As a seborrhoeic dermatitis sufferer, many over-the-counter shampoos and conditioners don’t work for me. My scalp itches, gets too dry or too oily, and my hair falls out a lot.
Seborrhoeic dermatitis is an inflammatory skin disorder and can affect the scalp, face and torso. It’s characterized by itchy, scaly flakes and when I pick at it, my skin becomes very red and bleeds. I’m lucky that mine is localized – only patches of my scalp and ears are affected. So besides topical steroid creams, I shopped around and found this:
I’ve been taking a look now and then at their Facebook page and website. MooGoo’s main cream is a modified cream made for human skin; the original was for healing cow udders, and now the range has expanded to include hair and scalp care, and even skin care. I guess the best way to summarize the ingredients used is that MooGoo doesn’t use SLS, parabens, or mineral oils. You can visit their website to find out more.
I got the set at a Caring’s Pharmacy in Pavilion KL. From memory it was around RM80+ – I bought it late last year and have been using it since.
SHAMPOO
The shampoo is quite strongly scented, but the fragrant oil used to perfume it is phthlate-free. The ingredients are decyl glucoside and cocoyl glucoside (from glucose), doscium cocyl sarcosinate and sodium laurylamphoacetate and cocobetaine (from coconut oil). It also contains glyceryl oleate (natural ester), glycol disterate (conditioner), guarsilk, piroctone olamine, allantoin, and milk proteins. What’s strange is that for a shampoo that brands itself as a “no itchy scalp – no dandruff” shampoo, there are none of the usual dandruff-fighting ingredients like Zinc Pyrithione. I have used those shampoos (examples include Head and Shoulders) but I must say that MooGoo’s Milk Shampoo is definitely gentler and helped with the seb derm problem I have. It worked in tandem with my steroid cream and calmed my scalp down. It wasn’t as itchy as before either. My only gripe is that it doesn’t foam, so I find I have to use quite a bit of it to really clean my hair, as my hair is quite thick and coarse.
CONDITIONER
Brilliant conditioner which contains rapeseed oil-derived detanglers, jojoba oil, oil oil, allantoin, milk protein, piroctone olamine and vanilla oleroesin essential oil. This doesn’t smell as overpowering as the shampoo but it does a great job of detangling. My pump was malfunctioning and I wrote a comment on their Facebook page to let them know. MooGoo shipped me a new pump free and it works really nicely. Unlike shampoos, I’m not too fussed about the ingredients in conditioners because I don’t use conditioners near my scalp. edit: MooGoo has confirmed that their conditioner is safe to use on the scalp. They recommend rubbing it all over the scalp together with the hair and rinse off thoroughly.
MooGoo’s gentle, safe formulas are designed to be environmentally friendly and as natural as possible. I think despite the higher price tag (in comparison with other SLS-laden shampoos), I am more than happy to repurchase this because it works. I think that we tend to torture our scalps too much and personally, my scalp problem needed to be taken care of properly, and the normal anti-dandruff shampoos weren’t working because it was just stripping my scalp dry.
MooGoo might want to tone down the scent of the milk shampoo though – it’s really sweet and strong. Funnily enough it does smell like a nature-derived scent though.
I’ve got maybe another month’s worth of usage on this before I move on to my next sensitive scalp shampoo (which also doesn’t contain SLS). So the shopping ban is still on ;).
belle de moiselle 
Hey, did your hair becomes dry and frizzy after using this shampoo & conditioner?
Hi Ann, nope, my hair was fine 🙂
Owh, and another question.. Did you go to any doc to initially when you started to have seborrhoeic dermatitis? Because i think im having this problem, my scalp is so itchy and have been having major hair loss for months..
My seb derm was diagnosed by a dermatologist. I would recommend that you see a dermatologist as opposed to just a GP because the dermatologist can check your whole scalp properly. Dandruff, seb derm and psioriasis can be very similar so don’t self-diagnose :).
Hi, I happened to stumble upon your blog and realized that you too have Seborrhoeic Dermatitis. Do you know the reason of your case? And are you still on medication, other than steriods? I have a serious case of SD on the T-zone and hair and a visit to the dermatologist did treat it within 3 days, however I still experience a mild red patch on the area between the nose and cheeks every now and then.
Just like to know how you manage to resolve it, though I think I will still visit another dermatologist soon. Thanks.
Hello Agnes, my dermatologist said that SD is not something we can cure, but it can be managed. It’s constitutional, so basically I got it due to genes and/or stress. During periods of extreme stress, it flares up quite badly. Since SD is a reaction towards the natural yeast that is present on our scalps, my dermatologist recommended drying my scalp after every wash and using his medication. The key thing is making sure the affected area is kept dry and applying the meds. Hope this helps 🙂
Hi, thanks so much for your prompt reply. Thats almost the same answer as what my dermatologist says as well – due to genes and stress.
I no longer have an issue with the scalp after his prescribed medicated cleanser, only more on the face. FYI, I was prescribed this Stieprox by the brand Stiefel. It can be used for SD and for dandruff. Take Care. Hope both of us can manage to keep this depressing SD under control. 🙂
No problems Agnes. Thank you for visiting our blog. I was prescribed a steroid cream and a lotion – it had no name so I’m not sure what medicine it is – and I’ve been cutting down on sls-laden shampoos. Using them once in a while is ok but my scalp prefers non-sls shampoos. Good luck in managing your SD 🙂 apparently it gets better with time and good care
Me too a SD sufferer. My derm said exactly the same thing. Am trying out a new treatment from the derm now. Reminder to self: must not pick at scabs, they don’t go away… 😦
🙂 good luck milktea! Hope that your SD gets better soon.
Hi..
I bought the shampoo and conditioner to try but my scalp and hair seems to be more dry when I use them. You mentioned the shampoo doesn’t foam, so I was surprised that mine foam more than the other non-SLS shampoo (Human Heart Nature) that I have used before.
Wondering if they have changed the formula or the bottle that I’ve gotten is defective… 😦
Hi Olivia, you need to teach me how to foam my shampoo up! Maybe you applied more than I did? You can write to MooGoo to ask. Their customer service has been excellent so far.
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just got a bottle of this! Can’t wait to try this out! I have SD too and it flares on and off. Now my scalp is so itchy I wanna die 😦
Sorry to hear that ohhhoney. Hope that it works for you 🙂 I find it good to blowdry your hair once in a while.