I lost eyebrow hair before I even knew what was happening. Little patches going sparse – seb derm eyebrows, as I’d later find out it’s called – and I kept thinking it was just how my brows were, maybe I’d over-plucked once too many times in the nineties and they’d just… given up. It wasn’t that. It was seborrhoeic dermatitis on the face, quietly doing its thing while I wasn’t looking. Scaly patches on my eyebrows, that familiar flaky buildup in the creases next to my nostrils – seb derm around nose is apparently a thing, who knew – skin that looked irritated and felt tight and just generally unhappy no matter what I put on it.
I already had seb derm on my scalp. Oily, crusty, itchy as anything – if you know, you know. But I genuinely didn’t clock for a long time that what was happening on my face was the same condition. And once I did figure it out, I had to start again basically from scratch because what works on your scalp and what works on your face are two very different things.
So this is what I know now, after doing it the long and expensive way so you maybe don’t have to.
Quick disclaimer: I’m not a dermatologist. Everything here is from my own experience and research. If your seb derm is severe or not responding to anything, please see a doctor.
First, what is seb derm actually
Seborrhoeic dermatitis is a chronic skin condition driven by an inflammatory reaction to Malassezia, a yeast that lives on everyone’s skin. Some people’s immune systems react to it badly. We’re those people. It tends to show up in sebaceous-rich areas – so your scalp, your face (especially eyebrows, nose creases, around the ears), sometimes the chest or back. It’s not contagious, it’s not caused by being dirty, and it doesn’t just go away. You manage it. That’s the deal.
One thing I’d recommend regardless of where yours shows up: bookmark Sezia. It’s a free tool where you input any product’s ingredient list and it tells you whether it’s safe for seb derm or whether it contains things that feed Malassezia. I wish I’d found it earlier. Would have saved me a lot of money.
The scalp version
Oily. Crusty. Itchy as hell. Flakes on dark clothes. That specific misery of reaching up to scratch in public and immediately regretting it. For me it sits on top of androgenic alopecia, which is female pattern hair loss, so managing my scalp has never been optional – an irritated, inflamed scalp is not a healthy environment for hair, and I need every advantage I can get.
I’ve written a full post about my scalp routine specifically – every product, why I use it, and how it all fits together – so I’m not going to repeat all of it here. You can read that here. The short version: Nizoral 2% in my shampoo rotation is non-negotiable, the Philip Kingsley Flaky Itchy Scalp Toner at night has made the biggest difference, and I use Sezia to vet everything that goes anywhere near my head.
Seborrhoeic dermatitis on the face – and why it’s a whole different problem
Here’s the thing nobody really explains: facial seborrhoeic dermatitis doesn’t look or behave like scalp seb derm. On my scalp it’s oily and crusty and itchy. On my face it’s scales. Actual scales on my eyebrows, flaky buildup in the creases beside my nostrils. It looks like dry skin. It gets mistaken for dry skin constantly. And if you treat seborrhoeic dermatitis on the face like dry skin – piling on rich oils, heavy moisturisers, anything with the wrong fatty acids – you’re basically feeding the Malassezia and making it worse. Which is exactly what I did for a while.
The eyebrow hair loss seborrhoeic dermatitis can cause was the thing that finally made me take it seriously. Losing hair on your head is one thing. Watching your eyebrows thin out because of a skin condition you didn’t even know you had on your face is another thing entirely.
Going FA safe
The biggest shift for me was going what the community calls FA safe – fungal acne safe, which many people with seb derm also follow because both conditions involve Malassezia yeast. It means cutting out the ingredients that feed it, mainly certain fatty acids and oils. This is where Sezia becomes essential because you can’t just eyeball an ingredients list and know. I love K-beauty. I love testing new things. Going FA safe made that complicated because a lot of gorgeous K-beauty products contain ingredients that don’t work for me. But my skin is genuinely calmer for it and I haven’t had a proper flare in a long time, so.
Nizoral as a face mask
Yes, the shampoo. I use Nizoral on my face. Applied to the affected areas – eyebrows, around the nose – as a mask for about five minutes, then wash it off. It’s drying. I won’t pretend it’s a spa experience. But it works for me during flares. That said, facial skin is much more sensitive than the scalp, especially if you also deal with rosacea or a damaged skin barrier – and if that’s you, go carefully and patch test first. Ketoconazole directly targets Malassezia, which is exactly what you need, but it can irritate reactive skin badly so please don’t just slap it on and hope for the best.
Moisturise properly afterwards because it will dry your skin out. And keep it away from your eyes.
My current face routine (FA safe, seb derm friendly)
I want to be upfront: you don’t need all of this. I’m a skincare enthusiast who likes testing things. My actual daily routine is much simpler – first cleanse, second cleanse, serum, moisturiser, SPF. The rest I pick up and put down depending on what my skin needs. So don’t look at this list and panic. Everything mentioned here I bought myself – I’ll always say if something was gifted.
Cleansing
I don’t use an oil cleanser to remove my makeup anymore. A lot of oils feed Malassezia, and even oils that are technically FA safe felt like they were pushing my luck. Instead I double cleanse with micellar water first – the pink cap Bioderma – but here’s my little trick: I decant it into a foaming pump bottle. So it comes out as a foam, which makes it so much easier to use as a proper first cleanse rather than just a makeup remover you swipe off with a cotton pad. Then a gentle FA safe cleanser as my second cleanse. That’s it. Clean skin, no irritation, no feeding the yeast.
Toner (optional but I enjoy it)
Toners aren’t necessary. I use them because I enjoy them, not because my skin will fall off without one. I rotate between the Soon Jung toner from Etude House and the Isntree Green Tea toner. Both FA safe, both gentle enough for reactive skin.
Serums
Azelaic acid has been genuinely useful for my face – it has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties that make it a solid choice for seb derm skin, not just a random skincare trend. Now, which one. I bought the Anua azelaic acid serum on a complete whim because it was absolutely everywhere on TikTok and I got sucked in like the rest of us. Honest verdict? It’s fine. It’s decent. It is not the serum from the heavens that TikTok would have you believe. I found it a bit greasy, which might be because I was expecting something thin and ethereal and instead got a normal serum that exists in the real world. It’s not bad. It’s just not special. Which is why I’ve got the Skin1004 azelaic acid on its way so I can compare properly. The one I actually stuck with for over a year and genuinely enjoyed was the Dermatica azelaic acid – that one I’d recommend without hesitation. But I like to test things. You know how it is.
I also reach for the iUNIK Beta-Glucan Serum for barrier support, the Purito Centella Unscented Serum when things feel irritated, and at night I use tretinoin from Dermatica buffered over moisturiser. Tretinoin’s prescription only – it’s not something to jump into without doing your research – but it’s been good for my skin overall.
Moisturiser
The Dr. Althea Aqua Gel moisturiser. Lightweight, non-greasy, FA safe. Exactly what you want when you’re managing a yeast-driven condition on your face – you don’t want to smother it in something heavy.
SPF
Always. Non-negotiable. I change mine often but right now I’m enjoying the Skin1004 SPF. If you’re using azelaic acid or tretinoin you absolutely cannot skip this step.
Exfoliation
Once a week, the Anua 77+ Clear Pads. PHA exfoliant, so much gentler than AHA or BHA on reactive skin. Keeps the texture in check without aggravating things.
The bit that actually matters
The difference between managing seb derm on your scalp and managing seborrhoeic dermatitis on the face comes down to this: your scalp can handle medicated shampoos, antifungal toners, exfoliating acids, things that would be way too harsh on facial skin. Facial seborrhoeic dermatitis needs a gentler, more careful approach – FA safe products, a repaired skin barrier, and Nizoral as a targeted treatment when things flare rather than an everyday step.
The thing both have in common? You can’t just treat it once and forget about it. You manage it. You learn your triggers, you check your ingredients, you keep the routine steady. And when a flare comes – because it will sometimes, that’s just the nature of it – you know exactly what to reach for.
The eyebrows grew back, by the way. Slowly and not completely, but they came back. Small wins.
Discount codes
If you’re shopping for any of the above, I have active codes worth using. Skinsider – use code NEVEEN15 for 15% off (brilliant for K-beauty in the UK). Olive Young Global – use code NEVEEN20. Lookfantastic – use code LFTFNEVEEN for 20% off. Dermatica – use code NEVE1 for your first month free or NEVE2 for 10% off standalone products. Full list at neveenwood.com/discount-codes.
Some links in this post are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. All products mentioned were purchased by me unless otherwise stated.
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