Everything Fungal Acne (And What to Do About It)

What Is Fungal Acne?

Fungal acne isn’t technically “acne” as it’s caused by an overgrowth of yeast in the hair follicles. It’s actually called Malassezia folliculitis or pityrosporum folliculitis. It’s affectionately called fungal acne because yeast is a type of fungi and the condition closely resembles acne.

Fungal acne can be hard to diagnosis by sight. You’ll need to see a dermatologist who can do a skin scrape to properly determine if you are, in fact, dealing with it.

However, there are some signs and symptoms that can help you narrow down the possibility that you have fungal acne.

• Small clusters of tiny, uniform, and superficial pimples.
• Don’t typically come to a “head” that can be popped.
• Skin can be itchy.
• Symptoms often worsen with sweat.
• Can also appear on the chest, shoulders and back as clothing can cause yeast to grow quicker.
• Antibiotics don’t improve breakouts.
• Responds to anti-fungal treatments.

What Causes Fungal Acne?

As I mentioned above, fungal acne is caused by an infection of yeast in the hair follicles. So what causes the yeast to overgrow in the first place?

The microbiome of your gut is directly linked to the microbiome on your skin. When the gut becomes disrupted, the same happens to your face. Yeast easily overgrowths when the microbiome is negatively impacted by prescriptions like antibiotics and/or the birth control pill.

In addition, fungal acne can occur due to a compromised immune system (ie. cancer treatment, HIV, AIDS, or post organ or bone marrow transplant).

Treatment

Addressing fungal acne takes a two-prong approach of internal healing and topical treatments. I highly recommend you work with a knowledgeable practitioner who can correctly support you in doing this. Killing off yeast and bacterial overgrowths can be tricky and need to be done correctly.

Internally

Fixing the gut’s microbiome and repairing the gut lining is essential when dealing with fungal acne. For our clients in The Clear Skin Solution, we walk clients dealing with fungal acne through a therapeutic protocol that uses both food and supplements. The clients follow specific dietary guidelines over the course of 12-weeks while using antimicrobial herbs, tailored probiotic strains and gut-healing nutrients. We also support their blood sugar and rebalance hormones that can overproduce pore-clogging sebum when not level.

Topically

I often see clients treating their fungal acne with dandruff shampoo that contains zinc pyrthione or ketoconazole. While it can help reduce the yeast, long-term use of dandruff shampoo can damage the skin barrier. The damage can occur thanks to the irritating and drying ingredients that aren’t designed for the skin.

Over in The Clear Skin Solution, our in-house Holistic Esthetician, Alexis Fletcher, recommends the following to clients:

• Use a sulphur-based cleanser.
• Light cream or serum that contains lactic acid to help exfoliate and prevent pimples (I love BeautyCounter’s Overnight Resurfacing Peel).
• Make an at-home mask with honey, turmeric and tea tree essential oil.
• Try a DIY toner of alcohol-free witch hazel + rosemary and lemon essential oils.
• Always wash your face or use a cleansing wipe after exercising or sweating.
• Get 15-20 minutes of sun exposure (without sun protection) on your face outside of peak times (before 11 AM or after 2 PM).

Alexis also recommends fungal acne clients stay away from these fatty acids in their skincare products.

• Undecylenic Acid (C11)
• Lauric / Dodecanoic (C12)
• Tridecylic (C13)
• Myristic / Tetradecanoic (C14)
• Pentadecanoic (C15)
• Palmitic / Hexadecanoic (C16)
• Palmitoleic / Hexadecenoic (C16:1)
• Margaric (C17)
• Stearic / Octadecanoic (C18)
• Oleic / Octadecenoic (C18:1)
• Linoleic (C18:2)
• α-Linolenic (C18:3)
• Nonadecylic (C19)
• Arachidic / Eicosanoic (C20)
• Heneicosylic (C21)
• Behenic / Docosanoic (C22)
• Tricosylic (C23)
• Lignoceric / Tetracosanoic (C24)