Effective Natural Remedies for Seborrheic Dermatitis Relief

Apple Cider Vinegar, Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Mariposa (San Juan, Puerto Rico) on 07/02/2009
★★★★★

YEA- Seborrheic Dermatitis

Apple Cider Vinegar & Tea Tree Oil cured my Seborrheic Dermatitis

I had Seborrheic Dermatitis for approximately 2 years on different parts of my scalp. I went to a dermatologist and of course he couldn't explain why I have it because they really don't know. Some doctors say it's caused by stress. I've tried dandruff shampoos (all brands) and shampoos prescribed by my dermatologist. The shampoos helped at the beginning but after the first bottle they would become ineffective. And the flakes and itching would just come back even worse. I got tired of wasting money on doctor's visits and ineffective shampoos and thank God I stumbled upon this website. The ACV and Tea Tree Oil worked a miracle on me.

I filled an 8 ounce spray bottle with 4 oz. ACV and 4 oz. water. I sprayed my scalp with the mixture and left it on for about one hour. It does smell but trust me it's worth it. After, I just washed my hair like I always do. I immediately checked and most of the flakes had been washed away. I just thought, tomorrow they will be back. But, the flakes were gone. I was so excited that I also started drinking the ACV with orange juice twice a day (4 tbsp. of ACV in a glass of orange juice). Two days later I sprayed my scalp with the mixture and left it overnight and just washed my hair in the morning.

I am also using the Tea Tree Oil for prevention. I put 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil for every 8 oz. of shampoo. I tried just putting drops of it on my scalp but it smells very very strong.

For those who are worried because they dye their hair; it is totally safe. I have color treated hair and I had no problems with fading.

It's been about 2 months now and I have NO flakes, NO scabs and NO itching. I haven't had to spray the ACV mixture in my scalp again, but I currently shampoo with regular shampoo which I just add the Tea Tree Oil and I drink the ACV with orange juice about 4 times a week.

Coconut Oil

Posted by Andrea C (Wales Uk) on 08/10/2021

It's actually MCT oil you need on it, specifically a C8 rated MCT Oil.

Andrea C xxx

Borax, Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Julie (New York, NY) on 10/12/2007
★★★☆☆

WORKED TEMPORARILY

I have been struggling with seborrheic dermatitis on my face for 5 years. I have tried everything - drastic diet changes, candida elimination, probiotics, apple cider vinegar, topical steroids, msm sulfur, betaine hydrochloride, pancreatic enzymes, vitamin C, oil of oregano, flax oil, etc etc etc. A year and a half ago, I also developed perioral dermatitis and ocular rosacea. I read about borax and I decided to give it a try, taking 1/8 a tablespoon of borax in a liter of water for 3 days straight. After the third day, things were definitely changing but not noticeably better. I then decided to try to use borax topically. I combined a 1/2 tablespoon of borax with some hydrogen peroxide mixed with 50% water and I put it on my face then rinsed it off after about 30 seconds. It worked! My face feels as smooth as it did when I was a child, and my ocular rosacea is gone too. I didn't even remember what it was like to have normal feeling skin on my face with no rough patches, flaking, or redness. And I can't believe my eyes are back to their normal shape! I am so relieved. I feel and look like myself again for the first time in years. It seems miraculous. I am so so so grateful. What an excellent site. I suppose my problem was demodex skin mites, and the borax/hydrogen peroxide combo has eliminated them. I hope my experience will help someone else.

THANK YOU

Borax, Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 10/14/2007 392 posts

Borax was not taken internally later on of 1/8 teaspoon in one liter of drinking water and only the borax and peroxide was applied externally. That's probably why it didn't work. Of course, getting the pH to 7 is still important. Dietary sugars and acid forming food is what is causing the seborrheic dermatitis.

Kefir

Posted by Jim (St. Louis, MO) on 04/01/2007
★★★★★

I have had a worsening case of suborrheic dermatitis for several years. It started around my upper lip and chin and ended up in my ears. Prescriptions mildly controlled it, but not well, are expensive, and frankly I don't trust them very much. I tried several reccomended natural and "home" remedies, none of which worked very well. And then I started drinking kefir, a cultured milk beverage. I started drinking it because it's really tasty and I can digest it (I'm lactose intolerant), but found that when I drink it regularly my suborrheic dermatitis goes away. When I don't drink kefir for several days it starts to come back. Typically I've found myself drinking a 32 oz. bottle every two to three days. I've tried a couple of brands, but the Helios brand seems far superior to the other brand I tried (which I had trouble digesting). So I really reccomend it. At the very least, you'll be drinking something that tastes great and is good for you (live foods rock). And if it works for your skin ailements too, all the better. Good luck!

DMSO

Posted by Garrett (Mt. Juliet) on 06/15/2006
★★★★★

What happened was I had dandruff bad and found that I had dermititis so the doctor that said that I had it said that it was caused by hormones. I didn't believe her so i tried everything -- a pokeroot concoction to meds. I did not like the meds I was on, so I soon found out that SD was caused by a fungus infection so I found a shampoo that had not long chemical names and put half a 4 oz bottle of dmso in it. Within a week it was gone and has been for almost 5 months. dmso will pull anything into your skin so no long named chemicals.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by George (Jungle) on 11/01/2015

Hello,

I have something that won't exactly cure seborrheic dermatitis (bc there is no permanent cure), but it will help keep it in check. I have it too but I started taking fish oil supplements and it helped a TON. It takes about 3-4 weeks for full effect but you definitely see improvement after a week or so. It doesn't get rid of the flakes that comes from the dryness but in my case it reduced the rash/inflammation by 80-90%. So to get rid of the dry skin I just use some A&D ointment or I suppose an extremely mild hypoallergenic facial lotion would be ok but my skin is too sensitive for that so I use the a&d ointment... just make sure the grease is gone after you apply it. I've had it for a long time and this is the only thing that has helped me. It's a much healthier and effective way to deal with this problem than anything else I've tried.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Reader (Columbus, Ohio)
★★★★★

I used apple cider vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. I figured out an easier way than drenching my whole head in the liquid. I put the mix it in a squirt bottle filling about 1/5 hydrogen peroxide and the rest with the apple cider vinegar. You just hold the tip close to your head and squirt your scalp. Massage in and leave on for about 10 minutes. Then shampoo as usual. I have done this three times. The first time I had more flakes than ever before! I thought maybe that means it is working, so I did it again. The second time nearly all of the flakes were gone. After the third time I couldnt find a flake. My scalp looks so great! It is so nice to know that I am not putting some expensive toxic medication on my skin. Thank you everyone for your posts and for those who haven't tried it or didn't think it worked; do it at least 3 times before giving up. It works!

Dead Sea Salt Magnesium

Posted by noel (California) on 05/22/2024
★★★★★

havent tried this but I found this info:

Background: Seborrheic and atopic dermatitis are common and chronic inflammatory skin diseases. Conventional treatments are often ineffective and can have significant side effects. Magnesium dead sea salt has a high concentration of magnesium, and previous research shows its potential to help improve skin conditions. Case presentation: Patients with chronic seborrheic and atopic dermatitis were treated with topical 5% dead sea salt magnesium for 4 days. Patients experienced significant improvement in their symptoms. Conclusion. Dead Sea salt magnesium can be a safe and effective treatment for seborrheic and atopic dermatitis

Antifungal Shampoo +

Posted by noel (california) on 02/13/2024

update 02/13/24

I had a few spots on my scalp that wouldn't go away. Maybe they were something other than Seb. Derm because things like ringworm can appear similar to the untrained eye.

I have been applying Clotrimazole 1% to these areas and it seems to be working well. It's sold at Target as Up & Up brand jock itch cream but you can get 10 times the amount for your money on Amazon.

Antifungal Shampoo +

Posted by noel (california) on 11/25/2024

thank you Vera, I will try Biotin if my current experiment fails. I normally take a B complex supplement but it only has 300mcg. I am trying Miconazole cream which seems to be working great after a couple days. (i assume Ketoconazole or clotrimazole would be effective too, however I am uncertain of how safe they are). Through elimination diet I realized I get breakouts if I drink soda pop, which leads me to believe the fructose feeds it. Much of my confusion came from me having 2 different problems - 1. The Seborrheic Dermatitis, and 2. An acquired allergy to butter or some other food which gives me pustules on my scalp similar to Seborrheic Dermatitis outbreaks. Another thing I would like to note to people with pets (especially if they are outdoor pets that come indoors) that pets could possibly be infected with the fungus and infecting/spreading Dermatitis to their owners.

Antifungal Shampoo +

Posted by Ruralady (Illinois) on 12/01/2024 61 posts

Tea Tree Oil also helps. On Amazon they have many leave in spray conditioners. I bought one for my husband who has foliculitis but he refused to use and since I've had SD since I was a baby (cradle cap), I decided to use it. Works great for SD too.

Magnesium Oil

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.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Mj (Tx) on 03/13/2017

This may help shed some light on why ACV needs to be organic (seems people have experimented with both organic and non on this site) to properly heal Seb Derm. I actually just learned this the other day... it really made sense to me. I thought eating organic was just about avoiding all the chemicals/pesticides sprayed on foods - and that is part of it, of course - but it's also that fruits/vegetables grown organically, in an environment without pesticides, must produce their own defense system against fungus, bacteria, "pests". You then ingest this immune boosting, parasite fighting mechanism when you eat organic. Or in this case, place it on a skin infection. WOW. Maybe this is common knowledge to some on this site but I don't think that point is communicated enough. Organic ACV probably has better properties to fight whatever is the root cause of SD.

I've had SD for decades btw and very excited to try something new. But while understanding the organic part, I don't get why ACV would work to treat Seb Derm in the first place. I totally agree with the poster who questioned why vinegar would work on what is considered a yeast infection??? I also went on the anti candida diet to try and help my skin and it definitely recommended avoiding vinegar because it "feeds yeast".

Just a thought... why not throw it out there given traditional medicine can't seem to figure any of this out: maybe it's not actually a yeast based infection? Or are there different "strains" of yeast, just like there are different strains of bacteria? And just like probiotics replace "bad" bacteria in the gut with "good" bacteria... could ACV be replacing or fighting off "bad" or inflammatory yeast strain with a "good" strain? Just thinking outloud...

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Cam (Edmond, Ok) on 07/31/2018

I believe you may have your facts confused. When ingesting organic ACV, it doesn't promote growth of candida unless sugar is added to it. There are different approaches to the fermentation process that don't use sugar and most ACVs do not. Therefore, ACV is great addition for a candida diet.

Egg Whites

Posted by Gracee (Ca) on 12/18/2016
★★★★★

I had itchy, flaky, scaly eyebrows. I also had this condition above my eyebrows too. I found a natural cure. I tried several things, nothing worked. I read in Chinese Medicine they use egg oil. I could not find a source for it. So, I decided to cracked open an organic egg and rubbed the egg whites on my eyebrows area and let it dry and just put a towel on my pillow and just go to sleep dried on my eyebrows then I would wash it off in the shower in the morning I did this every day for week I was cured. But to be on the safe side I decided to do it for little over two weeks.

Glycerin Soap

Posted by Sueb (Old Bridge, Nj) on 09/27/2016
★★★★★

My son has had SD on his scalp for many years. He has tried all the shampoos and lotions, etc., recommended from various web sites and nothing worked. It spread to his entire face, and he looked like he had a really bad sunburn with flakes. He switched to unscented glycerin soap and his head and face has healed. Simply amazing : )

Probiotic Wipes

Posted by HÃ¥kan (Sweden) on 10/14/2016

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

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Thomas S. (Mesa, AZ) on 03/24/2024

Both, drinking ACV has a host of benefits that will help SD. Spraying with a solution of 50% ACV and the other half pure water can have amazing results. I have dealt with SD and eczema successfully utilizing this process.

Borage Oil

Posted by D (Az, US) on 02/26/2015
★★★★★

My son has battled Seborrheic Dermatitis for over 6 years. He has seen 5 doctors, and 3 dermatologists and we have tried every remedy on EC, and many prescriptions. It wasn't until I came across an article linking dermatitis and a lack of a certain enzyme produced in the body, and the ability of borage oil to stimulate production of the enzyme, that the light bulb went off. My son has been taking 2 capsules of Borage oil twice per day for only one week, but the results are the best I have ever seen. He may have to stay on it for the rest of his life. No more acne, exzema, seborrheic dermatitis, scalp infection, scalp dermatitis, all cleared up about 80% in about 10 days. He is very happy. If you have a really scaly, bad infection, you can apply it topically, also.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Alex (Dallas, Texas) on 02/24/2015

The best remedy for SD is Neem juice (comes with a dropper, just put a dab on your trouble spots and it vanishes in 24hrs). The burn on your face when AcV drips is typical nothing to worry except for the discomfort.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Jennifer (Los Angeles, Ca) on 10/06/2014
★★★★★

Very excited to make this post! I've had Seborrheic Dermatitis of the scalp for over 7 years now. Used the typical T-sal shampoos which didn't cure but felt like "maintained" the SD to a manageable degree (i.e. it wasn't really itchy just more of a cosmetic nuisance). Recent flare ups and itchiness led me to finally use the prescription strength corticosteroid which didn't help. I could feel it literally burning, but it would not reduce the size/redness of the patches. Fed up I finally hit google and this message board seemed to have the most "real" responses so I figured why not!

My first night I used pure ACV, no dilution. I didn't have Braggs with "the mother" on hand, but thought it was worth a shot. I applied with a spray bottle and let sit for 30 minutes. I washed it out and my hair/scalp looked great! I'd say 90% was gone.

I then purchased the Braggs ACV and tried a 1:1 dilution. This time I put my hair up (it is long) prior to the ACV treatment so the rest of my hair wouldn't soak up the ACV/make a mess. This was much better! I also applied with an eye-dropper which was more precise than the spray. I let it sit for 30-45 minutes then rinse/shampoo after.

After this second round SD was 95% gone. Within 2 more treatments I haven't seen any major flakes or had any flare ups! A few tiny flakes here and there but nothing like before (where my whole scalp basically came off). With the ACV I used an all natural coconut shampoo, but I have also used Pantene afterward and it was fine.

I was so excited by my results I had my dad try the ACV on his facial SD. He has been using a variety of washes/topicals for years and within 3 days of applying ACV with a cotton swab his SD is gone as well!

Bottom line- give it a try! This experience has really turned me off from traditional medications, not that I was a big fan before. Regular ACV and Braggs both worked, but I am sticking with Braggs because more people seem to recommend it.

Scalp Cure Remedies

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.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Molly (Baltimore, US) on 08/03/2014

Don't you mean 3%? My understanding is that a 35% solution of hydrogen peroxide burns the skin and is very dangerous. Seems like there is not much difference between 30% and 35%.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Tenzin (Australia) on 07/13/2014
★★★★★

Hi everyone, Those who got a problem with seborhoic dermatitis and severe dandruff in your scalp. I recommend you to apply apple cider vinegar diluted with water 50/50. For the scalp; apply it on the scalp 30 minutes before washing. It will help wonders. I asked my friend to try it, and she is relieved from that. She used all other medical product; but no results. Finally, she is satisfied with apple cider vinegar.

Friends try it but use organic apple cider vinegar. I wants everyone to be free from stress and wants to see smile on their face.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Aman (Uk) on 12/26/2013
★★★★★

I tried all sorts of things to get rid of my seborrheic dermatitis/dandruff. I had it on my face and my scalp. Tried putting vaseline on at the start as I thought it was dry skin! Didn't work (obviously! ) Tried changing my moisturiser. Didn't work. Aloe Vera only seemed to make the appearance better for about 20 mins and then the flaking would start again. Tried a shampoo with Ciclopirox. Still no improvement. Tried a cream with neem in it. Still didn't notice much improvement.

Then I reached for the apple cider vinegar. I wasn't looking forward to it as I don't love the smell of vinegar. I diluted it to half strength with water and applied it to my scalp, shampooing and washing it out after 10-15 mins. Also applied to my face where affected and washed off with water after 10 mins. I saw improvements within a few days. I had to keep up the treatments for a bit. The facial treatments I did twice a day and the scalp treatments twice a week when washing my hair. 99% of the symptoms cleared up. The rest vanished as soon as warmer weather came in and I got a good dose of sunshine. So far I haven't had to do the facial treatments in the summer or autumn but am waiting to see if I may have to return to them once the weather gets properly cold again. The twice weekly scalp treatments I've kept up. I read somewhere someone suggesting that if the scalp is kept free from dandruff then that might control the whole lot which seemed to make sense to me. Thanks to all those who recommended apple cider vinegar for this condition as it really helped me.