Treating Seborrheic Dermatitis With Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar has worked well for me but the sd keeps coming back. Is ACV ok to use everyday in the long term?

Well I have been using ACV for 5 days now and I’m not sure what I should expect. I have a remaining print. Not the extremes it can be but almost like it’s continuing the SD to remain at low ish level. Am I expecting too much too early? Shall I continue on? I apply it 3 times a day. The past two days I’ve been applying it dabbed on tissue straight. It hasn’t been too irritating. Just looking for guidance in this early stage:)

Sorry just to clarify & share my results using ACV I sprayed it onto my face (focusing around the nose, cheeks and eyebrows) an average of 3 times daily for just over a week. Initially starting at a 2 : 5 ratio ACV to water and later topping up my half full 50ml spray bottle of the same previous ratio with water diluting it. This is because I don’t think you need a stronger mix once the inflammation has gone. It seems though you do need maintenance once the SD has cleared, skipping a few days and then reapplying at the start of a flare up won’t have as much effect as using prevention methods because I think once the SD has began a flare up it needs to complete its course.
Recently my SD had cleared up using the method above, I suggest it for roughly a week. I did it for longer as I wasn’t sure if the redness left behind was scarring or inflammation. Turns out it was scarring. I read here on this site that green tea was good for reducing the redness which was when I stopped the treatment mentioned above for 36 hrs to let my skin adjust applying noting onto it which I didn’t FEEL i needed to. I did this to apply green tea for at night over the course of 2 days. This didn’t work and the SD has come back pretty hard. (I saved my morning green tea bags beforehand and stored them in the fridge, made a 6 teabag soup and washed my face with it and let dry, I also rubbed the teabag on the affected areas after and let dry)
I am back on the ACV spray treatment that I was on before which I find or hope to be the least damaging and still effective. I do have concerns about the safety of long term daily use though. I know there’s a strong acid called Malic acid in the ACV so I am really not sure if it’s ok to use everyday. If it is than that’s great and I’m over the moon with joy! Please let me know, thanks :slight_smile:

Hi Shane,

Yeah for sure, what works for one person doesn’t necessarly work for someone else. Out of all the stuff discussed on this site it looks like the most feedback has been from the restoraderm, nystatin, or apple cider vinegar (roughly in that order).

Yeah, apple cider vinegar was a pain the ass for me as well. Also the results were mixed. Sometimes even with consistent application, my SD could just start raging and would just take time to settle.

My current approach has been going strong for almost a year. I think I started roughly in June-August last year.

I’m in the process of putting together a comprehensive piece on why sd occurs in the first place. I’ve got a good hypothesis and I’ve been digging through medical papers to try and make a case. But basically it’s a combination of internal immune system issues and topical infection.

Usually you would want it wash it off. I’ve read people leaving it on, but that’s overkill. Plus you smell like vinegar… :slight_smile:

All the best and let me know if you have any updates.

Hi Michael,

The consensus seems to be that it’s okay long term. People have been using it for ages, plus it’s natural.

Our of curiosity, what method of application are you currently using?

All the best.

Hi Shane,

My results were really similar to yours. No matter how long I kept up with treatment, the results wouldn’t improve beyond a certain point. It was best for removing and control flakes, but my skin never really fully healed up.

If you want to stick to an all natural method, maybe check out honey. Between the two honey seemed to work better for me.

Hope that helps. PS, sorry for the late response.

Hi Michael,

As I mentioned in my previous most, it’s like fine for long term use. I’m not a medical professional or anything, so I can’t really give advice. However, from everything I’ve read it appears to be fine.

Your body is really good at telling you things. If the skin decides that it had enough of the ACV, it will let you know. :slight_smile:

Crazy to hear that you had such a reaction to the green tea. Perhaps it was just that the lack of ACV allowed the malassezia to re-establish?

If you like, join the community and we can discuss things further. The comments section make the discussion harder to keep track of. In the meantime I’ll keep an eye out for any medical papers on the safety of long-term application of topical malic acid (i’m currently trying to write a comprehensive piece on the origins of SD).

All the best!

Ok thanks again, I’ve started taking the L-glutamine every morning before my green tea now. I’ve been looking online for Cetaphil restoraderm products online and I want to find the correct one, are you using the restoraderm “body” cleanser and moisturiser on your face?

After 2 weeks of using this method flakes appeared on my forehead and under nose, tiny wounds that itch every time when I move my mouth. Skin became drier on red stains, and just it, it’s like worse than before using ACV, I’ve never had flakes ;_;

Hi Mathieu,

Sorry to hear that. It’s crazy how apple cider vinegar can have such different results for people.
My theory is that the acidity of ACV is too far different than the skin’s natural level. Here is an article that explains this quite clearly. For people that have great results from it, they either have a different strain of bacteria (different bacteria thrive at different ph levels) present on the skin, or are maybe using something else to effectively return the skin to it’s natural ph level.

Hope that helps. All the best.

Have you tried using probiotics? My wife takes one a day with dinner and that seems to have drastically improved her eczema. She still is having issues with eyebrows so we are trying the ACV now.

Hi There,
Tried a large number of different types and even made my own (kefir, saurkraut, water kefir), but none of these seemed to be of much assistance. I tried to go over all the treatments I’ve tried previously.

Which specific probiotics were of use to your wife? Best of luck with the ACV.

michael as well I mean. Calm down

Hey everyone, I thought I’d chime in on things that have worked for me with my SD. I’ve had SD for about 3 years now and at first my doctor misdiagnosed me as having Tinea Versicolor. So for about 2 1/2 years I was using the wrong products and treatment methods on my skin without having any idea why things were not getting better (it was very frustrating). I finally went to see an experienced dermatologist and he diagnosed me as having SD and prescribed me creams. I used the creams for a few months but with very little improvement. I started doing some searching and found out about a probiotic called vsl 3 which is a great way to cleanse your insides and balance out the good and bad bacteria of the stomach. It seemed to help a little but once I stumbled across ACV things really got better for me. I am black and read about SD conditions from all different skin types, personally for me I had the best results of using organic unrefined ACV on my face which I put in a spray bottle and spray liberally 3 times a day. I DO NOT use a 1:1 ratio, but believe if you have sensitive skin you should dilute it because it may cause damage if undiluted. I’ve used to method for about 3 weeks and my SD is 90% cleared up. I had some on my scalp around my nose and forehead and on my cheeks so it was very noticeable. If you still find you are having problems I suggest people try a product called Doxigel. It is basically vitamin B in a cream form which is supposed to be applied 3 times daily also. I have not personally tried it but have heard some success stories. Sorry for the long response but hopes this helps some people as I wouldn’t have found a treatment if others hadn’t done the same for me.

Hi James,

Thanks for the details. Will look into the Doxigel.

For me the results I managed to obtain with ACV never really met my expectations. Personally I wanted to achieve complete remission and healthy looking skin. While the ACV would always leave my skin quite raw. Currently I’ve found a method which has worked exceptionally well for me, but I’m still waiting for community members to provide feedback.

All the best.

I have had SD since I was in my late teens. I am in my early thirties now. My SD occurs on my nose, ears, and scalp. I used a topical steroid cream for years as per my dermatologist- but recently started using Young Living Essential oils a few months ago. I am happy to report that I only need to use my steroid cream once every few weeks for a flare up. I use one drop Frankincense and one drop Lavender mixed with smaller than a pea size amount of unrefined coconut oil. I put this on my face everyday after my shower. I plan on ordering Young Living’s lavender shampoo/conditioner to try this out and see if it makes a difference because after years of using coal tar shampoos and tea tree oil shampoos which only relieve symptoms sometimes, I wanted to try something new. I tried using ACV this morning on my scalp and I did not realize I needed to dilute it with water… Man, this burns! So I washed if off after 2-3 minutes. But after that, the itchiness was gone. So I will try ACV again but diluted and see if regular use of it helps too.

Hi Whitney,

First of all thanks for checking in and sharing your experience.
That is very unfortunate that you have been battling with this for so long.

Yeah, ACV can be quite intense, especially on damaged skin.

Have been working on a book recently and if it’s of interest you can read a draft of the SD chapter here:
All About Seborrheic Dermatitis

Overall, from everything I’ve read I believe SD is related to messed up lipid metabolism and fatty acid synthesis at the skin level.
Basically, our skin is failing to produce the correct oils it needs to protect itself.

So overall it needs a multi-faceted approach to treatment:

  • Improve lipid digestion
  • Strengthen the immune system
  • Rebuild skin barrier

To help with the last component I’ve actually ended up making my own solution a short while ago.
Details on this can be found here:
My Seborrheic Dermatitis Skin Regimen 2.0

Hope that helps and best of luck!

ive got SD on my scalp, so i was wondering how often should i apply the diluted acv solution on my scalp, is once a day sufficient?

A few months ago I started to get SD. Now after everything I have thought of I noticed it started exactly when I took raw MSM. I was taking it for my joints actually, however I remember my face broke out BAD with acne like I was 13 years old and then the acne went away and this came about.

I have seen a doctor and I am on fluconazole going on about 11 days now and I really have seen some MINOR improvement. I must eat low carb now for other medical reasons. Insulin resistance however I am not diabetic nor pre-diabetic… Something is up with my endocrine system.

Either way that is not the point, I tried ACV a short while ago, and while I should have read more I applied it directly to the scaly spots. LET ME TELL YOU… My face felt like it was on fire from the acid… but not too terrible to tolerate. However I noticed my skin was changing to a whitish color and after 15 minutes passed I went into the mirror and the redness started to go away and the flakes were just falling off… they usually adhere pretty well to the skin…

Next time I do this, I will definitely dilute it… that was my fault for not reading up on it more, however… If it can keep the scaling away and the redness lasts only <30 minutes, I would be willing to do this daily. I will give it a try for a few weeks and see what if it works.

I am 30 and never ever had skin issues with my face like this before until I took that MSM and all this started. I know it had to have something to do with that because how bad the acne breakouts were, it was terrible and normally I do not have acne at all on my face.

I will update in a month and hopefully things have gotten better. I do notice that lotions only make the scaling worse but hides it at the same time. After I shower it is freaky looking, depressing too. I am upset this has happened because it is not like most of the rest of our body which is covered up, people see you daily, and people judge… whether they like to admit it or not.

I wish everyone else well too and hopefully this works.

J.C.

Hi J.C.

Thank you for sharing your experience and the timing couldn’t be more perfect as there was another recent comment that shared the opposite experience (MSM resolved their seborrheic dermatitis).

My personal experience with MSM was ultimately unhelpful. I attempted to take it based on some forum post I read a long time ago where someone stated it cured their SD. However, for me all it did was really stuff me up. It felt like my face got a little puffy and my nose was constantly stuffed. SD remained unchanged.

MSM is produced via chemical synthesis and is not extracted from any plants/natural materials. Personally I think it’s usage in medicine is questionable at best, however there are a ton of self-reported cases all over the internet.

Look forward to any updates and hope you manage to get things under control.
Wish you all the best.