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Dermatologist’s Tips for Dry, Flaky Skin on Your Face and Scalp From Seborrheic Dermatitis.

dry flaky skin on your face and scalp

Dry flaky skin on your face and scalp is common. During my almost 30 years of dermatology practice, I have developed great tips for seborrheic dermatitis treatment because I've treated so many people with it over my career. Frankly I have it myself too! It's common. Yep, darn! I especially see my patients suffering more seborrheic dermatitis as the weather turns cold in fall and winter. I do too. The good news is that with some over the counter products, you can control your seborrhea and keep your skin and scalp healthy and attractive instead of red and scaly.

  • Do you know if the ‘dry skin’ in the middle of your face is really just dry skin? 
  • Has your scalp started to itch a little too?

If so, you may have seborrheic dermatitis.

How do you know if seborrheic dermatitis is the cause of dry flaky skin on your face and scalp?

Seborrheic dermatitis is a frustrating, confusing and at times embarrassing rash that’s really common.  Most people don’t know they have it until they see a doctor.  Patients commonly misinterpreted the redness and scale of seborrhea as dry skin. They layer on the moisturizers, which of course don’t fix the problem because seborrhea is a rash, not dry skin.

Did you know that seborrhea is so common that almost everyone will have it at some point in their life?

You’ve undoubtedly seen it on yourself or someone you know, it’s:

  • Cradle cap in babies
  • Red, greasy, scaly skin in the nose cease or between the eyebrows in teens
  • ‘Dry’ and itchy scalp starting in the teen years and going on throughout life
  • ‘Dry’, red, scaly skin in the T-zone of the face at any time in life
  • Red, crusty skin on and behind the ears
  • Flaking of the eyebrows
  • Crusty scale and itching of the eyelashes (blepharitis), especially in the morning when you wake from sleep
  • Greasy, red scaly skin on the chest and upper back

Seborrheic dermatitis may or may not be accompanied by tender, itchy pimples on the scalp, around the hair line and on the neck, chest and upper back.

Seborrheic dermatitis dry flaky skin comes back often!

dermatologist's tips for facial and scalp seborrhea

If you are prone to seborrheic dermatitis then you’ll always have a tendency for this annoying rash.  We don’t know what causes seborrheic dermatitis and we don’t know how to cure it. Treatment is aimed at controlling the problem, and extending the time between flair ups. 

The good news is that with medicated products, and good skin and scalp care, you can have clear, healthy skin by controlling your seborrhea. - Dermatologist Dr. Cynthia Bailey

Product Tips for Seborrhea

best remedy for facial seborrheic dermatitis and rosacea

The best product I’ve found for controlling facial seborrheic dermatitis is Green Tea Antioxidant Skin Therapy This is my favorite skin care product, bar none! The amount of green tea antioxidants is this cream are so concentrated (the equivalent of 500 cups of brewed tea’s antioxidant polyphenols per ounce of cream) that you just can’t compare the Antioxidant Skin Therapy to any other green tea containing product; in comparison, they contain just a “fairy dusting” of potentially less pure or less stable green tea ingredients. 

"I am so happy I found it!"

"Love a lot of the advice on this website but I especially love the Green Tea Cream. I have rosacea and seb derm and this magical cream is literally the only thing that my face can tolerate. I am so happy I found it!" ~ Travis 7/10/14

dry flaky skin on face and scalp best remedy

I combine Green Tea with Calming Zinc Soap for control of facial seborrhea. These 2 products are available in my Redness Relief Kit - a product combo that flies out of our office and web store. 

To correct the skin barrier weakness that always happens when you have facial seborrhea, I encourage you to add a moisturizer applied on top of the Green Tea. I've taken out the guess work with my Facial Flaking and Redness Solution Facial Skin Care Kit. In this bundle, I add Daily Moisturizing Face Cream, a facial moisturizer loved by my patients with facial seborrhea. 

Facial Flaking and Redness Solution Kit

This was my first purchase from Dr. Bailey and I can attest that within a few days of use my facial redness absolutely went away. The flakiness hardly shows it’s ugly face. I highly recommend that if you suffer from facial redness, flakey skin, start with complete set. I’m a firm believer of her trusted clean products. Thank you Dr. Bailey your the best! Dianne Creamer on Nov 29, 2021

Remedy for dry scalp from seborrhea

For scalp treatment, I rely on my Foaming Zinc Cleanser, which is a great shampoo. I combine this with my really great scalp scrubber to help lift dry flakes from the scalp. 

a great plastic scalp scrubber brushdry flaky skin on your face and scalp

I have many other tips and tricks too for controlling the rashes of seborrhea that I would love to share with you. 

I have tried every single dandruff shampoo there is. Pretty much my entire life my scalp has been itchy and flaky. Some shampoos would help for a while then after a few weeks my scalp would go back to itchy, red, oozing and flaky. As I got older it just got worse and worse. I finally realized I may have seborrheic dermatitis. I also get red flaky patches behind my ears, in my ears, and on my eyelids. I had been diagnosed with allergies and eczema before, but not this. I stumbled across this site when I was searching for remedies and it was lucky I did. With this cleanser as a shampoo, a moisturizing conditioner, and the calming zinc bar soap for body wash, my skin and hair is amazing. Very rarely itchy, and no longer oily because I'm not stripping it with harsh cleansers anymore. My hair is also soft and feels thicker than it did before. My first tube and bar lasted about three months and I shower almost everyday, so it's definitely not expensive when it lasts that long and makes my skin happy. Natalie on Feb 06, 2020

 

Seborrheic dermatitis is one of the most common skin problems I find during a skin exam.  I've found and created many great additional treatments for seborrheic dermatitis using over the counter products. In my next series of blog posts, I’m going to outline my favorite remedies and tips for seborrheic dermatitis and recommend products.  This is the information I give my patients in the office.

Do you want more dermatologist's information and tips for controlling seborrheic dermatitis? 

I also have an updated Advice Section for Seborrheic Dermatitis. I give you all the info you need in one concise area, including diagrams and a listing of all my tips and tricks to control this common and vexing rash.