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Here's a tip that I don't think anyone has mentioned in this thread before: coconut oil. It's naturally antifungal and antibacterial. I just bought a jar and smeared it all over my back after taking showers, and it really did seem to work. You could combine this with other treatments like using that shampoo in the shower. As a bonus the oil is also a good moisturizer.
Unfortunately this wasn't good for me in the long run as my skin seems to be allergic to it: although the folliculitis got better, I got terrible itches throughout the day when using it. But that's just me. Right now I'm experimenting with essential oils like lemongrass and oregano: thanks to Tom for his research. I'll post an update after a couple of weeks if it works out.
I am using extra virgin coconut oil. so far no big difference. I had some guacomole & onions the other day and that was wrong. I got a flare up. I got rid of it for a month in mid December to January after seeing a chinese herbalist and taking some concocted drink for 10 days morning and night, (plus no fried foods or sugars), & maybe the b/c the weather was cold. I thoughtt I was cured until It came back with a vengeance when I had walnuts in a cake bread 1 month later. The banana bread was not the issue, it had to be the walnuts.
Anyway, I am going back to a full detox. No sugar, no breads, no carbs, no fruits, no gluten, no antibiotics. Certain fruits do become sugar inside of you so I am just doing raw veggies (broccoli, chinese peas, carrots, no potatoes or starches), lentil and vegetable soups, almond milk, extra virgin cocounut oil, teas, garlic, shelled fish b/c it has lots of zinc (shrimp, oysters, crab), oat bran (it is gluten free), green tea capsules, magnesium zinc suppements, and "no meat or protein unless I know it is not fed hormones or antibiotics". Otherwise, you are still taking antibiotics orally. So, no more feeding this p.o.s disease.
This is what I did to get rid of it 98% on my body, (chest, back, a couple on the arm and upper legs) along with some special herbs a chinese herbalist made that I took for 10 days. Now it has crept up on my neck and looks hideous and wants to get on my face but I apply bacitracin on it and it quickly disappears there but the neck is persistent and very noticeable.
Additionally, I am using selsun blue 1%, where can I get the 2.5% yellow?
I will get some more tea tree oil soap. Is this effective if I wash it off whiel showering, or should I leave it on after showering & let it dry?
I did it for 4 weeks. Just green veggies and organic meats. I splurged and had a gluten free organic pizza, some organic pumpkin, and gluten free, no GMO rice chips. wrong move!. those %^&$#ers came back in spots that were receding in 1 day. I was looking pretty clear.
So, I am back on the boring diet (no sugar, no salt (himalayan sea salt is OK), no fruit sugar (except lime or lemons), no starchy vegetables that turn into sugar and using selsun blue washes, topical peroxide splashes and vitamin e (topical).
What was your 1st experience with these?
I got about 100+ pustules over a 3 day period all over the upper trunk, face and scalp of body and we thought it was adult chickenpox. So, I applied vitamin e and aloe vera daily and it went away in a few months. Anyone else get something close to that effect?
As of now 9 months later, it is just clusters below the mouth (around 5 or 6 tiny raised white pustules) and unhideable larger red spots (again 5 or 6 some with white heads) on my neck (these are fugly)
Uusing selsun blue (helps but don't leave on > 15 to 30 min or skin will discolor)
sing sulfur soap by grisi from CVS (it dries out the skin a lot)
Using tea tree oil soap,, (leave on to dry; it helped somewhat while on the diet)
using hydrogen peroxide splashes (helps somewhat with the small ones as they reduce in diameter)
100% EVCO - oral (not sure how the caprylic acid helps besides make me go to bathroom hours later)
vitamin e (topically off and on; this seems to help but it takes time)
My culture was negative according to the head derm but he believes I have bacterial (or staph) folliculitis. So sugar (even fruit and vegetable sugar) and breads can make it worse. Perfect. Now my typical healthy diet is over and I am on a highly restricted diet. This is not living not to mention all the stares I get at my neck while in the grocery line.
This thing is driving me crazy; I'm getting a couple of bumps on my chest at a time and I've had it for few years. Oral antibiotics always clears it up but it comes back anyway. I tried anti-bacterial soaps for long time but no success. Could this be PF anyway? My doc had me on uvb therapy for 4 months (weekly) but it hasn't helped. She asked my to try terbinafine gel and I did but with limited success. I asked for Ketoconazole tablets and now I'm on them for 10 days (only).
What bothers me is that it's only limited to a small area (mid-chest) and rarely I get them elsewhere. Occasionally one or two on my back or upper chest. I also often get jock itch but never ever athlete's foot. Anyhow that's why I suspect PF since I also tend to sweat on my torso.. However, if antibiotics (oral) always clear up the bumps.. does it mean I can't have PF?
My derm also suggested propylene glycole. Here it's available as a mositurizer 20%. Is it effective against bacteria and fungi?
Butenafine Hydrochloride 1% (sold as Lotrimin Ultra), has been found to be effective on malassezia, although it is an off label use. You can buy this anywhere and the manufacturers website has a $2 off coupon. Try it for 2 weeks and see if it works.
The way to diagnose malassezia is to take a skin scraping with a razor blade and look at it on a KOH treated slide under a microscope at 100X, as described here:
Many doctors cant diagnose malassezia because it is difficult to culture and the human body has numerous microbiota that will contaminate the culture. Plus, this yeast wont grow at all unless oil is added to the petri dish, which may not have been done. Did you ask about the culture technique, if oil ahd been added, or can you get a copy of the test results?
Ketoconazole tablets should be taken with a slightly acid stomach, like if you drink a Coke or a glass of lemon juice, and then wait an hour, and then go exercise and sweat for an hour or two so the drug is delivered to the skin. Did your doc tell you that?
On 7/12/2013 at 5:51 AM, Tom Busby said:Ketoconazole tablets should be taken with a slightly acid stomach, like if you drink a Coke or a glass of lemon juice, and then wait an hour, and then go exercise and sweat for an hour or two so the drug is delivered to the skin. Did your doc tell you that?
Is it necessary? The drug should get into the blood stream and to the skin. Otherwise topical ketoconazole would be enough.
My doc didn't tell me anything.. I just asked for the drug and he was clueless (as they usually are). You're supposed to take blood tests but he had no clue about that either. Anyway, I'm also using topical Clindamycin on the spots so that I won't get a secondary infection. Perhaps not that smart as I won't have a clue what worked..
Ps. This is a good site with information about the different types of folliculitis.
[Edited link out]
Apparently there're more than one type of fungal folliculitis with different treatments.
Heres a doc who advises an acidic stomach and sweat. [Edited link out]
The link you found is out of date. Since about 2005, scientists agreed that malassezia is the correct name, not pityrosporum. The name-problem resulted because the yeast exists in both a hyphae and a yeast form. (Tinea versicolor is the result of the hyphae, and seb derm or folliculitis is the result of the yeast.)
After DNA genome sequencing was available, it was clear that there was only one yeast, and there was a general agreement formed in 2005 to 2008 to call it malassezia instead of pityrosporum. Im pointing this out, not to be a jerk, but because there is a lot of out-of-date information, and the quickest way to recognize the old research is to see if they write malassezia or pityrosporum.
Hello!
I believe I have malassezia folliculitis that affects mainly my scalp. Ocassionally I get some pustules on my chest/back but my scalp is always affected.
Alongside this I have seborrheic dermatitis which I've been able to keep at bay. My face/scalp can get a bit oily and flaky but I haven't had a serious outbreak for a long time.
The pustules on my scalp however have been terrorizing me for the last years. I've been to the doctor but nothing they've prescribed me with has helped. It wasn't until recently through some searching on the internet that I found out about malessezia folliculitis. I'm going back to the doctor to see if I can a diagnosis of this.
Since then I started taking oil of oregano and turmeric orally which I believe has helped a little bit. My scalp feels less itchy and so far I believe the amount of pustules have been reduced although new ones keep popping up.
Does this condition cause hairloss? Sure male pattern baldness runs in my family but I've lost most of my hair and I'm fairly young.
Some say it's diet related. I've been on a low carb/sugar and dairy/gluten free diet before for weight loss reasons and it didnt really help my seb derm/folliculitis though there was some cheating involved from time to time.
Is it worth going on a strict yeast free diet or is that just a waste of time? The problem with such a diet is that I can't see myself commiting to it for the rest of my life.
Some of the stuff I've tried are
Selsun
ketoconazole shampoo
salicylic acid
head and shoulders with 1% pyrithione zinc
pyrithione zinc creams
various antiseptic creams
virgin coconut oil
tea tree oil
I also take supplements everyday so my body gets all the vitamins/minerals it needs.
Hi yellowcutter, seb derm is generic term and malassezia is the specific yeast (fungus) that causes the incomplete immune response, which results in the red bumps you describe. Diet has nothing to do with it. It's a genetic conditon that affects some individuals in all mammals no matter what their diet is -- carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores like us. The key principal is that it's lipid dependent, which means it metabolizes oil. There's no way to eliminate body oils, so you have to use a shampoo and a lotion. One without the other doesn't work.
I review all the current OTC treatment options here:
Long story short, buy 30 grams of Lotrimin Ultra (not the AF kind). You'll need a lifelong treatment regimen because it's an immune reaction, similar to an allergy. Nizoral 1% shampoo can be mail ordered from any online drug store, or Hegor 150 climbazole shampoo can be found on eBay and it's more effective and smells better too.
Hi,
I also had this Malassezia (pityrosporum) folliculitis and get rid of the superficial pimples after 3 months by using itraconazole and Polypropylene glycol 50 %
The problem is that I am left with white dots or pimples under my skin that will not vanish and as I have understand from reading on the internet this is some kind of acid that can not get pigmented that is left in the follicles after the Malassezia (pityrosporum) folliculitis pimples.
As this hypipigmented marks or pimples are deep down in the sking no topical treatment works as schampoos, oils and creams
I been taking itraconazole five times now for 2 weeks each time but it only helps little bit and that is temporarily, after I finish the itraconazole the white dots recurs and my chect and neck looks like chicken skin.
I have tried all kind if treatments included laser hair removal but nothing helps, one doctor told me to stay in the sun to get this hypopigmented dots pigmented in the sun, but it just looks worse as the healthy skin gets tanned leaving the white spots more visible.
I read somewhere that you need to eat 400 mg of itraconazole daily together with some orange juice or coke and after one hour you should go to some exercise and sweat so the itraconazole gets out in the skin. This must be done daily for 3-4 months and also eat some ecological coconut oil that kills fungus and bacteria in the body.
When they speak about Malassezia (pityrosporum) folliculitis, do they only mean the pimples or also the deep infection in the skin after the pimples are gone?
Hi Nordener, I've found that adding 2% niacinamide (Vitamin B3), 1% dl-panthenol (Vitamin B5) and 5% Glycerin to help with tinea versicolor. I have hyperpigmentation tinea versicolor, although I suspect this will work on hypopigmentation too. The process is slow, although some results are visible in as little as three days. After trying this for two months, I've about some success, where about 20% of the brown spots turned white and flaked off. By extrapolating, ten months would be necessary for me to heal all of the spots.
I'm a "2" on the Fitzpatrick Scale. I think that people who are "3" or more on this Scale have hypopigmentation from malassezia, but I'm not sure if this is true. My best guess is that malassezia has several different mechanisms to adjust it's environment, via some kind of photosynthesis-reaction, and that's why some have light spots and others have dark spots.
On the other hand, if you have KP, aka chicken skin bumps, then topical coconut oil will treat that in a month or so. Watch out though, because if you have a problem with malassezia, topical coconut oil will make everything much worse, in 3-4 days. Coconut oil is one way to do a differential diagnosis for KP versus malassezia.
Hello,
I was wondering if you fine folks will be able to help me out with a extremely stubborn case of folliculitis. I had posted about my problem in another thread, but no one answered, and unfortunately my problem is persisting. My problem started back in May with a tinea infection on my hands,arms, and thighs. They treated me with a topical anti-fungal/steroid cream. I was also on antibiotics at the time for a sinus infection. When I ended both treatments I noticed I had a spot left. I went back to my doctor said it wasn't tinea and gave me hydrocortisone cream. That didn't work and then gave me all kinds of topical antibiotics, they didn't work he gave me a oral antibiotics, that didn't work. Went to a derm that confirmed folliculitis, by way of a shave biopsy and gave me more antibiotics, and they didn't work.
I always had a sneaking suspicion that it was PF but they never gave me any anti-fungals. They said since the shave biopsy came back negative for any fungus they were not going to prescribe me any. I finally got my doctor to prescribe me some, a 4 day course (Diflucan 150mg). It was finally almost clear, then something happened, either I shaved or had sweat too much and it got way worse. I begged and my doc gave me a week dose (100mg). Its not any better. It looks like it gotten worse i don't know if that's possible haha! I'm at my wits end with this, I have spent hundreds in copays and useless prescriptions. I really need answers, or advice please guys I'm one desperate lady! I'm going to try to attach pictures of what my legs currently look like.
Any help or advice you can give is greatly appreciated.
Can anyone help?? I just posted in the other forum but i'm trying to get any help I can!
This started as what appeared to be acne on my arms. Then moved to my chest and occasional torso. Then I went to the derm and she said I have Folliculitis. Gave me 2 steriod/anitboitcs to try. It went away about 80% and then 4 days later came back but even worse!! All over. My chest, legs, face, and arms.
She gave me another antibiotics but it's not working.
From everything I've read, I feel like I have PF, but wanted your opinion on this photo. Does it look like it?
Hey nbrown224 - It does look a lot like the PF flareup I had on my chest this past spring/summer, triggered by a course of antibiotics. Stopping the antibiotics seemed to help a bit initially, but the first derm I saw diagnosed it as acne and started me on acne topicals, which seemed to aggravate it more, and then the hot muggy weather started, which probably added to the problem. Then the derm started me on another antibiotic, which made things even worse! I finally found this site (hallelujah!), self-diagnosed as PF, stopped everything the derm had prescribed, started on some over-the-counter antifungals, and saw improvement within just a few days. Within a week or so I was 80% clear, went to a new dermatologist, she agreed it was PF, added a prescription topical to the mix, and since then I've been mostly clear, just a few spots here and there.
SO: I think it probably wouldn't hurt for you to do a PF "test run" just like I did--then if it works, you can go back to your derm (or a new one) with "evidence." You'd have to stop taking the oral antibiotics and stop using any acne-related topicals (cleansers and leave-ons), and switch entirely to anti-fungals. There are tons of product suggestions on these forums, but what I started with was Nizoral shampoo (the 1% over-the-counter kind) in the morning and at night the Noble Formula 2% zinc soap (bought it on Amazon). Wet skin, lather on, leave for 5 min. or so, rinse of thoroughly. I also used Lotrimin Ultra cream (over-the-counter, make sure you get the "Ultra," it's different from regular Lotrimin) morning and night. Try that regimen for a few days and see if you see any improvement. My dermatologist also gave me a prescription leave-on foam of selenium sulfide (same stuff that's in Selsen Blue shampoo--which is another thing you could try). Initially I was doing cleansers and leave-ons twice a day, for the first 3-4 weeks; now that I'm more in maintenance mode, I'm still playing around with which products to use and how often, but overall feel like I've got it under control.
Good luck!
Thank you so very much!!!
I finally convinced my derm that it was PF. She gave me a topical Ketoconazole and I've stopped all antibiotics. I am doing the Nizoral Shampoo, getting my body wet, laterhing it on and leaving for 10 minutes. Then washing off. I bought the Noble Formula 2% zinc bar online, so I'm hoping I get that soon!
I haven't been able to find the Lotramin Ultra yet, all of the pharmacies Ive been to, have said they are recalled.
I've been doing this for 24 hours and have seen just a slight improvement in the redness.
How many days before you really saw an improvement? I'm thinking the antibiotics still need to get out of my system.
Anyway, thank you so much for the reply!! I'm so thankful for this forum.
I would say after about 3 days I definitely saw an improvement, that is, a reduction in the number of bumps and how inflamed they were. But even then I wasn't entirely certain it would last, because the condition had always waxed and waned a bit over the 4 months, sometimes seeming to get better for a day or two and then suddenly flaring right back up again. But after about 6 days I had no doubt it was a steady, consistent improvement. I will say, though, that my flareup was a bit milder than yours--my chest looked a lot like your photo, but I had more smaller bumps, fewer of the bigger ones, and it was really localized mainly to my chest, not really anywhere else. I was on antibiotics for about 5 weeks, and I didn't take steroids like you mentioned you did...so it might take you a bit longer than it did me, but hopefully you are on the right track! Be patient, and I would say give it at least a week or two. Even then if you feel like it's not improving, don't give up on the PF diagnosis right away, consider trying other anti-fungals. From what I understand, not everything works for everyone, and the yeast can quickly become resistant to any one product, so it's good to mix it up. For instance, Nizoral shampoo is actually ketaconazole, so since you're already getting that in the prescription topical, you might try something else--there are loads of suggestions in these forums (Selsen Blue shampoo, tea tree oil, propylene glycol, mandelic acid...).
I, too, am so thankful for this forum! Who knows how long I would have endured this, since my dermatologist dismissed a fungal cause after one negative biopsy and insisted on the acne diagnosis. She was about to switch me to a different antibiotic when I came across this site. Phew!
Hi nbrown, the condition on your chest is most likely Pilaris Keratosis (aka chicken bumps). It's considered untreatable by western medicine, but is treatable with raw coconut oil. About 40% of all humans have this problem at one time or another. It's not a permanent allergy, and no one knows what causes it. It's not really seb derm.
Hello all!
Here is my story....
Had acne since I was in my early teens, went on various antibiotics (for quite a prolonged time).
Most of these antibiotics never fully cleared me up, various peroxide creams, vinegar etc I've tried them all and even done a short course of accutane.
I have very oily skin, I believe it is this combined with the prolonged use of antibiotics and poor/ sugary diet that resulted in me getting PF.
I was given Nizoral on the past from a derm but they never explained what I had nor advised on diet etc.
I have within the past week started using nizoral religiously combined with frequent wipes/light washss of face to remove oil.
My skin is 99% cleared, it's absolutely amazing and I can't believe I didn't just do this before!!
In my opinion my diet played a pivotal role in the pf. I would eat copious amounts of fat/sugary snacks, it seems only when I mixed cutting these with nizoral use daily that I saw exceptional results.
It is obviously still early days (a weeks no time at all)
But I am confident this is a long term treatment (going to reduce as muxh as I xan and cycle with head and shoulders)
I will keep you all updated and hope to god that anyone in a similar situation to me can read my post and gain some sort of hope/solution for this condition.
Kind regards
Daniel 
An additional note:
I did try and still use an alum block (especially when shaving)
I believe this takes care of the bacterial issues present on skin really well, it won't get rid of the fungal issue but a combination of the block and nizoral are giving me fantastic results.
The pf I had was all over my face, scalp, back of neck and shoulders, chest and arm.pits.
It was invisible in certain light and very noticeable in others.
When I squeezed my pores say between my bottom lip and chin it would excrete a white/yellow substance.
Hope this is useful to some people.
Daniel
Hello!
I believe I have malassezia folliculitis that affects mainly my scalp. Ocassionally I get some pustules on my chest/back but my scalp is always affected.
Alongside this I have seborrheic dermatitis which I've been able to keep at bay. My face/scalp can get a bit oily and flaky but I haven't had a serious outbreak for a long time.
The pustules on my scalp however have been terrorizing me for the last years. I've been to the doctor but nothing they've prescribed me with has helped. It wasn't until recently through some searching on the internet that I found out about malessezia folliculitis. I'm going back to the doctor to see if I can a diagnosis of this.
Since then I started taking oil of oregano and turmeric orally which I believe has helped a little bit. My scalp feels less itchy and so far I believe the amount of pustules have been reduced although new ones keep popping up.
Does this condition cause hairloss? Sure male pattern baldness runs in my family but I've lost most of my hair and I'm fairly young.
Some say it's diet related. I've been on a low carb/sugar and dairy/gluten free diet before for weight loss reasons and it didnt really help my seb derm/folliculitis though there was some cheating involved from time to time.
Is it worth going on a strict yeast free diet or is that just a waste of time? The problem with such a diet is that I can't see myself commiting to it for the rest of my life.
Some of the stuff I've tried are
Selsun
ketoconazole shampoo
salicylic acid
head and shoulders with 1% pyrithione zinc
pyrithione zinc creams
various antiseptic creams
virgin coconut oil
tea tree oil
I also take supplements everyday so my body gets all the vitamins/minerals it needs.
Hello,
I had hairloss fairly young and believe it often comes with increased oil/sebum combined with less hair to soak it up.
This I believe has something to do with the yeast in my case thriving.
In regards to the diet, I believe it was key in my case to reducing my pf.
I have stopped buying chocolate/sugary snacks and only rarely eat them when a friend/family member offers me some. (Don't want to appear obsessive about my diet ha)
Sticking with the nizoral well rubbed in and left on for a min of 5 minutes has just eradicated the vast majority of my pf pimples.
Make sure that you are sticking with both the diet and treatment. (Nizoral in my caee for the yeast)
Daniel
Am i suffering from Pityrosporum Folliculitis or grover's disease
Scabies?
Thank you so very much!!!
I finally convinced my derm that it was PF. She gave me a topical Ketoconazole and I've stopped all antibiotics. I am doing the Nizoral Shampoo, getting my body wet, laterhing it on and leaving for 10 minutes. Then washing off. I bought the Noble Formula 2% zinc bar online, so I'm hoping I get that soon!
I haven't been able to find the Lotramin Ultra yet, all of the pharmacies Ive been to, have said they are recalled.
I've been doing this for 24 hours and have seen just a slight improvement in the redness.
How many days before you really saw an improvement? I'm thinking the antibiotics still need to get out of my system.
Anyway, thank you so much for the reply!! I'm so thankful for this forum.
Might want to add probiotics to your diet to put back all the stuff that the antibiotics killed. As I understand it, when the bacteria are wiped out by antibiotics the yeast then takes over unchecked. Look at yogurt, probiotics beverages, kefir, etc. It's hard to pin down what worked, but I feel like it helped.
Also, Nizoral is amazing!
Hey guys,
Just wanted to share my story with you guys and hopefully be able to offer some helpful advice. I've been dealing with chronic Folliculitis on my face and scalp for close to 5 years now. I've been to several different dermatologists over this time period and they've all provided a different diagnosis but similar oral and topical anti-biotic treatments. I've spent countless hours reading through posts from other users with similar experiences and am convinced that I am suffering from Folliculitis, which was one of the diagnosis I received from one of the dermatologists I visited. As is the case with many of you who have had similar experiences, during treatment the Folliculitis has completely gone away only to come back worse than before after finishing treatment. Most recently I was on Doxycycline for about 4 months, tapering off during the last month and a half as advised by my dermatologist, hoping to kill the infection for good. That was not the end result, unfortunately, and now my Folliculitis is back on my scalp and face (chin and jawline) worse than ever before
I refuse to visit another dermatologist and be prescribed more oral anti-biotics which will only make my condition worse over time, so I am seeking alternative treatments. I read that many people have had success washing their face and scalp with Hibiclens (an antiseptic skin cleanser whose active ingredient is 4% chlorhexidine gluconate) and started washing with it yesterday. Already I am seeing some enouraging signs that this thing might actually work since my bumps feel less inflammated and red in color. I'm going to continue washing my face and scalp every morning after I wake up and evening before going to bed until I hopefully get rid of all the bumps.
I also ordered a Mandelic Acid wash from Amazon which I also hear works to help treat folliculitis. I am not sure yet exactly how I am going to work this into my regimen, but I was thinking of perhaps alternating between the Hibiclens and the Mandelic Acid wash. Also to be clear, prior to using the Hibiclens I am using an exfoliant on my face to unclog any pores and my normal shampoo on my scalp to wash my hair. I will be sure to provide you guys with an update on my progress over the next couple of days and weeks.
To summarize, here's my current progress:
-On day 2 of using Hibiclens twice a day to wash my face and scalp (using exfoliant on face and tea-tree oil shampoo prior to application) and so far it seems to be keeping the Folliculitis under control and possibly reducing the inflammation of my bumps, with minor dryness/irritation (at least for now).
-Scalp still very itchy, but some improvement from prior to washing with Hibiclens. I wouldn't say that the Hibiclens has been effective in treating the itch if that is what you're looking for. For that, I have found Selsun Blue (w Aloe Vera) the most effective.
I hope I can find an effective treatment once and for all that does involve becoming a slave to a damaging anti-biotic. Good luck guys!
Just diagnosed with this condition on scalp and face. I have been prescribed low dose accutane (20mg per week) and have been told this will get rid of it for good by reducing the oil production of my skin. It may take 6 months or it may take 6 years but low dose will eliminate it. Any one any experience with this treatment?
Hi everyone, I opened an account just to reply to this topic cause I'm at my wit's end!
Can't quite believe how many people seem to be suffering with this. I am now one of them I think!
Quick story - it all started late Dec 2014, started getting a few weird spots on forehead (between eyes) at Xmas. Thought I was probably having a breakout, so used normal acne products. About 2 weeks passed got into new year and everything started to get worse. The bumps started to spread up my forehead and by late Jan my forehead was bumpy, red, itchy and raw with all these little, what looked like clogged pores and blackheads.
I'm a picker (unfortunately) so yeah I did start to scratch the clogs out. What came out was liked hardened sebum - some of the clogs were so deep! Anyway, I've now realised picking them out doesn't much help and I've probably scarred my face quite a bit.
From January onwards I was still using my normal skin care routine all over face (cleansing oil method, plus jojoba oil for moisturiser) then I got desperate and bought some salicylic acid spot treatment which I thought was helping but didn't clear it up. Bought freederm which weirdly stung the area. Then I bought tea tree oil but because my face is quite sensitive, I mixed it with jojoba/hemp oil and lathered it on affected area.
When that didn't work I thought maybe it need extra moisture so started adding a really thick oil balm to forehead at night. That was a mistake. It started getting worse and spreading. That's when I started searching on internet and discovered PF.
I can't think what else it could be!
Start of February I bought Nizoral shampoo over the counter. Started using it morning and night (leaving on for as long as possible) and at first it seemed to be helping. I got excited! But now after nearly four weeks, it's stopped getting better. In fact it seems that while some bits clear, the bumps spread to other sections of my forehead. Most of them are under the skin (if you catch the light right, there's probably about 100 tiny flesh coloured bumps), some look like blackheads, and others pustules. It's so confusing.
Other things I've tried are baking soda and lemon juice. Lemon juice seemed to calm redness but it irritates the skin a bit!
I read lots of people talking about candida and so looked up symptoms and I think I had mild oral thrush and didn't even realise it till now! I had a very thick white coating on my tongue. So I decided to get some fluconazole (difflucan) - I've taken one tablet (150mg) and the coating on my tongue pretty much went away within 24 hours. But I'm wary of self-medicating and taking more of this. I've even now tried putting clotrimazole cream on it (thrush cream) on my forehead.
I don't want to go to my doctor cause here in the UK you're only now allowed to see your registered doctor, and mine is a TERRIBLE doctor. I know he'll just want to give me antibiotics.
Does anyone have any advice of what to try next?
I've ordered some ketoconazole cream and some more fluconazole, and I've even purchased some retin-a which I don't know whether is worth trying on my forehead (I want to use it on my face because I have normal acne there).