I have been trying Hibiclens on my face (which can also kill fungus) and it is working miracles. I'm thinking I had something other than P. Acne living in there so this is probably on to something.

I've updated my write-up, and added information about a low pH body wash with climbazole, which has really helped my treatment.

Fungus-Wash your entire body with an over the counter antifungal shampoo-final-3.pdf

Fungus-Wash your entire body with an over the counter antifungal shampoo-final-3.pdf

Thanks for sharing! Might explain some bumps which I am getting and that nothing can stop or make better for 4/5 days.

TTO, Erythromycin, Benzoyl peroxide...... They still develop. Might be a fungal infection, as I have seb derm.

Very interesting articles!

Thanks for sharing!

Attached is my final update on this topic as my skin issues with malassezia have disappeared.

The most interesting new OTC product is 5% Xylitol, which is the ideal maintenance product for keeping the yeast phase from changing to the hyphae phase and creating a biofilm. Xylitol is water soluble and edible, so it's great for hard to treat areas like the margins of your eyelids. It's sold in a 100% powder form, is super-cheap, and easy to mix it at 5% into any other product you are using, such as face or body wash, shampoo, lotion, or toothpaste. Dissolve it 50/50 with water first, to ensure it goes completely into solution.

Also described are two new climbazole-based OTC shampoos, and that Lotrimin Ultra is the only OTC cream sold in the US that effectively treats malassezia-induced skin conditions.

Also described are the citric acid concentrations necessary to acidify and increase the effectiveness of any climbazole-based product. This will be useful for people who are a "3" or more on the Fitzpatrick Scale, who should not use salicylic acid because of the risk of hyperpigmentation. Plus, citric acid is OTC, food grade and smells better than salicylic acid.

Review of OTC Treatments for Malassezia skin conditions-final-2.pdf

Review of OTC Treatments for Malassezia skin conditions-final-2.pdf

Does this look like folliculitis to you? I can't find anything through searches that looks like it. All of the pictures show red inflamed bumps all over and I mostly have flesh colored bumps with a few red ones/white head looking spots. It first appeared after working out and switching to a SA facewash along with using BP topically and the more I tried to treat it the worse it got. Cortisone seems to help a bit but its only a quick fix and as soon as I sweat or shower it gets aggravated.

Yes, see my post to you about "reverse freckles," and stop the cortisone treatment -- it's useless.

I am starting treating myself for a fungal infection as well.

My pimples are not responding to topical antibiotics or BP, or actually they are: growing even more and going out of control!

It is localized and not all over the face.

I do have SD and only selenium keeps my acne in check, though I still get the occasional cyst.

ow applying clotrimazol / tee tree oil and it seems to help!

Still battling with a big inflammed one, but hoping it will gone in a few days......

On August 19, 2013, I realized an aesthetic and effective leave-on hair gel can be made with 100 ml of Aloe Vera gel, 5 ml of Hegor 150 shampoo, and 2 grams of Xylitol. I actually used 0.07 grams of Climbazole powder dissolved in 1 ml of Isopropanol and added 5 ml of KLIO lotion instead of Hegor 150, but my mix is equivalent to 1 part in 20 dilution of Hegor 150. Both mixes are just barely over the EU guidelines for a full body leave-on product, so they are safe as a scalp product.

I have had great results with Douxo products containing 0.5 climbazole and chlorhexadine. They are made by Sogeval labs for treating animal skin conditions but work just as well on my skin. I highly recommend buying their products before you waste any money treating your acne with OTC stuff from regular stores. Check out the Douxo US website and also the Sogeval website because they make other sprays and shampoos with Ketoconazole and benzoyl peroxide that are not part of their Douxo line.

I am new to this site

I have been reading tons of posts to help get rid of my PF. In March 2013 I was put on a short round of doxycycline to clear up a few pimples I had on my back. I was going to be the maid of honor in a wedding in mid April. Two weeks after starting the doxycycline.. you guessed it, full blown PF all over my chest, arms, shoulders and neck. I honestly went to bed one night with clear akin and woke up covered in small red pus bumps. Thought it would clear up. It didn't.

Start the derms. First dermatologist said it was an acne break out and there wasn't anything he could give me. He told me to continue on the doxycycline. I know my body. I have had mild acne my whole life and this wasn't acne. So I went to another derm. She was alright. Knew it wasn't acne. She prescribed clindamycin wipes and a sulfer wash for the shower. Didn't work. Saw two other derms. Was on bacterial cream, shampoos for my skin, seriously so many things I can't even remember it all.

Finally, after my own research, I realized I had PF. And I knew right where it came from, that darn doxycycline. What finally cleared it up, the derm prescribed Locoid lotion. A steroid cream. I have been using it since May. Yes, I had to be in my friends wedding covered in horrible PF.Make up galore! It would also dry it up and it would go away.

Does anyone else have bumps that come and go like that?! I'll wake up they are there, few hours later they can be gone. I have mild PF.

In the last two weeks I started looking for natural options. I used the Locoid cream one last time to clear up an outbreak up my neck. Sitting in the sun also cleared my skin a little. But summer is ending and my PF came back mad.

I cut All sugars for one week. Ate basically veggies. I started taking 1 probiotic per day, 5000 IU vitamin d, and b complex. I also stayed drinking apple cider vinegar.

Apple cider vinegar has saved me. I drink 3tbs with water twice a day and I apply it to my clean skin (I use cetaphil anti bacterial bar soap twice a day) twice a day. It had worked wonders. There are still bumps but they are small and barely red. I apply a little concealer in the morning and when I get home its all dry and barely noticeable. I also will apply toothpaste (white) to the bad spots at night. Jut like you can to pimples.

It working! Even though my battle has been short, it's one I know won't go away. And PF sucks. I always feel so self conscious.

Sorry my post is long. Just wanted to share it all in case it helps someon!

Does MF cause inflammed hard red spots/lumps that can't be popped (i.e., the ones which if you squeeze just clear fluid comes out) or just the small poppable variety?

I previously suffered with acne on both my forehead and mouth area - was on lymecycline for over a year which cleared up the area around the mouth but eventually stopped working on the forehead. Now I just get the big nasty, extremely painful and highly scarring unpoppable ones on the forehead. I was convinced a few weeks ago that it was MF; after I was searching for a reason why the problem is now limited to my forehead, MF seemed to make sense - I've been diagnosed with SD of the scalp, and imagine most of my good bacteria was killed off by the year-long antibiotic course so a fungal problem seemed like the obvious answer. I started washing my face with 2% ketoconazole shampoo twice a day which yielded some pretty miraculous results. I was the clearest (bar the terrible red marks these things leave behind) I've been in months, however, they're now back again.

Not sure if they reduced because:

1. I do have a fungal problem

2. Ketoconazole reduces DHT/sebum and so it improved an acne problem

3. Some other reason

Unsure if this is MF, cystic acne or perhaps even rosacea papules and pustules.

I think my next step is to give mandelic acid to try and unclog the area.

Some people report that Ketoconazole loses it effectiveness, like a "night and day" loss, just like your experience. I didn't have that experience -- for me Ketoconazole wasn't ever very effective. It was in the better than nothing category.

You could buy Hegor Climbazole 150 shampoo off eBay. It will ship from Bulgaria and take 3 weeks to arrive in the mail but the vendor is reliable. Climbazole shampoos are very effective but not sold in the US.

In the meantime, you could try Lotrimin Ultra (not the AF kind) and see if you improve. This is an OTC product in every drug store. The manufacturer's website has a $2 off coupon too.

Anything to lower the pH is good, but you should get some pH strips to test the mandelic acid. GO to a chem lab supply store. They don't cost much. In my experience a pH of 3.4 is just right but I add citric acid to body and face wash products, and I've never used mandelic acid. Here's a BlogSpot that looks informative: http://the-blonde-biochemist.blogspot.com/2012/02/mandelic-acid-peel-and-aha-treatments.html

I believe I have pityroproum folliculitis (Malassezia folliculitis). It shows up on my chest area when I go to hot tropical places. It shows up on my face (around my mouth and by my nose) if I take antibiotics or wash with antibacterial soap. It itches and goes red with small pustules. Any conclusions as to what is best to do?

I've tried ketoconazole shampoo and this seems to work but dries my skin badly then it comes back.

I've tried nizoral cream but that doesn't seem to work, just feels good temporarily.

I've tried using selenium shampoo and anti-dandruff shampoos, no immediate results.

I've tried steroid creams but while they reduce the inflammation they don't fix the problem.

I'm about to try organic coconut oil (both topical and orally) next as I buy the science that it helps to get the normal bacteria back to balance the normal yeast on your skin.

I get that showering/bathing is good to remove sweat/excess oil is a good preventative thing, but this also dries out my skin making it more susceptible to infection.

I have tried Doxycillin after a very bad bout on my chest while on holiday, and it worked but I'm reluctant to keep doing it.

Any thoughts?

Your experiences are exactly like mine, as to the various things that work and do not work. If you try coconut oil, watch out, as my experience is that it's about the worst thing I ever tried.

Lotrimin Ultra (not the AF kind) cream is available in the US and it works reasonably well, although only a little better than ketoconazole (Nizoral 2%) cream. Hegor 150 (1.5% climbazole) is the best body wash/shampoo.

I'm using an MCT oil-based lotion now with very good results, but I make it myself so it's hard to recommend because most people want to buy something off the shelf.

Tom,

Your paper is very well thought out and informative. Do you think you could provide some more in depth instructions on how to compound a lotion such as the one you mentioned in your paper? It seems like the over the counter products are not nearly as effective as what you have devised.

Thank you!

Tabris, I've posted compounding instructions for people to make a lotion, but I think very few have tried to make it. As I see it, this lotion feels like Cetaphil but has only neutral, or anti-fungal, ingredients: http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?28667-Seborrheic-Dermatitis-amp-Folliculitis-Review-of-OTC-Treatments-for-Malassezia