seborrheic dermatitis? treatment?

[tlee3]

I've been doing a lot of reading and have concluded that I have facial seborrheic dermatitis. Red, dry, scaly patches starting from the creases of my nose and expanding outward onto the cheek area next to the nose. Through my search I've read that using anti-dandruff shampoos like Head and Shoulders on the face can drastically improve the condition of the affected areas.

I started with this treatment about 3 days ago and appear to be responding well to it. the shampoo makes my skin a little drier than I would like it to, but the itching and redness is slowly disappearing.

Prior to using head and shoulders as a face wash, the only thing that worked well (but not perfectly) was Neutrogena's stress control scrub. However, my face would still remain slightly pink-red in the spots I mentioned.

In seek of bettering my skin, I moved to head and shoulders, since many people with the same condition have had great results.

Has anyone else tried this method. Did it work for you? do you know if there are any long term negative effects it will have on my skin? I'm using it twice a day currently, but may be able to cut back once I feel its at a good point.

[sooky17]

In response to your question regarding using the shampoo as a face wash:  I have had bouts of  seborheic (sp) dermatitis on my scalp and earlobe areas for some time now and I find that generic coal tar shampoo helps very well.  For the first day or two you will notice some flaking of the skin but many people use it to treat the itch and inflamation (inflammation) successfully without any negative side effects.  I have read though, that you should alternate with your regular soap as not to overly dry out the skin.  I'm not sure if Head and Shoulders uses coal tar as their main ingredient.  Some shampoos for this condition contain Salicylic acid as their main ingredient but I find that it stings and burns too much.  The coal tar just works.  

[tlee3]

The active ingredient in H&S is Pyrithione zinc 1%.

[tlee3]

I picked up some Neutrogena T/Sal last night and used it before bed and this morning. Seems to be working great. I think I might switch back and forth between this and the head and shoulders, unless the T/Sal continues to work this good on its own.