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Review
. 2025 Mar;15(3):599-613.
doi: 10.1007/s13555-025-01351-z. Epub 2025 Feb 14.

Child and Adult Seborrheic Dermatitis: A Narrative Review of the Current Treatment Landscape

Savanna I Vidal  1 , Nikita Menta  1 , Lawrence Green  2
Affiliations
Review

Child and Adult Seborrheic Dermatitis: A Narrative Review of the Current Treatment Landscape

Savanna I Vidal et al. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is a common, chronic inflammatory skin condition affecting sebaceous gland-rich areas of the skin. The multifactorial etiology of SD involves sebocyte activity, skin microbiome dysbiosis, and immune factors. Various treatment options exist for management of SD.

Methods: A PubMed search conducted on November 1, 2024 using the terms "seborrheic dermatitis" and "treatment" (restricted to 2019-2024) yielded 389 results, from which relevant papers and additional references were included in this review.

Discussion: Topical antifungals, topical corticosteroids, and topical calcineurin inhibitors are first-line treatments for SD; however, long-term use of each of these may be limited by varying side effects. Roflumilast foam is a newly approved topical with potential to become a first-line treatment. Myriad systemic treatments exist as second- and third-line treatments for cases of moderate-to-severe and/or recalcitrant SD. Procedural interventions of varying efficacy exist.

Conclusions: The treatment of SD requires an individualized approach, utilizing a range of topical, systemic, and procedural interventions. The advent of new treatments like roflumilast foam offers novel, well-tolerated, and safer options than what has been available in the past.

Keywords: Cryotherapy; Dandruff; Injections; Isotretinoin; Laser; Oral antifungals; PDE4 inhibitors; Roflumilast; Seborrhea; Seborrheic dermatitis; Topical antifungals; Topical calcineurin inhibitors; Topical steroids.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of Interest: Savanna I Vidals work is funded through an independent research grant from Galderma. Nikita Mentas work is funded through independent research grants from Incyte and Johnson & Johnson. Lawrence Green is an investigator, speaker or advisor to Amgen, Arcutis, BMS, Dermavant/Organaon, Incyte, Janssen, Pfizer, UCB, OrthoDerm, Vyne, and Takeda. Ethical Approval: This article is based on previously conducted studies and does not contain any new studies performed by any of the authors with human participants nor animals.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Recommended treatment algorithm for management of seborrheic dermatitis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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