Have you taken antibiotics ? Or had an operation in hospital ? Do you have a white tongue or toenail fungus or sinus problems ? Do you have dandruff or flaking skin ?

You possibly have fungal acne, caused or excacerbated by using moisturisers. Fungal acne loves moisture and one type of fungal acne feeds on organic oils in moisturisers.

Fungal acne can usually be treated simply, cheaply and safely with topical antifungal creams and with antidandruff shampoos (even if one does not have dandruff) and by keeping skin dry.

I am happy to hear back from you and provide information that will likely solve your problem.

Thank you for your reply!

Most of those questions do not apply to me, although I am open to the possibility of fungal acne as almost anything new I use causes breakouts. I will try switching to products that do not have ingredients that exacerbate fungal acne. Do you have any other recommendations for products? Thanks again!

Thanks Mands

My recommendations are -

1. Apply clotrimazole topical antifungal cream (often sold as Canesten) to the affected area 2-3 times a day.

2. Wash you hair in antidandruff shampoo, because it is antifungal.

3. Do NOT use moisturiser or organic oils on the affected areas, because doing so will make the problem worse.

Do you have dandruff or a white tongue ? Have you taken antibiotics or birth control pills or accutane ?

You may need a more targeted antifungal cream than clotrimazole, depending on whether you have fungal acne caused by candida (white tongue indicates candida outbreak) or malasezzia (dandruff indicates malasezzia outbreak).

I am happy to hear back from you.

I dont have a white tongue and I dont have dandruff. I havent taken antibiotics, birth control pills or Accutane.

This was a while ago- maybe 2 years ago?- but the dermatologist prescribed me some antibiotics and an ointment as well as a few other products and while it helped a little bit, it didnt help in the long run. I just thought I should mention that these traditional methods of solving bacterial acne such aswith Benzoyl peroxide or Salicylic acid didnt/dont work for me and if anything made it worse. Im scared to experiment with those again.

But Im also worried about using anti fungal cream... is it worth it? Would I just apply to the pimples? Could there be any side effects?

Could it possibly make it worse if I dont have fungal acne?

Could I just switch to products that dont have ingredients that exacerbate this condition?

Are there any moisturizers/sunscreen/makeup youd recommend?

Could the hair productsI be using also be affecting my skin?

Anyways, could I still have a fungal problem even if I dont have all the symptoms you mentioned as well as not having itching which I read is common for fungal acne?

Thank you for your time! Sorry for having so many concerns.

Thanks Mands

Fungal acne is caused by several things. One of those things is taking antibiotics. There can be a long lead time between taking the antibiotics and getting the fungal acne. A strong sign that a person has fungal acne is lack of response of the acne to treatments for ordinary acne. Benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid making the acne problem worse is also a sign of fungal acne, because BP and SA irritate skin, and fungus invades irritated skin.

So yes, you could have fungal acne. Fungal acne does not always itch.

Topical antifungal creams are completely safe and they will not make any problem worse. There are no side effects from using topical antifungal creams. You just apply the topical antifungal creams to the areas with acne (not just to the individual pimples). The pimples are a manifestation of fungus on the skin in the area with the pimples. You ask - is it worth it - my answr id yes. Untreated fungaal cne is very nasty. It will go seriously cystic and then it is virtually impossible to get rid of. It is painful and disfiguring.

The fungal acne will be made worse by using moisturisers etc. (don't use them) but these products have probably not caused the fungal acne (although they may have "triggered it" - see below) . Fungal acne is caused by antibiotics partly destroying one's immune system by killing "good bacteria" in one's gut and elsewhere.

Sometimes the fungal acne breaks out immediately or sometimes there is a lag time, and something then triggers the outbreak of fungal acne (eg, organic oils/moisturisers) but stopping using the "trigger" won't stop the fungal acne because the fungus has now colonised one's skin, and one's immune system cannot control it (due to the effect of taking the antibiotics).

What hair products do you use ?

I suggest you follow the treatments in my last post. Do NOT use any moisturisers on your skin. The antifungal cream/s will provide enough moisturiser. Fungus LOVES moisture, and one type of fungal acne feeds on the organic oils in moisturisers.

If the clotrimazole cream does not clear the problem I will suggest a more targeted antifungal cream.

Do you have unexplained tiredness, headaches and/or feelings of disorientation ?

What make-up do you use at present ?

I am happy to hear back from you.

Many people have a misunderstanding about the relationship between stress and acne. Acne cannot be caused directly by stress. Stress, on the other hand, has been shown in studies to aggravate acne. Researchers discovered that when a person is stressed, wounds, including acne, heal much more slowly.