[2] Infants are often born in a collodion membrane, a shiny, wax outer layer on the skin and usually with ectropion, a condition in which the eyelids turn outwards.

Eclabium (eversion of the lips), ectropion and alopecia (hair loss) are more common in congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma than in lamellar ichthyosis.

[3][non-primary source needed] Congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma can present very similarly to lamellar ichthyosis and they often share characteristics, though the two conditions can often be differentiated by the appearance of the scales.

[4][non-primary source needed] Congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder.

This means a child must inherit a defective pair of genes (one from each parent) to show the symptoms.