Seborrhoeic dermatitis is a more severe form of dandruff, with many of the same symptoms – flakes, itch and redness, to name a few. Find out what makes it different and why you need a different shampoo.
It’s easy to confuse seborrhoeic dermatitis and dandruff. After all, the symptoms are almost identical:
- flakes
- redness
- itch
- dry scalp
- inflammation
But there’s one key difference to look out for: seborrhoeic dermatitis tends to be more severe. So, you can expect to see more flakes, feel more itch and see more signs of irritation than with dandruff.
What causes seborrhoeic dermatitis
Yes, you guessed it – it’s the same as dandruff. The symptoms of seborrhoeic dermatitis are all caused by the presence of a naturally occurring scalp microbe, malassezia globosa.
When malassezia breaks down the oils on your scalp, it produces an irritant: oleic acid. Half the population is sensitive to it, and for most people it leads to dandruff; for others it can cause a more intense case of seborrhoeic dermatitis.
So, how do you tell if you have seborrhoeic dermatitis?
As we’ve seen, there’s a lot of overlap with dandruff. But you should look out for:
- More severe flakes
- White/yellowish flakes – these tend to be oilier than dandruff flakes
- Red, inflamed patches on the scalp
How to treat seborrhoeic dermatitis
Just like dandruff, you can treat seborrhoeic dermatitis with a shampoo.
You might find that a good anti-dandruff shampoo containing 1% pyrithione zinc is enough to control all symptoms.
But if this doesn’t give you enough relief, try a selenium sulphide shampoo, like our Clinical Strength Shampoo.
Our Clinical Strength Shampoo with selenium sulphide removes flakes faster than ordinary anti-dandruff shampoos.* It’s clinically proven to work on even the most severe flakes, and tackles all the symptoms of seborrhoeic dermatitis.
In fact, it’s the strongest seborrhoeic dermatitis shampoo you can buy without a prescription.
More about seborrhoeic dermatitis
*vs. 1% pyrithione zinc anti-dandruff shampoo
