Seborrheic Dermatitis
Natural Remedies

Effective Natural Remedies for Seborrheic Dermatitis Relief

Magnesium Oil

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
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Posted by Nicole (Los Angeles) on 06/15/2021
★★★★★

seborrheic dermatitis

Magnesium oil has cured it. I leave it on for about 5 min before rinsing it. I leave it on until it stings and it stings less the more you put it on until eventually it doesn't. But I do it once a week to make sure it doesn't come back just in case.


Milk of Magnesia

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
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Posted by Diane S (Old Bridge, Nj) on 04/03/2017
★★★★★

We have tried so many things to deal with seborrheic dermatitis on my nephew's head, from shampoos to lotions or natural treatments, nothing worked well. Then it seemed to have spread to his face. It was hot, felt like it was burning, red, flaky and he had yellow crusts. Certain food/drinks made it worse (caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, etc.) It was horrible. We tried plain milk of magnesia, and it cleared totally. I took a few days. The redness went away immediately. We applied the milk of magnesia to his face and a few spots on his head. We let it dry for an hour and washed it off with warm water. He did this every day for three days and it was totally gone. A week later, one or two spots came back, and he applied it again. It has been over a month and his face and head are normal. We are thrilled. He uses glycerin soap once a day to wash his face. We are grateful for Ted's insight.


Milk of Magnesia
Posted by Shaun (York, England) on 01/22/2009
★★★★★

I have suffered for too many years with SB / Dandruff that I care to mention, and the history of which is too laboured to bore you with here. However, I read recently of one of Ted's ideas of trying Milk of Magnesia (this has a ph of about 10-10.5). I put this on my scalp whilst in the bath (for about 10 mins), and then rinsed it off with freshwater. I then rinsed my scalp with a 50/50 mix of ACV and a very strong 25% vinegar made by Speyer & Grund GmbH, 08393 Meerane/Sachsen, Germany (this is powerful stuff, and so great care must be taken in testing how sensitive you are to it). Anyway, once out of the bath I ran a brush through my hair and HUGE flakes of dead skin just fell away leaving my scalp sparklingly clean.

As to whether I have a fungus or a candida issue I really do not know, but I feel I may just be allergic to cheese and white bread - or both in combo with candida. Anyway, for those suffering give this a go you will be stunned at the results. It may also just work with ACV (5%) and not the 25% vinegar / ACV mix.


Multiple Remedies

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1 star (1) 
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Posted by James (Las Vegas, Nv) on 03/23/2015
★★★★★

Dandelion & Other Remedies for Seborrheic Dermatitis:

I've had SD for about 9 months now and over the last 6 weeks have really gotten it under control to where it's not noticeable. My symptoms got extremely bad (months 5-7) - very red / flaky face & chest and bad dandruff. I was really bummed when ACV didn't work for me as that seems to be the cure for so many others (ACV and hydrogen peroxide did a great job removing flakes on my scalp but neither helped facial or chest redness etc.).

I've been doing numerous things to help the condition so it's hard to point to one thing as 'the cure' but if I had to I would probably list dandelion as helping the most. I've detailed my current regimen below (note: I went ~5 weeks no meat, no dairy, no wheat, no sweets and saw a bit of improvement but things really started improving when I added in other supplements & products):

Diet ('Shakes' & 'Meals')

Shakes: Plant based protein powder, chia seeds, flaxseed. Usually breakfast and throughout the day if hungry.

Meals: Vegetables (Broccoli, caulifower, carrots, squash, onion etc.) eaten with hummus (usually melt non-dairy cheese on top for flavor), sometimes I'll add small portion of ahi tuna.

I was a big meat eater and have a huge sweet tooth so it's been tough but those items aren't worth a bright red face to me. Diet is probably pretty extreme, I'm starting to add back items and see how they affect my condition.

Supplements:

Dandelion: Mine is root, leaf and flower. Take 40 drops 2-3 times a day between meals (Brand: herb pharm).

Glutamine: Right when I wake up I drink a glass of water, wait 15 mins, take serving of glutamine and don't eat for 20-30 mins. I don't know how big of an impact glutamine has had, I read it worked for someone else so I've been doing it.

Enzymes: Taken with every meal (Brand: garden of life).

Multi-vitamin: Taken as directed (garden of life).

Probiotic: Taken as directed (garden of life).

Green superfood drinks: I drink occasionally (Brand: amazing grass).

Omega-3's: Just started taking this once a day (Brand: Ovega-3).

Skin Products:

Soap: Dandruff shampoo bar (Brand: round tree organics)

Shampoo: Burdock & neem healthy scalp shampoo (Brand: 100% pure)

Conditioner: Burdock & neem healthy scalp conditioner (Brand: 100% pure)

I used to shower twice a day, now I only shower at night. Make sure to really rub in the shampoo using fingertips & nails, may notice some hairloss at first but it would have fallen out anyways.

Face: Calcium bentonite detox clay powder. Use 2 nights a week. (Brand: living clay)

Face: Facial seborrheic dermatitis lotion stick. Applied in morning and at night. (Brand: derm-essentials)

Scalp: Oil for SD from derm-essentials. After I shower at night I mix with a small bit of coconut oil and apply to scalp / hair. (Brand: derm-essentials)

Scalp: In the morning I quickly rinse hair and apply a SMALL bit of coconut oil and may reapply throughout the day.

Some of these products are exclusive to the brand, others it probably doesn't matter what brand you use.

General lifestyle: I make an effort to sit in the sun each day even if for only 10-15 minutes and I also workout regularly (Male, age 27).


Multiple Remedies
Posted by Reginna (Houston, Tx, Usa) on 08/16/2012

I've been suffering for dermatitis seborrehic on my face for almost 15 years.. From having a flawless face to having a red, flaky, bumpy, itchy and unrecgognizable face! I never understood why and I tried to cover it with my makeup looking all red and cakey. I tried the expensive creams with cortisone and worked while I used it and trigger back when I did not have the cream. I know you understand me, It was a nightmare! So with out having the money and just trying to go to the natural alternative I tried aloe vera, olive oil, biotin, coconut oil; they did helped for awhile but it would still come and go without me doing nothing to the DS.

After all this years while trying diffrent diets it occur to me not to eat PORK! Yupiii this was a Bingo for my DS!! I do not know what this have to do but I really dont care!! I do not have those flakes and patches no more, I can eat whatever I want and even drink alcohol! Now that I have found this page thanks to Ted and others I think that I have this disease due to drinking alot and this may have caused me candida and can be seen in my DS. I have to address that since then I been DS free until a feel days I was in a severe stressful and nervous sitation my DS came back but in a mild way just with the clear bumps but left in 2 days when I was calm. I really hope this will help someone out there..

I am now following Ted in EC and have been doing the ACV, lemon with H20 and trying not to eat sugars and I am trying to give up that social, ocasional drinksss. So for me right now is NO PORK, ACV, LEMON, -moisturizers OLIVE oil or CASTOR oil, and trying to keep myself CALM in upset, nervous breaking situations.


Multiple Remedies
Posted by Sara (Miami, Florida) on 01/19/2009
★☆☆☆☆

Seborrheic dermatitis in Eyebrows:

Please help me, I am at my wit's end. I got seb der in my eyebrows about eight months ago (and I think my trigger was make-up). This winter it flared up really badly. I tried drinking only soy milk but that did not help. My entire eyebrows are covered with flakes, and have been covered for several weeks now. Steroid creams worked initially and my skin calmed down, so I switched to Elidel like my doc said to, and my eyebrows got really bad. I tried Jason's tea tree oil shampoo and that irritated my skin. I am currently on Desonide (a steroid cream) and a salicylic acid cream, and there have been some slight improvements. Please help me, this is so embarrassing and frustrating. The seb derm is spreading so more and more of my eyebrows are getting scales. Before it was only a small area, but it expanded.I am also afraid of hair loss. The flakes are so huge that usually, most of the scale gets off of the roots of the hairs, but when I go to pull out the flake, since not all of the flake became detached from my skin, I pull a couple of hairs with it. Please help, I am very desperate. I am thinking of doing something drastic like cutting off of my eyebrows and just not showing up to school for a month.

EC: Make sure to read the all posts on the psoriasis and eczema pages!

Replied by Kelly
(Monroe, MI)
01/19/2009

Hello and thank you for this wonderful site, I love Earthclinic!

I have had many skin problems, especially on my face, the constant itching has at times, nearly driven me crazy. I have tried many remedies many of which seem to work only temporarily (although I must confess that I am not as good as perhaps I should be about sticking to one remedy at the time, or giving a given remedy a chance to work). Lately I have been taking the remedy that is listed here as a "blood cleansing" one, which is the Blackstrap Molasses (1 teaspoon) plus Sulfur (in form of MSM - 2 teaspoons), twice daily. I usually mix these two ingredients and eat them with a spoon and then drink about 2 cups of slightly warm water to get rid of the awful taste. So far, the results have been very good (I have only been taking it for about 2 weeks), the itching is almost completely gone and my skin is fairly soft. I don't wear make up or any kind of facial creams. I try to avoid anything that can cause irritation, but because of the cold, I have to use some moisturizer, for that I choose one drop or two of Jojoba oil. I hope this helps.

Replied by Carla
(Vero, FL)
01/19/2009

Here is a link that may help you.

http://dermatology.about.com/cs/seborrhea/a/sebderm.htm

Try applying Selsun Blue shampoo for about 10 minutes each day for a week to the area and then a couple of times a week until the flaking is gone. This has worked well for several patients of mine.

Best wishes!! Let us know what worked!

Replied by Andrew
(Mo)
12/17/2015

Does MSM have any side effects?? Im confused on the dosage. Two teaspoons but at how many miligrams? I think I may be overdosing using two teaspoons as this is 1000 mg per small half teaspoon container inside of bottle.


Neem Oil

1 User Review
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Posted by Elodie (Melbourne, Australia) on 10/03/2011
★★★★★

Seb Derm

Apple cider vinegar unfortunately did not work for me... But NEEM oil did. I have applied Neem twice now, using a mixture of 2:1 Neem to a carrier oil (i used oliver oil) and added a few drops of various aromatherapy oils, clove, tea tree, peppermint, lavender etc. I think it is important to get a correct diagnosis for what is troubling your scalp. Seborrheic dermatitis is caused by a fungus called Malassezia, and so any treatment really needs to be potent in anti fungal properties. It has worked for me so far and no flakiness, reduced reddness, and much less itchy. Wonderful!


Oregano + Tea Tree + Argan Essential Oils

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
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Posted by Teresa (Tucson, AZ) on 05/22/2019
★★★★★

I struggled for months with SD on my forehead, eyebrows and upper eyelids. My forehead was the worst and I had to exfoliate twice a day to keep the flakes at bay. I tried applying ACV 3 times a day for a week to no avail. Knowing that yeast can't stand oregano oil and that tea tree is a major ingredient in most dandruff shampoo's, I decided to make my own remedy. In a 10ml glass roller bottle I mixed 3 drops of oregano oil and 5 drops of tea tree oil and filled the rest of the bottle with argan oil. Before bed, I rolled the oil on my forehead and rubbed it the area while working it down to my eyebrows and a tiny amount to my upper eyelids (do not get this in your eyes!) I did this for 3 nights and it was completely gone. I decided to do it for 2 more nights just to be sure. I haven't even seen a hint of flakes for 3 months but still have almost a full bottle left just in case.


OTC

1 User Review
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  100%

Posted by Ruth (Costa Mesa, California) on 12/06/2008
★★★★★

econazole Nitrate 1% available on internet. I found it at shopzilla for $7.99. It works!!!!!!!! I have had Seborrheic dermatitis for a year and gone to my primary physician and 3 dermatologists. My doctor prescribed this for me Dec 5, 2008 (this is 3 days later and the itching is gone the bumps and lumps on my face are better and I can tell it is the answer. I tried everything Ted suggested, some helped but did not cure. Put a thin coating on face 2 times a day after washing face. I use it morning and night.


Prescriptions

1 User Review
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Posted by Ruth (Costa Mesa, California) on 12/20/2008
★★★★★

I had seborrhea dermatitis for a year and have tried acv,and everything Ted recommended, but it didn't help much. I tried dermatologists and nothing helped until finally my internist suggested I try Edonazole Nitrate Cream 1%, I tried it and the seborrhea dermatitis is almost gone. I started with the cream 12-4-08 and this is 12-20-08. I am thrilled. I washed my face twice a day and applied a thin layer of the cream after each cleaning.


Probiotic Wipes

1 User Review
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Posted by Watermark (Buffalo, Ny) on 02/15/2016
★★★★★

Hello,

I was recently diagnosed with SD on my face. Like most, I tried everything without success. It then dawned on me to try probiotic wipes seeing as how this appears to be a yeast problem and I wanted to report that I have had great success with this treatment and my problem has completely resolved after about a week and my skin is nice and soft. I have been doing this 2-3 times per day. It may take longer for some. I hope this is helpful.

Replied by Larry
(Fairfax, Va)
02/16/2016

Watermark (Buffalo, NY): Where are the probiotic wipes you used available? Thanks. Larry

Replied by HÃ¥kan
(Sweden)
10/14/2016

Hi, what do you mean by probiotic wipes? How do you apply it? Thansk


Salicylic Acid

1 User Review
4 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Mch (Spokane) on 09/23/2013
★★★★☆

I've had seborrheic dermatitis for over 6 years now - My entire face would be covered in scaly patches. There is no cure but you can treat it and keep it minimized in its intensity.

By far and away the most helpful thing I've found in my battle against SD is salicylic acid - The strongest over the counter percentage is 3 percent - this helped me but was not enough. My doctor prescribed salicylic acid at 6 percent prescription strength and that applied twice a day keeps it mostly under wraps. Once or twice a year it flares up despite the salicylic acid cream, usually at the beginning of summer and winter - at these times I use a lot of apple cider vinegar and sulfure masks in addition to the prescription strength salicylic acid cream.


Salt, Heat, Essential Oils, DMSO

1 User Review
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Posted by G (Ct, Usa) on 04/08/2015
★★★★★

If you have tried everything else, and if you think your Seborrheic Dermatitis may be caused by dermatophytes, or especially if someone has athletes feet in your household, Salt and Heat and essential oils may kill the dermatophytes and is a good thing to try. Based on a few pub med articles about salt and heat on Trychophton Dermatophytes, I used a solution of salt water and heat. Then I applied oils of Oregano and Thyme diluted in a carrier oil, and you can add a little DMSO if you have it. The combination of salt water, heat and the essential oils really reduces scaling.

It's only been two days, but I'll update this post in a few days.


Sauerkraut

1 User Review
3 star (1) 
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Posted by Mike (San Mateo, Ca, Usa) on 03/10/2010

I was diagnosed w/ Seborrheic Dermatitis over 10 years now. I think I finally found a cure!

Profile:
Age: 36. Male. Had Acne Vulgaris as a teenager. Took Tetracycline (anti-bacterial) from 18 to 24. I believe this killed off all my good bacteria which caused a chronic SD infection. I subscribe to the theory that there are bacteria which feed on the SD yeast.

I've tried everything ... topical ACV was the winner for a long time, but the SD would always come back. I had been juice fasting for a whole month, had a colonic and the practitioner recommended fermented foods. I came across a posting that prescribed eating lots of sauerkraut for SD. Something in the fermentation that is balancing my system. My skin has totally cleared up! I pray this is permanent. I'm of Germanic descent, so maybe my gut just loves the sauerkraut.

Replied by Francisca
(Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France)
03/14/2010

Hi Mike, funny you talk about sauerkraut. I am not Germanic either but after having lived in Holland for many years I got to like sauerkraut quite a lot. Now I live in the Alsace I started craving sauerkraut. My husband doesn't like it so I add it to the dishes for myself. Nice to know that it can have a good effect on your health... I knew that it has a lot of good stuff in it. No idea why all of a sudden I crave it every day though. Maybe something my body is missing.....

Replied by Mike
(San Mateo, Ca, Usa)
04/10/2010
★★★☆☆

WORKED TEMPORARILY

Unfortunately the Sauerkraut didn't work permanently. Just had a huge flare-up yesterday. My plan of attack is to go back on a juice fast and possibly a week long water fast and colon/liver cleanse. Luckily, topical ACV still works for me and is my last line of defense at the moment.


Scalp Cure Remedies

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Posted by Trea (New York, US) on 08/10/2014
★★★★★

I've had Seborrheic Dermatitis on my scalp on and off for 5 years. Most of the times Denorex and T/Sal did the trick. For the past year I was under a lot of stress and no matter what I tried it would not get any better.

Every time I would shower I would get into a panic because I was losing more and more hair just trying to get all of the crust off of my scalp. I went from having a nice thick pony tail you you could barely get in a band to a pony tail that was as thin as my pinky.

Every time I panicked it seemed to get worse. I finally had enough. I shaved my head. I don't advocate that anyone else do this but I had it on more than 50% of my scalp and felt like I had no choice. I wanted to get my scalp cleared up for good.

I had my husband shave my head on Thursday 8/7 and as of now, 8/10, I have no more flakes. Right after he shaved my head I used denorex which softened up a lot of the flaking on my scalp. I used a very fine toothed comb to get rid of as many of the flakes that I could. Then I used apple cider vinegar to scrub my scalp which helped to loosen up even more of the scales. I also went outside and got some sunlight on the scalp.

Thursday night I made a mixture 2 TBSP each of EV olive oil, EV coconut oil, castor oil and tea tree oil. I applied it to my scalp and covered my head with a plastic cap, put a towel on my pillow and went to sleep. In the morning I was able to get much more of the scaling off of my scalp. I did it again Friday night and this morning I was able to get all of the rest of the scales off.

I still have some bumps and some red spots but not a single scale. The last 2 days I have been able to wear dark shirts and not have any flakes falling out. I will continue to do the oil overnight until the red spots and the few bumps I have are gone and maybe even longer because there are some sparse spots where the flaking and scaling were the worst.

At the moment I apply ACV with the mother to my scalp 2 times a day. I am also using EV coconut oil twice a day. I leave it on for about a half hour and then wash it off. When my scalp is feeling itchy or irritated, I wash it with Yardley oatmeal and almond soap and that seems to help for a while. If the soap doesn't help, the tea tree oil does help with the itching.

I hope this can help some of you. For me it was better to shave my head than to continue to agonize constantly over hair loss from removing the flakes. On the upside, I can see my hair growing already so I know I won't be bald forever.

Replied by Kay
(FL, US)
08/13/2014

Bravp for your courage and fortitude; I hope this works for you!

You may also want to consider adding some lavendar oil to your scalp treatment (1 part lavender oil to 4 parts tea tree oil) to aid in disinfecting, healing, hair growth, and calming itching. And also eat/ingest a few teaspoons of coconut oil per day, it really helps to get it working from the inside out as well!

And just in case you need extra help; a topical nutrient "Selenium sulfate" (doctor perscribed in the USA) often works like a miracle! Good Luck!



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