Lifestyle

7 Practical Tips for Fungal Acne You Need to Know

After years and months of trial and error and research just to find out what’s wrong with my skin, I stumbled upon a lesser-known issue that I thought I could try. I treated my skin as to having fungal acne and.. lo and behold…. my skin drastically improved!

The following are the ways I’ve figured out what I have is most likely fungal acne.

So what in the world is ‘Fungal Acne‘?

Pityrosporum Folliculitis or Malassezia folliculitis or simply called ‘Fungal Acne‘ is that tricky little bump on your face that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Acne Vulgaris often accompanies Fungal Acne and is often mistaken as one. 

While Bacteria is often the cause of Acne Vulgaris (or the deep pimple that you might often get, it is Fungus Overgrowth or Yeast that causes fungal acne. It feeds on excess sebum on the skin. Common oil-based products can trigger its growth as well as hot, and humid climates, like the Philippines, where I grew up. It usually appears in the oily areas of the face, back, and sometimes the neck.

How to Recognize Fungal Acne

To identify fungal acne, a certified dermatologist must be the one to check on your problem. But if that’s out of your budget, well, there’s always the trial and error stage.

If you want to go the trial and error route to save some bucks, you can start with google images of fungal acne and start from there, if it matches what you have on your face.

Next, you would have to start the elimination process of your skincare routine. Better start with basic ones. For example, for one week use only your cleanser. This is also a great way to relax your skin from all the products you have been using. If after one week, the bumps subsided then you are on your way to having clear skin. The next week, incorporate your moisturizer and see how it would affect your skin. So on and so forth.

Practical Tips to Consider if you think you have Fungal Acne.

  • Run your products’ ingredient lists on sites like www.sezia.co/ (my fav one) or www.skincarisma.com to see if there are any ingredients in it that may cause a fungal acne flare-up.
  • Fungal acne usually appears in the form of tiny white bumps that seem too easy to squeeze out. As with any form of acne, avoid picking it, up and even touching it as the pus, germs, and bacteria on your hands can easily spread and infect the skin next to it.
  • Over the months, I find that trying new products are best at night. They penetrate so much easier since it’s the time you’re skin is regenerating. If in the morning you find you have new spots on trigger areas, then you know that product might not be worth using all day.
  • Oil splatters when you’re cooking is not good either. Once it splatters on your face or on any of your trigger areas, wash it off with your cleanser so the fungal acne won’t thrive on it.
  • If you happen to have a lot of on your chin and mouth area, be careful with eating oily foods. Better yet, try to avoid it altogether. This will save you so many headaches in the future.
  • Check your toothpaste. Sometimes, the fluoride on your toothpaste is causing the issue. Find something that is fluoride-free.
  • Give your skin a breather once in a while. Sometimes putting too many products ( a.k.a Korean 10-Step Skin Care Routine) all at once can suffocate the skin and cause it to flare up like crazy. Stick to a very minimal skincare routine. Sadly, this would be the case for the long haul cause as of now, there’s no widespread cure for fungal acne.

That’s it for now, on my next post I will be sharing some essential oil tips that can help control the flare-ups and how to use them properly and safely on the skin.

If you have your own hacks or tips and tricks in dealing with fungal acne, kindly share them below so we can all benefit from them.


Meanwhile, here are some helpful references for in-depth research about fungal acne.


https://simpleskincarescience.com/pityrosporum-folliculitis-treatment-malassezia-cure/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3970831

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AOsE7aajCo

I am Jena, an experienced content creator, who is passionate about travel, health and wellness, and fashion. I'm an avid traveler and digital nomad, who loves to craft and sew and who has some IT background. I aspire to help others with 'no niche' online find their voice and just express themselves. 

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