Objective To analyze the effect of glycolic acid combined with Shumin moisturizing cream in patients with seborrheic dermatitis and mild to moderate acne rosacea. Methods A total of 100 patients with seborrheic dermatitis and mild to moderate facial acne rosacea admitted to General Global Xi'an Beihuan Hospital from January 2023 to October 2023 were selected as the research objects. According to different treatment methods, they were divided into control group and observation group, with 50 patients in each group. The control group was treated with routine treatment, and the observation group was treated with glycolic acid combined with Shumin moisturizing cream. The clinical efficacy, treatment safety, TCM syndrome score, recurrence and skin barrier function were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of treatment in the observation group was 100.00%, which was higher than 62.00% in the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions after treatment in the observation group was 2.00%, which was lower than 32.00% in the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the scores of erythema, desquamation, dryness, burning and itching in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). The recurrence rate of the observation group was 0, which was lower than 24.00% of the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the sebum content and stratum corneum water content in the observation group were higher than those in the control group, and TEWL was lower than that in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion For patients with seborrheic dermatitis and mild to moderate facial acne rosacea, glycolic acid combined with Shumin moisturizing cream has a good effect, it can not only improve the related symptoms, enhance the skin barrier protection function of patients, but also reduce the incidence of adverse reactions and recurrence r ate.