12.12.2020

Updated: Fungal Acne Skincare Routine



It's been about 6 months since my skin has been mostly under control. I wanted to share a list of my favorite products to help fight fungal acne. Sulfer and Nizoral weren't the best choices for me. My routine has changed and I've tried a bunch of new products.

Moisturizers:
Hada Labo Premium Lotion
Hada Labo Gel Cream
COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All in one cream

Occlusive:
Cerave Healing Ointment
EltaMD Intense Moisturizer

Cleansers:
Vanicream Facial Cleanser
Happy Cappy Medicated Shampoo



Eye Makeup Remover:
Swan Mineral Oil

Body Wash/Shampoo/Face Mask:
Happy Cappy Medicated Shampoo
Head & Shoulders shampoo
Selsun Blue shampoo 

Conditioner:

Pantene Pro-V Daily Moisture Renewal Conditioner (*contains fatty alcohols)

Sunscreens:
DRMTGLY Broad Spectrum 45
DRMTGLY Universal Tinted Moisturizer SPF 46
Cotz Face Natural Skin Tone SPF 40
EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46

Note: EltaMD clear is safe and the tinted sunscreen is NOT safe. A tinted dupe is supposedly DRMTGLY Anti Aging Tinted Moisturizer SPF 46.

Retinol:

Retino A 0.025% (Tretinoin, not FA safe)
Differin




Retinol Routine:

First 6 months, starting with Differin- At night, I would wet my face, apply Hada Labo Premium Lotion all over and use Cerave Healing Ointment under my eyes, sides of the nose, and sides of the mouth. Apply a dime-size amount of Differin immediately. Optional: applying moisturizer before bed. I used Differin twice a week.

Tretinoin- Same application but wait for the moisturizer to dry for at least 30 minutes then apply a pea to a dime-sized amount of Tret. Wait at least an hour or before bed, reapply moisturizer and a layer of Cerave Healing Ointment on top.

Apply sunscreen in the morning and reapply if necessary.




Now: I try to use Differin daily and throw in 1-2 days a week of just Tret. I’m using a nonsafe Tret for anti-aging purposes. If I got a purge or breakout then Differin takes care of it. I’m still in my first year of Tret and I’m working my way up to being able to use the safe product: A-Ret Gel 0.1%





Note: Retinol usage and results will vary. Decrease the number of days if you experience any discomfort or burning. Apply water, moisturizer, and healing ointment on dry areas. Heal first before using it again.

I developed Angular cheilitis at both sides of my mouth. It looked like a patch of dryness. I treated it by applying Monistat 7 twice a day. It went away in a week or so. You can use Monistat 7 or any other anti-fungal cream to treat this dryness. Discontinue use after it’s gone. This is also something I’ve used to stop fungal acne outbreaks from further spreading (like the bad case on my ear lobe). I don’t recommend this as a daily treatment.

Shower Routine:

I apply shampoo to my dry skin on my problem areas: face, neck, and chest as a 5-minute mask. I also apply it to my scalp and upper shoulders as a ‘barrier’. I apply conditioner and try to keep it off my neck/shoulders until I rinse. 

Diet

I briefly considered going on the candida diet but it’s really restricting and not sustainable. I always thought dairy was a trigger for me but after reintroducing that into my diet- I had no noticeable reaction. It turns out gluten makes me break out the most. A day of pizza really helped me pinpoint it and any time I ever had beer had caused breakouts. Cutting back on that has helped keep my skin clear.


Recently I have been taking Nutrition Now Pb8 Acidophilus capsules. I’m wondering if it will fix my gut and help get rid of it. There’s not much information online about it. I’ll update if I notice any changes.

Fungal acne safe sunscreens for darker skin tones with supposedly no white cast*:

DRMTGLY Broad Spectrum 45
Cotz Face Natural Skin Tone SPF 40
EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46
Robot Skin Lab Gokujun UV White Gel (or Hada Labo UV White Gel)
Nivea - Sun Protect Super Water Gel SPF 50 PA+++
Missha - All Around Safe Block Essence Sun Milk- (GREEN CAP ONLY)
*These were recommendations I found throughout reddit


DISCLAIMER~

As always!! I’m a regular person, not a dermatologist. I went on the Simple Skincare Science blog to learn about fungal acne and chose products from the massive list. You can ask me questions about any of the products I’ve used but anything else that’s not listed...I’m not knowledgeable about it. I also can’t tell you if what you have is fungal because bumps are bumps. The ONLY way you can figure out if it's fungal is by eliminating products and only using FA safe products.


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