My Experience With Beauty Products for Seborrheic Dermatitis

I decided to write a blog about all of my trial and errors with different products. I have seborrheic dermatitis on my face. I do not have a horrible case but I still find it hard to deal with on a daily basis. Seborrheic dermatitis is a common, inflammatory skin condition that causes flaky, white to yellowish scales to form on oily areas such as the scalp or inside the ear. It can occur with or without reddened skin. I primarily get it around my nose, mouth and behind my ears. I suspect I have had this condition for a while and just didn’t realize it until it got worse. My face peels about every two days.

My first experience with the seborrhea being bad was after I had used an anti-aging night cream about 4 years ago. I woke up the next morning and my face was red and swollen. I had no idea what was going on. It felt very dry and tight so my first inclination was to use another cream. This was the wrong thing to do because it only made it worse. I soon found out from my dermatologist that my skin condition was seborrheic dermatitis. He recommended that I use a dandruff shampoo to wash my face with and Desonide cream to help with the redness and itching. This helped for a little while but soon the issue was back in full force. I went back to the dermatologist and he prescribed be prescription strength 2% Ketoconazole shampoo to cleanse my face with. I still use this once a week to help keep the peeling and redness down. It is too strong to use for everyday use.

I have tried so many products over the years trying to find just the right combination of products to help. It seems the issue adapts to the products after a few weeks of use. What I find helpful now is using daily classic clean Head and Shoulders shampoo for both my hair and face. I follow with Head and Shoulders silky and smooth hair conditioner (on my hair only). Once a week I use the prescription 2% Ketoconazole shampoo followed by Matrix Amplify Volumizing Conditioner. During the cold weather months I find that Clinique’s moisture surge followed by the dramatically different moisturizing lotion works well. In the summer weather I use Clinique’s oil free moisture gel along with the moisture surge. For protection from the sun year round I love Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30. I use Fruit of the Earth 100% Aloe Vera most days to control the redness and itching. . I do use the Desonide cream if my face becomes raw and red. In the event that I run out of the Desonide cream I have also used a 1% hydrocortisone cream that works just as well. I try to avoid using the topical corticosteroids unless I absolutely have to for the redness and itching.

I would love to hear what products you use and work for you.