Seborrheic dermatitis is a very common situation, but almost no one knows it exists and how to handle this condition. The symptoms are usually redness, flaking and peeling skin on the nose, eyebrows and the hairline and, although it is a permanent condition, it is very easy to manage the symptoms if you use the right products.
What is seborrheic dermatitis?
Seborrheic dermatitis has a name very hard to write, but in fact is very simple to understand. Our skin has a flora of several microorganisms that live there and help us daily with several aspects of our skin. However, there is one that may be the culprit of this condition: a yeast called Malassezia. This yeast produces substances that end up irritating the skin, leading to the most common symptoms, like flaking, peeling skin, redness, itching, and oily yellowish plaques.
What you have to retain here is that this yeast needs a lot of oil to be able to grow and produce those substances, so the oiliness of your skin is a key factor when treating this condition. A lot of people see that the skin is peeling and think it needs more nourishment, which leads to them applying very heavy creams that end up increasing the amount of oil on the skin, worsening the situation in long term – it’s a vicious circle and one which is very easy to stop if one knows what to use.
This situation is very common in people aged 30-60 with oily or combination skin, but it’s also very common in newborns – then we call it cradle cap, but it’s the exact same thing. The areas that are more prone to having this condition are the nose, eyebrows, hairline, scalp, behind the ears, eyelids, and skin folds.
How can I manage seborrheic dermatitis?
First of all, you need to stop putting your usual creams on the affected areas. As we’ve mentioned before, the yeast which causes this condition thrives in oily skin, so you can’t use heavy and rich formulas, because they will worsen the condition even if it looks like it’s better the moment you apply.
A lot of brands already have specific formulas for seborrheic dermatitis and they are usually easily identifiable by the use of the acronym “DS”. You can find all of the
seborrheic dermatitis treatments on our website, but we’ll highlight some of our favorites for you. Regarding cleansing, there are two specific products: Sesderma Sensyses Cleanser Ovalis works like a micellar water and Bioderma Sensibio DS+ Purifying Soothing Cleansing Gel is a cleansing gel. Even though these cleansers are a great complement to the treatment, managing the condition requires that you use a specific cream like the La Roche-Posay Kerium DS Soothing Face Care, Sesderma Sebovalis Facial Gel Seborrhea Prone Skin or ISDIN Nutradeica Facial Gel Cream Seborrheic Skin.
