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The reason why I said I don't know is because I don't know how to differentiate dandruff and "just a dry scalp" because I've heard that people can have a dry scalp without having dandruff.
Great to hear that it's not candida! Haha. I do think I have some bacterial overgrowth though because of my bloating problems 
But that's another issue.
I will follow your regimen.
Aussie Scientist I have a few questions regarding your regimen
1. How long do you think it will taketo beat the malassezia?
2. Is there anything I can do for my scalp besides using anti-dandruff shampoo? I mean something that makes it less dry. Preferably some natural remedy...
3. Can I use something ON TOP of the anti-fungal creams that does not contain oils, just for extra moisture. Or will it ruin the effect of the creams? I find that Lamisil in particular is a very dry cream and it doesn't provide a lot of moisture.
4. Why can I not exfoliate? My skin seems like it needs it.
5. Can I buy a facial water which only contains tea tree water? Like, will it be good to clear the skin since it's both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial?
Thanks
Update for my personal log
I had one kiwi and 1,5 thin slices of pineapple yesterday which means that's the first fruit I've had since starting this thread (apart from green apples). In the past few days I guess i've gotten a few new zits here and there, but nothing drastic. I also got my period yesterday so it's hard to tell what caused the "breakouts". Prior to yesterday I also stopped using the Canesten cream for a few days because I ran out, and I've also been wearing makeup 4 days in a row now which is a lot since starting this diet/regimen/whatever it is.
Edit: I ate 2,5 thin slices of pineapple today as well. Dieting has made me weak and my body needed calories so I grabbed the first thing I saw basically. Might try some cantaloupe later or tomorrow as well.
I have decided that I can't do the diet I wrote about in the first post anymore. I'm gonna try to eat as I used to again BUT!!!!!! I will exclude gluten, dairy and refined sugars still, and skip the dark chocolate/cacao nibs for a little longer I think. But I'll add both fruit and legumes back in my diet so I can get calories in and not deprive myself so much. I'll also try to eat even more vegetables.
Edit (again): LOL I just ate a square of dark chocolate. But I only did it because I got anxiety and I also haven't been eating much today I just needed something. But I'll try to avoid it after this.
Clear Skin - see my answers to your questions below.
Aussie Scientist I have a few questions regarding your regimen
1. How long do you think it will taketo beat the malassezia? -
Several weeks probably, but you should see results (ie, less acne and less dry scalp) after a week or so. You will need to apply antifungal creams/use antidandruff shampoos for the rest of your life, probably, but only once a week or so after the acne clears
2. Is there anything I can do for my scalp besides using anti-dandruff shampoo? I mean something that makes it less dry. Preferably some natural remedy...
The dry scalp is caused by the fungus - try leaving the anti-dandruff shampoo on your hair for an hours or so, That will initially make your scalp dry, but should then control the fungus and your scalp wil not then be dry.
3. Can I use something ON TOP of the anti-fungal creams that does not contain oils, just for extra moisture. Or will it ruin the effect of the creams? I find that Lamisil in particular is a very dry cream and it doesn't provide a lot of moisture.
Yes, you can use a moisturiser that does not contain organic oils, but do be aware that fungus loves moisture.
4. Why can I not exfoliate?
BECAUSE exfoliating breaks the skin barrier an allows fungus to invade.
My skin seems like it needs it.
Your skin is dry/flaking because of he fungus.
5. Can I buy a facial water which only contains tea tree water? Yes, this is a good idea
Like, will it be good to clear the skin since it's both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial? yes.
Are you seeing any benefit of applying the Lamisil to your skin ? How long have you been applying it for ??
The only cream I can find with azaleic acid is the one from The Ordinary, but it contains dimethicone which I guess is not good for acne? Otherwise there doesn't seem to be any in my area and price range...
Update for my personal log
I've started eating legumes again and it feels SOO liberating!! I finally feel alive again now that I get more calories in and can eat TASTY food. I'm scared that the acne will come back though so in the meantime I'll still be gluten and dairy free. I'll try do stay free from chocolate as well but I really wanna bake some healthy date-sweetened brownies which I've been wanting to bake for MONTHS but just haven't had the time to make. I might wait until the weekend or something though just so I can see how my skin looks after consuming legumes for a couple of days.
I've got some zits (not many) along the jawline which I still suspect are period related or stress related because I've been sooo stressed out and anxious these past few days. But like, last night I found a picture I took in May and compared to how my skin looks today is like night and day! I almost can't believe my skin used to look like that. I just hope with all my heart that my skin will continue to clear up so that my skin can be 100% clear!
Clear Skin
Do use the The Ordinary cream with azaleic acid. The advantages of the azaleic acid outweigh any disadvantages of dimethocone. I am having excellent results with azaleic acid in creams which (annoyingly) contain dimethicone. Apply the azaleic acid cream together with the Lamisil.
It is good that your skin is continuing to clear - and that the Lamisil is working. (I assume) ...
Okay, I just noticed now that it also contains polysorbates which I heard is not good for malassezia, but maybe it's still okay to use? I also read some reviews that some people get more pimples from using the cream.
Last night I woke up shortly after falling asleep because I couldn't breathe! I'm not sure why but it terrified me. I didn't take Claritin yesterday so it might have been due to pollen because my nose and ears felt congested/stuffed. But I've also been SUPER anxious these past few days just because I've lost weight while I was on the "anti-candida diet" and I'm already so skinny. I know the dangers of being underweight so I have been very anxious about it. I've also been short of breath but I figure that it's either due to pollen or anxiety or both. I ran to the kitchen and ate a banana because it was the closest, quickest and healthiest thing I could find. I was in panic. Wouldn't surprise me if I'd break out tomorrow or something considering that it's high in sugar
I also don't know if I do have some histamine issues besides malassezia, but being so restrictive with my eating is causing me A LOT of anxiety and I just feel like crap mentally because of it. I don't know what to do. I think I'm just gonna try to gain my weight back and see if I feel better once I hit a healthy weight before trying any other limiting diet. I think it's better for me to be at a healthy weight and be able to work out and get endorphins and things like that... I'm a healthy individual (besides not being at a healthy weight) and would NOT eat trans fats and refined sugars, so of course I don't eat that. And I also try to stay away from dairy and gluten. But other than that, I'm so INSANELY tired of being anxious all the time about what I eat and don't eat etc. and always planning what to eat. It's stressing me out!! I study nutrition (although I've only had chemistry classes in my education so far so I haven't learned everything) so trust me, I'm not a junk food person! I haven't been to Mc Donalds or anything like that since I was 13! But I don't want to have to restrict healthy foods.
However, I did find a parasite cleanse which is called ParaPro. It has a lot of great reviews both regarding acne and bloating. I don't know if parasites etc. can cause nasal and ear problems too, and worsen allergy symptoms? The formula is also said to target candida. I've been contemplating buying the cleanse although it's very expensive, especially with the shipping to European countries. But I'm also scared that I'm gonna be secretly allergic to any of the herbs in it. I don't know what to dooooooo. I also just had two squares of 85% dark chocolate in attempt to ease my nerves 
I always experience this stuffed nose during spring and a little bit during summer. But this year it has been worse. It might be due to global warming because I hear that a lot of people who never had allergies to pollen develop them, and that people with pollen allergies experience more severe symptoms. Even my mom who has zero allergies tells me she can feel the pollen in the air sometimes. It might also be due to the fact that I've been so anxious. The itchiness on my face is pretty much gone, but back in May when the itching and the major acne outbreak began and took so long to disappear I've just been really anxious about what's happening to me inside and I spend most of my days just googling symptoms, causes etc. and I know that anxiety can cause a lot of symptoms that aren't there if you're calm. I have noticed a pattern that when I'm occupied with stuff and don't have a lot to think about regarding my health, I usually feel better... But once I'm alone with my thoughts I get all kinds of symptoms. I'm such a hypochondriac. But also, why would I wake up like that in the middle of the night because I couldn't breathe...
Hi ClearSkin,
I was also going to suggest Worms for bloating if you have travelled to a country that has them in the last few years, i.e. Asia. Just pop an Albendazole if you can get hold of it as a precaution. Sold cheaply in Asian countries, but not sure about accessibility in the rest of the world. The natural parasite cleanses are expensive and I've seen people have very bad reactions! I've had worms before and was super bloated, yet lost weight on my upper body.
I would also be cautious about B12 and iron; both can exacerbate acne. Might be worth having a blood test to check your levels and only take if necessary.
Studies have also shown a correlation between sunflower seed intake and acne (see Nutrition Facts website for the journal article reference).
Everything else sounds great though!
10 minutes ago, Foodforthought said:Hi ClearSkin,
I was also going to suggest Worms for bloating if you have travelled to a country that has them in the last few years, i.e. Asia. Just pop an Albendazole if you can get hold of it as a precaution. Sold cheaply in Asian countries, but not sure about accessibility in the rest of the world. The natural parasite cleanses are expensive and I've seen people have very bad reactions! I've had worms before and was super bloated, yet lost weight on my upper body.
I would also be cautious about B12 and iron; both can exacerbate acne. Might be worth having a blood test to check your levels and only take if necessary.
Studies have also shown a correlation between sunflower seed intake and acne (see Nutrition Facts website for the journal article reference).
Everything else sounds great though!
Thanks for your message! I have never been outside of Europe but many people in my country travel to Asia, so I guess that by using the same bathroom as someone else might spread parasites even though I'm a germaphobe so I'm careful with my hygiene. Seems like Albendazole isn't available in my area though.
I've also heard about the connection between B12 and acne, which is why I got deficient in the first place - I ate plant based but I barely ate any supplements of B12 because I was scared it would worsen my skin. I have been taken 1 mg B12 every day for around 2 weeks now since my doctor suggested it after I had taken a blood test, and so far I don't see a huge increase in acne. I believe that both too little and too much of a vitamin could potentially cause acne, but it's just a personal thought.
Sunflower seeds? Aw come on Since I'm allergic to nuts I've started making my own sunflower seed butter to increase healthy fats and calories into my diet. So far I haven't had an issue with it though. I think some people maybe have problems with them because of the omega 6 content, but I take an omega 3 or I eat chia/hemp seeds to balance it out.
Good point about the Omega 3; I have exactly the same issue and can only eat almonds when I am supplementing with fish oil.
If your B12 levels are balanced with the supplement then perfect. I have realised that some multivitamins don't suit me, whilst one particular brand does, it's certainly about finding balance.
You might be able to get a basic stool test at the doctorif you give your symptoms and ask for it. They would be able to prescribe if it came out positive. My main symptoms other than bloating was real fatigue and morning headaches, which I never had at any other time.
I tend to find that, food-wise, it's more important what you add into diet than take out and have cleared my acne in the past 2 weeks focusing on that (after a period of travel where I couldn't worry about my skin!)
I have pretty much given up getting any help from a doctor. I went to the doctor today for my nasal congestion and he told me he can't send me to check it up before I've tried a nose spray. They just want to treat symptoms and not the cause it seems like. It's almost impossible to get a test done besides blood tests.
Yeah, multivitamins can have different ratios of different vitamins, and if someone already eat a lot of B3 for instance, they don't need a multivitamin with a high B3 content. And it's difficult for people to get blood tests for other B-vitamins than B12.
I think it sounds great to focus on what foods to ADD instead of which ones to remove 
It's so easy to get an unhealthy relationship with food when you have acne because you're scared to eat stuff because it might cause breakouts. It's great to hear that your skin has cleared by focusing on adding foods that! If there's any food in particular that has helped you I'd love to hear about it!
Clear Skin
JUST USE THE AZALEIC ACID togethe with the Lamisil. It will be fine - don't worry about the ingredients in it. It works.
And can I suggest you start eating a normal diet, but avoid high histamine foods. I suggest you stop worrying so much about diet and vitamins etc. - just use common sense.
Your skin is clearing, so that is good.
Do NOT NOT obsess about parasites. There is NO reason to believe that you have a parasite problem.
YOUR NASAL CONGESTION (and inability to breathe) IS CAUSED BY HISTAMINES FROM POLLEN, plus food. USE AN ANTIHISTAMINE NASAL SPRAY.
You have two problems, as lots of people have - 1. Fungal acne which is now largely fixed from using topical antifungal creams, and 2. Histamine sensitivity - fix this by eating low histamine foods and taking antihistamine tablets - cetirizine antihistamine tablets are the safest, and using an antihistamine nasal spray.
I don't know you, obviously, but don't wind yourself up over problems that are now mostly solved (acne) or are easily solvable (histamine intolerance).
Breathe deeply and unwind.....
Thanks for your reply Aussie Scientist.
I'm sorry if I'm annoying with all my questions, but I'm a bit confused with the low histamine diet. For instance, some websites say that pineapple should be avoided, and other websites say that bromelain in pineapples is a good anti-histamine.
I've also heard that MSM can relieve allergies. Do you know anything about it?
Also, will I ever be able to eat gluten again? I'm not gonna eat it every day but I'm thinking if I eat at a restaurant and there isn't a better alternative. Isn't spelt the best grain if you're gonna eat something with gluten btw.. I kinda wanna make some (healthy) chia seed pancakes made with spelt flour this weekend just to try...
Clear Skin
You are not annoying me.
No-one should eat (much) gluten - it is inflammatory. Breads are LOADED with gluten - they contain much more gluten that bread did in the past. A bit of spelt flour may not do any harm because spelt flour does not contain much gluten - it does contain some. But I would keep away from gluten for the time being.
Taking bromelain is fine, but pineapple (I think) causes histamine release - you can check that.
Food intolerances are different from food allergies - stay with a low histamine diet - but no-one can eat a NO histamine diet.
I found MSM exacerbated my fungal acne - I suspect because of the sulphur in it.
The BEST things for allergies and quercetin and probiotics wth Lactobacilus rhamnosus (good bacteria) in them. Quercetin will calm your mast cells, which release histamines, and you will then be able to eat a wider range of foods.
I've heard that if you're without gluten for too long you can react badly to it once you start eating it again. I don't want to develop intolerance to gluten. Not that I'm going to eat much gluten or anything, but I already have allergies etc so I don't want to be intolerant to more stuff.
Do you think nutritional yeast is bad to eat if you have malassezia? I had some on my dinner and it started to itch a little now, around 1-2 hours after. There were also tomato puree and black beans in my food though, which are supposedly high histamine. It's weird though because before I started the anti-candida diet I had black beans and it started to itch a while after that as well. I hope I haven't become allergic to them or something because I've eaten them many times before without an issue.
Also, I've noticed that I think I'm breaking out a little bit on the left side of my face it might be because that's the side I mostly sleep on, or maybe just because of stress/anxiety. But I'm also a bit scared that it could be due to the fact that I've started eating legumes and fruit again. I try to only eat low histamine fruits, such as apples and mangoes. Or maybe it's because I've eaten some dark chocolate and some date balls with cacao... It just sucks when you can't eat anything when there are people who legit eat total JUNK and still have perfect skin.
Clear Skin
I think it unwise to eat yeast if you have candida - the reason is that one can develop intolerances to yeasts because of the candida. I used to think was a myth, but I don't think it is.
Sleeping on one side of one's face can exacerbate candida because of moisture build up on the skin. Don't eat high histamine foods..... Food intolerances can build up over time and one's tolerance of histamines depends on all the sources of histamine that one is exposed to food, pollen etc.
People may be able to eat moderate histamine foods without any reaction when thee is no pollen around but not when there is pollen in the air. Do read about histamine intolerances.
Standard statement - I have spent over 2,500 hours reading scientific papers about fungal acne and gram negative acne. I am a scientist (not a biomedical scientist) and I am not a medical doctor.
I thought I don™t have candida. I was talking about malassezia.
Do you mean that if I eat high histamine foods during pollen season I might never be able to tolerate them regardless of what season it is? Also, last summer I ate high histamine foods without any breathing problems whatsoever At least as far as I can remember. I usually only have problems with pollen during spring, not in the summer.
Clear Skin
Sorry - I should have said malasezzia, but it does not matter. Candida and malasezzia are both fungi and they can (possibly/probably) both cause yeast intolerance. Sorry - I was distracted - someone complained about my posts - which annoyed me all the people who like my posts - very annoying - I was distracted.
To answer your second question - Think of histamine going into your body as water going into a bucket - when the bucket is full you have a histamine problem. If you eat foods with some histamines in them and there is no (or low) pollen in the air, you may not respond to the histamine because the overall level of histamine in your body does not reach "crisis point". BUT if you eat high histamine food AND there is (high) pollen in the air, then the level of histamine in your body is high and you respond to the total histamines (in the pollen plus the food).
Do you see what I mean ?
All this stuff is on the web. Look up histamine intolerance.
I am not a medical doctor.
Okay, no worries.
It's still confusing to me though because some websites say, for instance, that legumes are high in histamines, and then some websites say that black beans, lentils and garbanzo beans (which are pretty much the only legumes I eat anyway)are low in histamine. I also found one website that beans contains anti-histamines, lol. It seems like soy and green peas are the "bad" legumes but one websites say that chickpeas are also bad which is contradicting to some other sites. Some sites claims that potatoes and sweet potatoes are high histamine and some say they're low, sigh... So I guess I'll just try my absolute best with the diet!
I've noticed that my skin is really dry, not flaky, just leathery-dry and I'm starting to get some lines under my eyes. I don't know how to reverse/fix it since so many creams out there contains oils. My eye cream is an anti-age eye cream which actually contains oils, but I'm not breaking out around my eyes so I guess it's safe to continue using it. But yeah... Using salicylic acid on my skin is a bit drying but at the same time I guess it helps clearing up my skin. I prefer to use natural products rather than commercial due to chemicals and stuff, so it's tricky.
One thing that was also REALLY weird in my opinion is that when I was on my period this week I had ZERO, absolutely ZERO cramps! I usually don't have a lot of cramps but I always tend to need a heating pad or something. But I felt nothing. Clearly something within my body seems to be improving at least.
Clear Skin
I would not use salicylic acid on your skin as it will destroy the natural skin barrier and allow fungus (and bacteria) to invade your skin. Don't exfoliate your skin - doing so will destroy the natural skin barrier and allow fungus (and bacteria) to invade your skin.
You can use a moisturer without any organic oils in it, if you need to.
Re histamines - use common sense and monitor your body's reaction to foods.
Standard statement - I have spent over 2,500 hours reading scientific papers about fungal acne and gram negative acne, and I have extensive experience with fungal acne, in particular. I am a scientist (not a biomedical scientist), and I am not a medical doctor. I provide information based on my extensive experience with fungal acne, and some experience with gram negative acne.
I've read online that salicylic acid would be beneficial for fungal acne, and it seems to be working for me. But I guess I could use something else. Would witch hazel be fine? I have a bottle of it at home already. Otherwise I guess I could order that tea tree water I talked about before...
ClearSkin
Salicylic acid helps to break down the fungal biofilm, so it can help with fungal acne. The problem is that salicylic acid also breaks down the skin barrier.
If salicylic acid is working for you, then do use it. The reason I recommend against salicylic acid is that so many people are exfoliating their skins (trying to remove the "acne", which is not removable by exfoliation) and they are making their fungal acne worse by destroying the skin barrier.
Witch hazel won't do any good on its own for fungal acne, but products with tea tree oil in them most likely will help control the "acne".
Okay great, I've ordered the tea tree water now and will continue to use the salicylic acid until it arrives!
Today I'm back to having painful bloating. I think it's mainly due to eating lots of fiber, but I also can't help but wonder if it's candida, SIBOor parasites as well... But I just CAN'T go back to the starvation diet I was on, I just can't. I even experienced bloating when I was on that diet and it was when I had eaten lots of "bloating-causing-foods" such as broccoli, apple, raw onion and garlic etc on the same day... And this weekend I've been eating lots of chia seeds, legumes, quinoa and I have been pretty sedentary. I usually notice that when I combine legumes and quinoa I get bloated, but if I were to eat legumes and something with less fiber I usually don't have as many problems. Last week I ate legumes the entire week and experienced no painful bloating at all because I didn't eat a lot of quinoa until the weekend came, and I've been eating apples every day for a few days now which could also be a contributor... I don't know. I also pushed myself a bit (both on saturday and sunday) to eat even though I wasn't hungry.
I'm still highly considering to buy the ParaPro formula I talked about earlier. There are so many great reviews on it. Candida, parasites, SIBO or not, it's supposed to help with bloating and digestive issues.