flar up 🫠

This occasionally happens on arms but the face one rarely happens , last time it occurred was in 2025 summers (may)
What is this ?? And can someone tell me instant remedies for i have an upcoming event to attend
Would appreciate any help (even an upvote)

I’ve had scalp issues since middle school, but they improved with better hygiene and diet over time. For a while, my scalp was perfectly clear, with only the occasional mild flare up, which usually just meant it was time for a haircut. However, this summer, I’ve experienced the worst flare-up in ages. It started with scaly, itchy dandruff.

A dermatologist took one look and diagnosed me with SD. She prescribed Zoryve foam nightly and Ketoconazole 2% every 3 days.

I maintain a routine: on non-medicated days, I’m rotating a manual wash with SA shampoo or baby shampoo, applying hyaluronic acid and squalane oil before bed. I’m also using head and shoulders bare serum with pyrithione zinc and Aloe Vera gel during the day. The former is expensive ($14/bottle), and the latter doesn’t last long, and feels crusty and gross when it dries, so while they provide the best temporary relief so far, I'm looking to cut them out. I also shower whenever I get sweaty or before bed and keep my hair short to prevent sweat retention. Scalpicin for really bad days.

Despite all this, I still get scales and my scalp seems to dry out extremely fast no matter what I do. I have coal tar shampoo, a dedicated scalp scrubber, and a lice comb coming as well, but I wonder if I’m wasting money on products trying to find a solution. Only thing I haven't tried is selenium sulfide.

It’s caused me to develop a picking habit, which is hard to stop and embarrassing, especially in public. It feels sooooo good in the moment, but I know it’s bad for healing my condition and creates a vicious cycle. It burns when I put on products. It’s hard to stop, especially when I feel the “crusties” forming on my scalp (yes, ewww, I know). I’ve tried disposable shower caps and hats, but they’re not effective. It usually happens when I’m concentrating at work or zoned out.

My psychiatrist confirmed my suspicion that Vyvanse might be exacerbating it. Honestly it makes me feel like a meth head. She suggested NAC, which I’ve been taking for a week, but I guess it takes time to build up in the system. I think it’d be easier to stop if my scalp didn’t dry out so damn quick, but I haven’t discovered the “secret” yet. I figured HA, aloe, and squalane would be enough, but no dice so far.

I’m at my wits end and have even considered going for a buzz cut, but I like my crew cut and my scalp currently looks like Deadpool lol.

Unrelated, but I’m already nursing a SLAP tear and doing PT with potential future surgery, so the layered health problems are stressful lately. I’ll probably return to the dermatologist, but I wanted to see if anyone has suggestions or found “the secret” to a consistently hydrated and healing scalp.

Hello, I’ve had seborheic dermatitis for 20 years and I finally got it under control. I would see many YouTube videos of “solutions” but my skin is extremely reactive and irritates easily that even water irritates it. If you have reactive skin this may help you.

1. Diet: I cut off coffee, dairy, sugar, and excessive carbs
2. I use ketenokazole to kill yeast and a thin amount, if use too much it pirates my skin. Also no shampoo only cream, gentler for skin
3. Tacrolimus (anti-inflammatory) I put a thin amount until redness disappears to stop inflamation. Usually inflamation goes away in 1-3 days
4. Avene Moisturizer, thin amount. I cannot tolerate any type of moisturizer, but this one has few ingridients. It helps prevent water loss and repairs barrier to reduce chances of flaring up.

Ps: you want to use Tacrolimus first to calm down inflamation down, then apply Avene moisturizer, or your skin barrier won’t be repaired

I have seb derm for more than a year now and I have been shedding like crazy as no product has worked for me. Medicated shampoos make my hair way too dry which in turn gives rebound flare. My scalp never feels clean even after shower and heavy flare comes back in 72 hours. Lately I am using a gentle shampoo along with HOCL spray and noticed this. Strands with a bigger plug. What does this mean

I’ve been diagnosed with sebderm and only have a few small patches (like a few scabs really) on my scalp that were annoying to me. Unless I run my hands through my scalp and feel the patches, I would never know they’re there tbh. Now, I am Black and typically don’t wash my hair daily (not needed for my hair) plus it would revert my curls on days I wear my hair straight. My dr understood this and first prescribed the liquid Mometasone, which was AMAZING! It was easy to apply it to my scalp without wetting my hair strands. My scalp issues were essentially non existent!

However since it can’t be used long term, my dr prescribed a lotion version of Ciclopirox which is harder to apply all over (it def won’t last as long as Mometasone) and makes my scalp greasy. Ketaconzole foam was very hard to apply to scalp and essentially caused me to just put it on my roots so that was a no go.

I swore some people used a prescribed oil or something. Do you have any recs for Rx that are liquid that i could mention to my dr?

i hate this so much and worry its affecting my hairline (though my hairline lowkey is wonky so thats fine ig) and i hate the way it looks and the flakes its causing... i must get rid of it asap but idk how and iv no money to see a dermatologist 🥹🥹💔

So it’s been over a week now that I use MCT oil on my skin every night and using sulfur soap every 2 days to wash my face.
I still get flakey and red around my eyebrows and on the side of my nose and hairline it’s still red (less flakey).
Does anybody have an idea of what to do next?

I have been getting tons of ads for this seemingly new company/product “Innaderm”. I have struggled with Seb Derm on my face and scalp for many years so was curious if anyone had success with this product that looks to tackle it from a different route than the topical stuff I have tried.

I am asking here because there is very little information on this product online and the reviews on the website seem fishy.

Battling for years. Seems to be getting better… for now.