[Andy1987]

I’ll be posting here again for sure when I have more time, but in the meantime I just wanted to post a quick message to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s contributed to this - what a wonderful community of selfless people you are. Like a said before, I am immensely grateful to all of you. My skin condition often causes me a good deal of pain and stress, but it’s great to know there are people out there willing to help me in my fight to beat it! 

[Andy1987]

Thanks yet again for your helpful (and incredibly fast) responses! It seems that Conjunto Lar sells dicaprylyl carbonate but not Cetiol PGL, whilst DeWolf appears not to ship outside the US (though correct me if I’m wrong on that).

Just to clarify, though, my main problem is obtaining products like Cetiol PGL without being attached to a cosmetics company. UL Prospector does sell Cetiol PGL but when I try to register on websites like theirs I’m always required to supply a company name and sometimes company contact details. Is there any way around this? Would anyone recommend that I simply enter ‘N/A’ in such boxes and try to register anyway? Are these suppliers not permitted to supply their products to people who don’t belong to certain kinds of businesses? I’m sorry for my lamentable lack of knowledge on the subject!

[Andy1987]

Hi Milliachemist, thanks for posting. I’ve tried this, but unfortunately it seems that there isn’t a product out there that uses them without also using ingredients that aggravate the condition, such as lots of shea butter. It’s incredible I know!

[Andy1987]

Hi Belassi and thank you for your helpful comments. Seborrheic dermatitis is a very difficult condition to treat, and what’s effective for one sufferer may not be so for another. Whilst you’re right to suggest anti-fungal agents such as tea tree oil (which, alas, has done nothing for me), for me moisturizing the affected areas adequately (using the lotion I mentioned) has been absolutely crucial. If a cream or lotion leaves my skin feeling at all greasy or at all tight after application - which all but one of the hundreds of products I’ve tried have done - the condition flares up. My years of experience trying to deal with this problem suggests very strongly that it’s the emollient properties of this product (and specifically the Cetiol PGL, which I suppose leaves a ‘silky’ feel without being either oily or drying) that have worked to treat it. At any rate, here are the product’s ingredients:

Water, glycerin, hexyldecanol, hexyldecyl laurate, dicaprylyl carbonate, ethylhexyl palmitate, coco-glucoside, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, cetearyl alcohol, sunflower seed oil, hydroxyethyl acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, jojoba seed oil, butylphenyl methylpropional, Shea butter, caprylyl glycol, citral, coconut alcohol, geraniol, limonene, linalool, magnesium PCA, panthenol, parfum (fragrance), phenoxyethanol, phenylpropanol, polysorbate 60, sodium PCA, sodium stearoyl glutamate, squalane, zinc PCA

I’ve tried using some of the ingredients contained here in formulations that I’ve made at various quantities, but without positive results. Aloe vera juice in particular seems to dry out my skin horribly and aggravate the problem, and shea butter has a similar effect. Other ingredients I have used from this list include glycerin, sunflower oil, jojoba oil, and squalane. I’ve also used some ‘dry-slip’ emollients that I’ve been able to obtain - namely coco-caprylate, isoeicosane, dimethicone, and isopropyl stearate - but, whilst the lack of oiliness is definitely good for my skin, they’re just not quite moisturizing enough. In case you’re wondering, of the myriad other things I’ve tried, occlusive ingredients such as petroleum jelly, and other substances such as beeswax, cause my skin to chap even at very low concentrations. To answer your question about where I am, I’m from the UK, but I’m currently residing in Japan.

Any other suggestions are very welcome of course, and the Sebaryl you mentioned looks interesting, but I’m still hoping I might be able to acquire Cetiol PGL from somewhere despite not being attached to a cosmetics company. Any ideas?

Many thanks once again for your help and time!