Overview of Seborrheic Dermatitis Face Treatments

Hi Again,

Yeah the shampoo is probably much better than I have previously described it being.
The ingredients list includes many things which are suppose to be quite good for helping control seborrheic dermatitis.

For example the main ingredient is Aloe Vera (as opposed to water being the main ingredient in most others). Alongside of this it contains manuka honey, argan oil, arginine (an amino acid the restoraderm actually also contains, supposed to improve circulation), milk thistle, vitamin e, hyaloronic acid, borage oil, jojoba oil and a bunch of others. Granted since there is so much stuff it’s hard to known if there is actually enough of any of them. The smell of the stuff is enough for me (it’s like orange candies from childhood).

So I guess the shampoo is not really a “simple” moisturising shampoo as I have described it before.
It might actually be some of the stuff that’s been controlling the SD on my scalp, not sure though.
Maybe if someone else gives it a try, we will have more evidence.

Thanks for the link to the forum. I’ve gone through that whole thread before and picked out all the potential solutions.
If I’m not mistaken I tried about 75-80% of the stuff that people had good results with there.

Actually used Evernote to collect some of the stuff from there and other places.
Here is my notebook for that: https://www.evernote.com/pub/vzeazy/forumscrape

Hope that helps. All the best and thanks again for updating.

Hi Michael,
I went ahead and bought the Restoraderm, and going to try out. I’ll be giving you weekly updates to see how it turns out. It’s labeled as Cetaphil Restoraderm, Eczema Calming Body Wash. Is that the same thing? It gives me somewhat a burning sensation when I use it, but goes away shortly after I wash it off. Did you experience the same thing? I’ll be also starting on the L-Glutamine to see if that makes a difference at all. Thank you again for this informative website!

Hey man, I just wanted to thank you for all this. I’ve struggled with dandruff since I was young, and then in my teens I started suffering from painfully dry skin and seborrheic dermatitis. Your suggestion for cetaphil restoraderm has been the only thing that has left me essentially symptom free. Thank you so much, you’ve changed my life if even in a small way.

Man, I’m glad I came across your website today.

I just started having flakes and redness on the sides of my nose beginning a few months ago, previously nothing but occasional light dandruff. Thought it would go away but it didn’t and since it wasn’t super bad I did nothing.

Could be coincidence but I think it started when I started using this rose oil for my face, and now that you mention it my diet did change from mainly meat and vegetables to high protein/fat and high carbs. Been eating bit of sugar too, which I normally don’t like. Generally pretty healthy with no digestion/gut/food issues though.

Anyway, decided to do something about it tonight. Went to Shoppers and bought some tea tree face wash and Selsum Blue 2.5% after minimal research. Like yourself I was a little concerned about going so chemical/broad anti-fungal bacterial approach. I also agree with you that the over-researching health issues on the internet really is detrimental if not outright depressing.

I’m going to head back to store and return that Selsum Blue (stuff’s expensive) and head to Whole paycheck and find that Andalou shampoo. Looks to be what l was thinking would work… I agree with you about needing the conventional stuff in perpetuity or risk it coming back worse.

I actually have a bit of glutamine somewhere as well. Couldn’t hurt.

Anyhow, thanks a bunch for the information and well linked pictures of the products you’re using. It helps that I think we’re from the same city. Take care.

I’ll let you know how it works out.

Hi Luis,

Yeah that seems like the same thing. Here is the ingredients list of the one I have, you can compare yours:

aqua (purifed water/eau purifée), butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), sodium trideceth sulfate, glycerin, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, sodium chloride, sodium lauramphoacetate, cocamide MEA, citric acid, niacinamide, sodium PCA (filaggrin BP), tocopheryl acetate, 1,2-Hexanediol and caprylyl glycol, disodium EDTA, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, allantoin, potassium sorbate, arginine (filaggrin BP), methylisothiazolinone

For me I didn’t get any burning sensation, how bad is your skin at the moment?
When I started my skin wasn’t flaring much. Has your skin calmed to it since?

Thanks for the positive comment. Hope it ends up working out for you as well. Looking forward to hearing any progress you make. All the best.

Hey Kyle,
Thanks for the update. Glad that it worked out for you and it impacted your life in a positive way :slight_smile:
You have any certain approach with the washing?
All the best.

Hi Scott,
Thanks for the update. I’m in Vancouver if that helps.
Let me know how the shampoo works out? Are you using anything for the face?

Yeah, I’m not really still 100% if the glutamine really helped as much as I think it did. Might be more clear if other people confirm it as well.

Also one thing that I did right before going to the Andalou was use a more natural anti-fungal shampoo. It used a mineral based coal tar variant. This stuff had a transitioning faze and was more of head paste (didn’t sud) than a typical shampoo.

The reason I switched was that stuff was really expensive (+$30) and the only place I could find with a reasonable price was the US Amazon (inconvenient). The ingredients of it can be found on their page here. However, mine doesn’t contain the xanthan gum and recent reviews on Amazon seem to be for that formula (here is mine).

Not sure if that shampoo was a good transitioning step to the Andalou.

Also towards the end you mentioned “Whole paycheck”, I’m guessing Whole Foods? :slight_smile:
Look forward to hearing any updates. All the best.

Hi Michael,

This is the ingredient list for the one I’m using: Water, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Pentylene Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Sorbitol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine, Niacinamide, Allantoin, Panthenol, Arginine, Disodium Ethylene Dicocamide PEG-15 Disulfate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Sodium PCA, Ceteareth-20, Sodium Polyacrylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric acid, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA.

Not completely the same…

I did start using the Restoraderm when I had a flare up, maybe that’s why it burned? I was using it daily, but it was irritating my skin somewhat. I would wake up in the morning more red than the night before. I noticed though, that my skin would clear throughout the day. I’m going to use it every other day now, and see if that helps. I’ll wait until I’m a bit more clear and less irrirated before I try it again. I unfortunately could not find the moisturizer at my local stores, so I just ordered it online (a lot cheaper than in the stores too!) so I’m waiting on that. Hopefully that will help with the dryness.

Hi Nick,
Are you using just normal Cetpahil face wash or are you using the RestoraDerm face wash?

Hey Michael,
I want to start your Cetaphil RestoraDerm, but was wondering if it is still working for you and have you changed your application routine with it?

Adam

Hi Adam,
Still using the Restoraderm, and my technique hasn’t changed form the original posting.
Simply just do regular daily washings before bed. Here is an outline of the routine:

  • Rinse face with cold water
  • Wash face with small amount of the Restoraderm wash
  • Let air dry for a few minutes, during this time I typically brush my teeth
  • Massage in a small amount of the Restoraderm moisturiser while face is still moist and let air dry

That's all I do now.

I’ve stopped the Glutamine supplementation because I feel like it finished it’s job.
Hope that helps, and let me know if you need any more details.

If you find the time, would love to hear any updates you may have. Best of luck.

Thanks for the clarification Michael. As of right now Im on the Honey/ACV/DermaZinc Lotion routine. Day 4 right now. Funny thing is, as Im typing this, I have my face smothered in Honey at the beginning of the 3hr mask. Im seeing good results so far. 5 days ago I got off of Elidel so my skin is going through the stages of getting off of a suppressant and flaking lots, but redness and itching has gone down dramatically.

This might sound like a weird question but I have to ask. If you only wash your face before bed, what do you do when you wake in the morning? I imagine you dont splash your face with water because that would rinse off the RestoraDerm from the night before. Do you just do nothing and keep ur skin untouched? How do you get ur hair wet in order to comb or style it without getting ur face wet?

See. Weird questions for sure haha!!! But it would help me out a lot…

Adam

Hi Luis,

Yeah the one you have looks like the same one I saw on Amazon.com (not sure if that is an older formula, newer formula, or a US formula).
That formula you pointed out seems to be mainly sold in the United States. All the Canadian retailers seem to carry the formula I’ve got here.
Since Cetaphil is a Canadian company, I would imagine the would have their most recent SKU available to the Canadian market.

Also unsure if the slight change in ingredients makes a difference.
Maybe as other readers report their results, it will become clear if the small differences have an impact.

If it helps I saw the exact formula I’m using on Amazon.com as well, however it was from secondary suppliers.
US Wal Mart doesn’t include the ingredients on their online listing, so not sure which one they carry. CVS and Wal Greens have the same ingredients as mine listed.

Perhaps if your still not seeing any improvements I can try to send you one of my samples (could show if the ingredients make a difference).
Look forward to hearing any updates. Hopefully it works out in the end.

Hi Adam,

Yeah it’s really not that strange of a question actually :). I do have a bit of a special approach.

Basically I wash and moisturise at night and let it do it’s thing while I sleep. When I wake up my face is good to go.
In the morning shower I just tilt my head back and wash my hair, without getting the face wet.
Perhaps using the stuff morning and night might be allright as well (I believe another reader here is doing that). My own goal was going as minimal as possible.

In terms of other swimming activities (pool, sauna), they seem to be okay.
If anything I just wash my face with the Restoraderm at my last contact with water during the day (if I shower or go to the pool early in the evening I just use the Restoraderm then).

Haven’t gone swimming in the ocean since everything balanced out. In the summer I’ll update on how that goes.

Thanks for the clear response. Now I know how to go about it.

Yeah, I thought I read in one of your posts you were from Vancouver. I just got a bottle of the Restoraderm moisturizer from London Drugs, so now I have both. I find that if I moisturize the nose fold area (only area red and flaky) it flakes very little. Since we’re both from the same city, likely using the same formula.

I just started, I’ll post back in a couple weeks and let you know how it’s working. I’m hoping it goes away completely.

The shampoo seems good. Smells good. I have a bit of Nizoral left, so I’ll just finish it while alternating with the Andalou stuff. I know the first time I had dandruff bad, Nizoral worked completely and I stopped. This time it doesn’t seem as effective, but I’ll finish the bottle. My scalp isn’t bad right now.

Thank again.

BTW, I bought the gluatmine for recovery from weights. Weird that you stayed sore while on it. Seems like the opposite of what it’s suppose to do.

Great to hear from someone in the same city.

In terms of the glutamie, when I first started supplementing with it, I felt the usual effects (quick muscle recovery). Things only changed after about 6-7 months of practically daily supplementation.

Also found this reversal strange. My explanation for this was that my body was just telling me it had enough. Maybe everything was sore for others reasons, not sure. Either way I took that cue and stopped supplementation.

Also maybe because I was taking it on an empty stomach every morning, it absorbed differently (as opposed to someone taking it right after training and/or with food).

Overall though I felt great when taking it. Especially seemed to have great energy in the morning.

Look forward to hearing back from you and hope it works out.

Hi MICHAEL

My gluten free diet ended after 20 days with a flare up so i guess gluten free doesnt work for me.

i am currently testing raw organic honey method . I started today actually . I will share results asap .

i’m also planning on buying the 2 products (cleanser and moisturizer that helped you so much) .

I would like to ask you about glutamine supplementation.

How much did you take each day in terms of mg ?

i read here ( http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/glutamine ) that doses as high as 500-1500 mg are generally safe

for how much time should i consume it order to heal my gut?

Hey Michael, thanks dude! It’s been about a week using the Cetaphil Restoraderm, and I guess I was lucky because the redness and flakes on my nose fold is gone. Pretty much started looking better right away.

I suppose it wasn’t too bad of a case to begin with but it wasn’t going away on it’s own. Hope it stays gone. Fingers crossed.

I just use the wash and moisturizer like a normally do, when I wake up and when I go to sleep. The moisturizer seems to really work to keep the flakes away, I apply it liberally in the area.

Still have the dandruff, but the shampoo seems to help. Guess it moisturizes my scalp. The Nizoral just made my scalp ultra dry, itchy and dandruff got worse.

I never did start with the glutamine. Been lifting a bit more lately so just started taking 5 mg a day. Figure it can’t hurt. Have taken it before for working out.

Anyway, thanks man. Appreciate it.

BTW, do you use the moisturizer sparingly because that’s how you usually do it, or are you concerned it may lose it’s efficacy through overuse?

Hi HopeDiesLast,

Thanks for the update.
My “gluten free” results were similar to yours. Personally it seems the initial improvements were more mind of matter for me.
Let me know how the raw honey method is for you. Typically it was quick to calm my skin down.

Most of all I am interested on how your results from the Cetaphil products turn out.
So far there have been a number of positive outcomes form others. Hope it helps you as well.

Each morning I would take a teaspoon to a glass of water. That’s about 4-5 grams of pure l-glutamine powder.
On the container it says to take 1/2 teaspoon (~2 grams). The dose I was taking was based upon reading some stuff on scholar.google.com (this study was using ~16g/day) and reviews on Amazon.
Perhaps you may want to look around scholar.google.com for some more specifics on dosages. Personally I didn’t want to take much more than recommended on the packaging, but from what I read, higher doses might be needed to restore intestinal barrier.

Overall I supplemented with the glutamine for roughly 6 months. In total I went through about 1.2kg of pure powder.
Hope that helps and let me know if you have any further questions.

Best of luck and look forward to any updates.