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Six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa has battled more than tough competition throughout his career. He also battled seborrheic dermatitis, a chronic skin disease.
Seborrheic dermatitis, more commonly known as seb derm, is a problem the 35-year-old golfer says he has been dealing with since high school.
“I think (in high school) I noticed that I had dandruff or what I thought was dandruff. And you know, you see it in commercials, everyone has it, so it’s no big deal,” Homa told PK Press Club Digital as part of Arcutis’ Free to Be Me campaign.
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Max Homa plays his tee shot on the third hole during the first round of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 5, 2026. (Rob Schumacher/The Republic/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
“As I got older I started getting a lot of redness on my face and I tried everything over the counter, creams or other lotions and was able to get things like that to help a little, but never lasting.”
Homa said that being out in public a lot, it’s not ideal to wear a stain on your face to counteract seb derm, and said that in his beard it becomes painful. Homa credited his wife for pushing him to see a dermatologist about the issue.
The Burbank, Calif., native said having seb derm was a very humbling thing, and he didn’t plan to talk about it until Arcutis asked him to become a partner. He hoped that being open and vulnerable would encourage others to get checked out.
“It’s not something I ever set out to do. But upon reflection, when Arcutis wanted to partner, I thought, man, if I could help someone else get the push to understand what’s going on with their skin,” Homa said.
“Even though it’s not the easiest thing to do, I think especially for men, for some reason, I don’t know, very men. We, we don’t like the dentist. We don’t like the dermatologist. We don’t like the doctor. All those things are, luckily my wife makes me go to all those things now.”
Jordan Spieth speaks to Max Homa on the fourth tee during the third round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, California on February 21, 2026. (Caroline Brehman/AP Photo)
Dr. Tina Bhutani, board-certified dermatologist, clinical researcher and CEO of Synergy Dermatology, told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview that 10 million Americans suffer from seb derm.
“The most common areas are the scalp. That’s what we call, you know, quote unquote, dandruff.
But it can actually manifest in other areas like the face, ears, upper chest, upper back,” Bhutani told PK Press Club Digital.
“So it can affect several areas at once, which makes life difficult. It’s very visible and it has an impact on patients’ quality of life.”
Bhutani said that if left untreated, the disease can not only get worse, but also continue to spread. She recommended that the first step to getting treated is to talk to your primary care doctor and dermatologist to find out the next steps.
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Max Homa hits from the third fairway during the third round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, California on February 21, 2026. (Caroline Brehman/AP Photo)
Homa said she was prescribed Zoryve Foam (reflumilast), which is a 0.3% once-daily foam, without steroids, to treat itching, redness and anywhere seb der appears.
“It’s like once a day for me in the morning and I’m just more at peace with it. I never really think about my skin, which is cool,” Homa said. “If it can be this easy for me, I hope other people can find it.”
Homa said it’s not greasy, it’s not overbearing, and it only takes a minute and a half to apply in the morning. He said the hardest part of getting treatment was simply going to the dermatologist.
“The hardest part was going to the dermatologist, which wasn’t hard,” Homa said with a laugh. “Like that was the hardest part, by far. »
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Max Homa waits to putt on the eighth green during the first round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, California on February 19, 2026. (Caroline Brehman/AP Photo)
“So for men, I think we see our wives, our significant others or women in general, as if they have skincare routines. That’s why they’re pretty and we’re not.”
Homa wants people to know how easy it is to get treatment. “I just want people to know that once you find a solution or something that works for you, it just becomes a part of your daily life and it’s not overbearing.”
Homa won the Wells Fargo Championship in 2019; the Genesis Invitational and Fortinet Championship in 2021; won the Wells Fargo Championship and Fortinet Championship again in 2022; and the Farmers Insurance Open in 2023.
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