I got diagnosed with "seborrhea capitis" when I was young. The term means seborrhea of the scalp, which is a type of dermatitis (skin irritation.) It is caused by too much "sebum" (a fatty substance) flowing out of the skin glands of the scalp. Though it looks very flaky, the cause is actually not dryness . . . just the opposite. Seborrhea of the face looks oily and can be associated with acne.

No over-the-counter dandruff shampoo helped me. My doctor prescribed "Sebutone Shampoo." (Requires a prescription.) It was the greatest stuff. (It's not cheap.) It has about 3 active ingredients, one of them being coal tar.

As I got older, the problem got much easier to manage. (Just as my acne also subsided.) Now I just use any coal tar shampoo. The most economical is sold by Walgreen's, under their own brand . . . way cheaper than T-Gel and just as good.

Betamethasone and DiproSone will help ease any real soreness/itching, but - yeah - as said above, they're both steroids, and I would go lightly with them. You could still use then, in combo with a therapeutic shampoo. It is best if steroids are not the main treatment, but an adunct.

Remember, flakiness may have absolutely nothing to do with dryness of the scalp. Seborrhea is usually not related to dryness at all. The hallmark sigh of seborrhea is greasy little scales that you can pick off. Frequent shampooing is a good thing for it. One way to test that out is to ask yourself, "Does the problem get worse in cold weather, when I tend to shampoo less than in the summer?" Mine did.

Curly hair tends to seem dry, regardless of what's going on with the scalp. Products made specifically for curly or frizzy (mine) hair can help a lot, without overly drying the scalp. Using a defuser to blow dry hair is especially gentle.

Fungus (candida) is something that we all have growing all over our skin and on mucus membranes. It is normal to have it. Only when it overgrows excessively, it it a problem. Seldom have I heard of it being a big problem on the scalp. Generally, with fungus, you actually want to dry out the skin. Fungus thrives on moisture - just like mushrooms. I have known of doctors ordering the use of blow dryers on pubic and genital and rectal areas, specifically to promote drying that would inhibit fungus . . . and herpes, incidentally.

I've read that there is such a thing as seborrheic eczema, though I've never seen it. My sister has eczema of the scalp, though it is not related to seborrhea. It can be a much tougher thing to control and much more distressing to live with. It is more likely to be a condition characterized by dryness, as opposed to seborrhea that is, by definition, oily. When I've seen it, it sure looks a heck of a lot more painful than seborrhea of the scalp. The doctor should say the name of your condition . . . the diagnosis.

Eczema can be related to allergies. The crusting is usually caused by "serum" leaking from the blood stream, not from "sebum." It can be complicated by bacterial infection, sometimes staph. That's all serious stuff, and should not be confused with seborrhea capitis.

Eczema is helped by a cool, humid environment. Fugal overgrowth is made worse by humidity. Seborrhea probably isn't much affected one way, or the other.