Dermatitis

Dermatitis simply means inflamed skin, it's an umbrella term covering several distinct conditions, not a diagnosis in itself. If you've been told you have "dermatitis," or you're trying to work out what's causing a rash, here are the main types, and where to find the right information for yours.

The Main Types of Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (eczema) is a genetic, immune-related condition causing dry, itchy, inflamed skin, often starting in childhood and running in families alongside asthma and hay fever. See our Natural Eczema Treatment page.

Contact dermatitis happens when something touching your skin causes a reaction, either through simple irritation (irritant contact dermatitis) or a genuine allergy (allergic contact dermatitis). See our Contact Dermatitis Treatment page.

Perioral dermatitis is a distinct condition causing small bumps around the mouth, nose or eyes, commonly linked to steroid cream use, toothpaste ingredients and hormonal factors. Despite sharing features with both, it isn't a type of eczema or rosacea. See our Natural Perioral Dermatitis Treatment page.

Seborrheic dermatitis causes flaky, sometimes greasy scaling, most often on the scalp (where it's commonly just called dandruff), face and chest, driven by an overgrowth of a yeast called Malassezia that lives naturally on everyone's skin. It thrives on certain fatty acids, lauric acid and oleic acid particularly, both common in skincare oils, including some of our favourites. Consequently, we don't currently have a product formulated specifically for this condition. If you want to research this yourself, MCT oil (caprylic/capric triglyceride) is one of the few oils that falls outside the fatty acid range this yeast can use.

Not Sure Which One You Have?

It's genuinely common to be unsure, and more than one type can overlap, having eczema makes you more prone to contact dermatitis too, for instance. A GP or dermatologist can give you a proper diagnosis, which matters, since the right approach differs meaningfully between types. Whichever type you have, our Patch Testing and Potential Reactions and Skin Irritants pages are useful starting points.