Seborrheic Dermatitis – What is It?

Seborrheic Dermatitis – What is It?

Seborrheic dermatitis is disorder of the skin that can affect your scalp, back, chest, oily body areas and face.  It can be unpleasant, unsightly and uncomfortable. You can treat mild cases at home if you know what to look for, but more severe cases should be treated by a doctor.

The main symptoms of seborrheic dermatitis include crusty and scaly patches, white or yellow scales near hair shafts, reddened and oily skin with yellow or white flaky scales, soreness, itching, dandruff and flaking skin.  Though it these can mainly affect your scalp, you can find it in between eyebrows, around the groin, over the breastbone, behind ears, around your nose and in the armpits.  Sometimes the symptoms can be mild and other times they can be more severe.

The main triggers of seborrheic dermatitis include yeast infections, fatigue, stress, seasonal changes (winter is worse), neurological conditions or diseases, HIV and AIDS.  However, with medical advice from a medical specialist or your doctor, you can learn to minimize the effects of the symptoms and avoid the triggers that cause your outbreaks.

You should see your doctor when your symptoms become unmanageable.  If your symptoms affect your day to day living, you cannot sleep, your skin hurts, you get a skin infection or you have tried home-based remedies and management to no avail, make a doctor’s appointment.

To treat your seborrheic dermatitis at home by yourself, there are remedies that you can use:

• Shampoo your hair daily with anti-dandruff shampoos containing ketoconazole, ciclopirox, salicylic acid, pyrithione zinc, tar or selenium sulfide.
• Use a daily topical application of non-prescription Lotrimin (clotrimazole) from your pharmacy.
• Use a non-prescription cream containing hydrocortisone to help with itching.
• Use hypoallergenic detergents/soaps.
• Rinse your body well after washing.
• Wear smooth cotton fabric clothing.
• Remove unnecessary hair – mustaches, beards, etc.
• Trim your nails to avoid scratching.
• Wear gloves whilst sleeping to avoid scratching.

If you have to see your doctor, your doctor will first make a diagnosis through varied tests.  These can include talking about your symptoms, examining the affected areas, doing skin biopsies and also ruling out other possible skin conditions.  Other conditions that mimic seborrheic dermatitis include: atopic dermatitis; psoriasis; and tinea capitis (scalp ringworm).  Once diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis, your doctor may prescribe prescription, medicated shampoos if your scalp is affected, or give you special antifungal or corticosteroid topical or oral medications.  These can help reduce your skin’s sensitivity to allergens (your triggers) and inflammation.

Unfortunately, seborrheic dermatitis has no cure.  It is a life-long affliction with outbreaks that may last days, months, weeks or years, but may have periods in between with no symptoms at all.  However, there are ways to ease your symptoms and you should, if you suspect you have seborrheic dermatitis, seek medical advice before undertaking any home treatments.

Why our skin needs to produce oil…

Why does our skin produce oil?

Our skins need to produce oil which they do from tiny sebaceous glands hidden in the skin. Part of the job of this sebum that is produced is to maintain the protective acid mantle of the skin. The acid mantle refers to the sebum which is a complex blend of various lipids or fatty like substances, sweat and cellular debris that collects on the surface of the skin and hairs. The acid mantle has acid in the name as the pH typically ranges between 4.5 – 5.5.

The acid mantle is part of the skin’s defence system as the acidity helps to prevent bacteria invading the skin. The acid mantle forces the epidermal and the skin hairs to lie flat in a structured way to look a little like scales on a fish.

• Without an acid mantle the skin cells would pull apart leading to dehydration.
• Loss of the acidic protection would mean bacteria are more able to enter the skin.
• Hair would become more brittle and break more easily.
• With no acid mantle to protect it the skin would become more prone to irritation and sensitivity.

When we purchase products to wash and cleanse our oily skin we should not use harsh skin care products that strip away our natural oils. We need to use gentle but effective skin care that protects the acid mantle of the skin such as skinsaviour skincare products.

Skinsaviour skincare products are carefully formulated to gently and effectively cleanse the skin without stripping natural oils effecting sebum production.

What do I do about dry skin?

How do I tell if I have dry skin?

Dry skin is a very common skin condition and is often linked to sensitive skin as well. The medical term for dry skin is xerosis. If our skin is mildly dry we can experience a feeling of tightness and the skin being uncomfortable. Sometimes we will experience dry patches and flakiness that you see and in its extreme form dry skin can crack and bleed. Dry skin often looks dull and lifeless with none of the healthy glow we associate with skin in good condition. It is important to look after dry skin as it often ages more quickly than any other skin type.

What can I do?

Mild dry skin can be easily treated but severe dry skin that has cracked, bled or formed lesions should be seen by a doctor. Dry skin responds well to a skincare regime that includes a gentle, effective cleanser that doesn’t strip away natural oils in the skin and a moisturiser that has emollients and natural moisturising factors such as plant oils and extracts. Dry skin should be treated gently and not subjected to hot and cold winds, too much sun, a central heating and air conditioning. A humidifier and effective skin care products should help in the times you can’t avoid these.

Following some of these suggestions below should help ease dry skin conditions:

• Use lukewarm water to wash your face and pat gently dry.
• Use a cleanser without soaps, sulphates or detergents
• Apply moisturiser immediately after washing the skin to retain the moisture.
• Keep well hydrated throughout the day.
• Use skin care products that are high in moisturising factors and keep the skin moisturised throughout the day.
• Eat a diet high in fresh fruit and vegetables – flaxseeds, avocados, salmon, walnuts, virgin olive oil all help lubricate the skin.
• Reduce alcohol, tea and coffee.
• Invest in a humidifier if you are constantly in heating or air conditioning.
• Avoid the sun if you can and always wear sunscreen.

Uneven Pigmentation

Uneven pigmentation is a common problem and can have a number of causes sometimes appearing as people age and sometimes people are born with it. Pigmentation can be caused by environmental stress, excessive UV exposure and as a result of an over production of melanin which clumps together in cells. Sometimes there is a continued increase in melanin production and a slowing down in melanin dispersion, which highlights the difference between pigmented and normal skin areas. Vitiligo is the reverse of this, is a disorder in which patches of white skin appear on various parts of the body. The skin is white because the cells responsible for producing brown pigment have disappeared.

What can we do?

The best way of preventing uneven pigmentation is to avoid sun exposure in the middle of the day and use a broad spectrum sun block when we are outdoors. This will also reduce the appearance of age spots that are not really the product of getting older, but appear as a result of accumulative sun damage done in the past. Pigmentation can sometimes be hormonal and appear in pregnancy, when taking oral contraceptives or entering menopause and sometimes we are just genetically disposed to have problems with excessive pigmentation.  Pigmentation can also be caused by certain medications as an unwanted side effect or as a result of damage to the skin such as bites, rashes or acne type blemishes.

What can we do?

• Follow a good basic skin care routine to maintain skin in the best condition.
• Always use a sun block when outdoors not just when the sun is out.
• Use a sun block that has UVA and UVB broad spectrum protection.
• Gentle exfoliation will allow new cells to surface where pigmentation is temporary.
• Ask your doctor if any medications could be contributing to the problem.
• If the pigmentation is severe, medical procedures such as laser and peels could be helpful but be sure to find an experienced and reputable practitioner.
• Including vitamins A and E in the diet will help even out skin tone.
• Use of skin care products high in vitamins A C and E and high in antioxidants can also help even out skin tone.

Causes of unhealthy skin

Is my skin unhealthy?

Problem skin can have many causes but in general doesn’t have the look of healthy skin.  Healthy skin has clearness about it, a healthy glow with a smooth, unblemished look. Problem skin can look dull, tired and sallow either too greasy and possibly with blemishes or too dry and prematurely wrinkled. Pigmentation does not necessarily mean the skin is unhealthy but can be a problem in how the person feels about it. There is a lot we can do to improve the health and therefore look of our skin and need to look at some of the causes and see what we can identify what could be causing our own unhealthy skin.

What are some of the causes of unhealthy skin?

Although the causes are many, the main culprits are a diet that doesn’t support the heath of the skin, lifestyle factors and a skincare regime that we do not adhere to or the products are not effective.  The skin is the largest organ of our body and needs the same things our body needs to perform its best – adequate sleep, hydration and good nutrition. Excessive lifestyle habits such as overindulgence in alcohol, smoking, late nights and a poor diet will show up on our skin – sooner or later. The good news is our skin will respond to changes we make to support it and while specific skin problems will have specific solutions; these general suggestions below will help improve all skin problems to some degree.

Look at the list below and see how many of the causes of problem skin you can see in your own life:

• Late nights, lack of sleep in general
• Excessive alcohol
• Smoking
• Use of sun beds or tanning
• Lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet
• Fried and greasy foods high in fat
• Dehydration, not drinking adequate water
• Excessive tea and coffee
• Heavy makeup
• Not cleansing the face morning and night
• Not using an effective moisturiser moisturiser
• Use of harsh cleansers with soap or sulphates, not a gentle but effective cleanser

What can I do to help problem skin?

Can we help problem skin?

There is a lot we can do to help our skin look and feel its best. The good news is all we do to help our skin will also improve our general health as well, so we look and feel better in ourselves.  Some changes can have an immediate effect. However, we may have not been supporting our skin for some time so the changes we make can take a while to show on our skins. If the problem you have with your skin is of a more serious nature such as acne, dry skin that has cracked or bled or eczema or psoriasis, even moles or skin discolouration you may be unsure about it is best to seek professional advice.

What to do to help?

By reading the guidelines below and working out a plan for how you could improve your health and therefore the health of your skin.  If there are a number of changes to be made, start off slowly and make small steps towards changing your lifestyle. Making too big a promises to yourself and taking on too much change at once can set yourself up to fail. For example, if you think alcohol consumption is a problem –rather than saying you’ll never drink again – try having alcohol free days or having a glass of water for every glass of alcohol you drink. Choose mocktails over cocktails, experiment with drinks at the bar that look the part but have no alcohol. Enlist the support of a friend that wants to improve their skin too.

Every small step in the list below will help you on the way to having skin that is less of a problem.

• A well balanced diet with fresh, unrefined foods, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Avoid greasy, fried and fatty foods.
• Avoid overly processed and refined foods including sugar.
• Choose water over fizzy drinks and keep well hydrated.
• Avoid excessive alcohol, smoking and drugs.
• Get plenty of sleep at night.
• Avoid sun tanning and use sunscreen to avoid skin damage.
• Avoid heavy makeup.
• Exercise regularly, walking is fine to increase blood circulation.
• Use  effective skin care products with a gentle but effective  cleanser.
• both morning and night to remove daily grime build up that clogs pores.
• Use lukewarm water to rinse the skin and pat gently dry.
• Use an effective moisturiser that will help support skin function with no harmful ingredients.