You most probably have FUNGAL acne (which is itchy and burns), NOT bacterial acne. Fungal acne is caused by taking antibiotics, and some other meds. Have you taken, or are you taking antibiotics (or acctuane, or birth control pills) ? Do you have dandruff ? Do you have a white tongue ?

Your feelings of an allergic reaction are correct, as your skin is reacting in an allergenic way to the fungus which is invading it.

The best and safest treatment for fungal acne is topical antifungal cream, but you have to apply the right antifungal cream for the particular fungus that you have. If you get back to me with answers to the above questions I can provide information that should solve your problem.

In the meantime do NOT use any moisturisers on your skin or any organic oils. On type of fungal acne FEES on the organic oils in moisturisers.

I have not taken antibiotics recently, accutane or birth control. My scalp is kind of dry, don't know if you call that dandruff, butwe have dandruff shampo at home, do you think I should try it? My tongue looks pretty normal to me.

So I should just like wash my face and not moisturize afterwards at all? My face seems a bit dry so I don't know if that's a good idea? What about tea tree oil? I've never tiredit but I read it's anti-fungal.

From the description of your symptoms, you most likely have an outbreak of fungal "acne" caused by malasezzia. Malasezzia causes dandruff, dry skin, itchy acne like symptoms.

I would buy some antifungal clotrimazole cream (sold as canesten in some countries), and apply it to the affected areas of your skin. That will have a moisturising effect as well as an antifungal effect. If you can buy terbenafine cream (lamisil) without a prescripton, buy that also, and apply it to the affected areas of your skin. Terbenafine controls malasezzia better than clotrimazole does, but clotrimazole is better than nothing.

Yes. I would wash your hair in antidandruff shampoo, and you can wash the affected areas in antidandruff shampoo also, if it is not too irritating to your skin.

Shampoos with climbazole (not to be confused with clotrimazole) are very good at controling malasezzia. See if you can get Mustela Foam Shampoo for Newborns. This shampoo is very gently and it contains climbazole. You can wash you skin in this shampoo and you can leave it on your skin for awhile, if you wish. It won't irritate your skin.

You can buy powdered climbazole in the US (and make up your own topical antifungal products and shampoos), but no need to do that if you can buy terbenafine cream and a shampoo with climbazole.

DO NOT use moisturiser as it will feed the malasezzia and make the problem worse. The antifungal creams should moisturise your skin sufficiently. Your skin is most likely dry because of the fungus.

I look forward to hearing how you go.

Thank you soo much for your help! I started googling yesterday about dandruff and acne and read that you can wash your face with dandruff shampoo so I did (without moisturizing after)and it made my skin feel much better already! I also washed my hair with it and the scalp also feels better.

Since I didn't wanna leave the house looking like this my mom offered to go to a drugstore and buy an antifungal cream, but they told her that it's not good to use it if a doctor hasn't diagnosed you with anything... So I got nothing.I found Canesten cream on a website though but it says it's for feet, and it also says that the side effects could cause eczema so that feels scary to use on the face. I guess maybe I should go to the doctor first or something, idk.

Not sure if that baby shampoo is available in my country, but I will look for a shampoo with climbazole!

Don't take any notice of people telling you that you cannot use an antifungal cream without consulting a doctor. That is complete nonsense.

Antifungal creams ARE TOTALLY safe when applied topically (on skin). You can use Canesten cream for feet - it does not matter what the purpose is. Canesten cream does NOT cause eczema. That is rubbish.

I strongly suggest that you apply anti-fungal creams and see how you go with that. We know you have a fungal issue because of the positive response to he anti-fungal shampoo (and the dry scalp). Anti-fungal creams are TOTALLY SAFE. Doctors will only want to prescribe antibiotics which will make your problem worse and worse and worse.

If you have washed your face with anti-dandruff shampoo and you have a positive response then that is evidence that your skin problems are caused by fungus.

You can spray your face with DILUTE tea tree oil if you wish, as it is antifungal.

BUT I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU GO TO ANOTHER PHARMACIST AND BUY A TUBE OF CLOTRIMAZOLE CREAM OR BUY A TUBE ONLINE. Just buy the cream at the pharmacist, and don't ask for advice. Clotrimazole cream is TOTALLY SAFE.

If the clotrimazole cream does not work, then buy some terbenafine cream (Lamisil) and add that to the clotrimazole cream, and apply that to the affected areas.

And do NOT use moistrisers or organic oils on your skin (apart from diluted tea tree oil or eucalyptus oil).

I look forward to hearing how you go.

I bought Canesten and will use it morning and night along with washing my face with head&shoulders, and I will give an update in a few days or so when I see how it's working!

Just two questions since you seem to have a lot of knowledge on fungal acne: Is it caused by candida overgrowth in the body? Like, are they connected or is candida something completely different? I've heard many people talk about candida and yeast but never really knew what it was. I was just thinking if this means that there's something "wrong" with my body on the inside too, not just a fungal bacteria on my face and possibly scalp.

Also, I started getting a dry scalp in 2015 already but never treated it because I didn't think it was dandruff, just a dry scalp... 2015 was also the same year I developed acne after having clear skin through all of my teen years. Is it possible for it to have been fungal all these years?  I kinda hope that's the case because that would mean that treating this would hopefully completely clear my skin after all these years. I mean, I've tried pretty much everything that is supposed to clear up your skin (eating no dairy, gluten, yada yada) but nothing has worked before. My acne hasn't ALWAYS been itchy though, only from time to time, but it's these past two weeks that it has been unbearable.

Thanks ClearSkin for your reply

Yeast and fungus are the same thing - yeast is just one of the forms of fungus. Bacteria are a completely different organism from all fungi.

Outbreaks of gut candida and skin candida can be connected, but they are not always connected. People can have one without the other. The signs of gut candida problems are unexplained tiredness, unexplained headaches, feelings of disorientation, "brain fog" and possibly sinus problems. Do you have any of these symptoms ? If so, taking oral nystatin (which is very safe) will fix the gut problem (not the sinus problem). I can provide more information after I hear back from you.

From your symptoms (including no white tongue), I think you have an outbreak of malasezzia, rather than of candida. Malasezzia causes dandruff and candida causes a white tongue, but you could have both malasezzia and candida. Nystatin cream is best for controlling skin candida, but no need to buy and apply that unless the clotrimazole cream (and then the terbenafine cream) do not work to control your problem.

If you developed a dry scalp in 2015, then I strongly suggest that malasezzia fungus was the cause, and you have indeed have had fungal acne all these years. Did you take antibiotics (or birth control pills) prior to getting the dry scalp ? If you did, that would be the cause of the malasezzia outbreak and the resultant fungal acne.

Diet (eg, gluten dairy, sugar, preservatives) can make fungal acne worse, but one cannot fix fungal acne with diet alone (contrary to a lot of misinformation on the web). You probably know this, but don't believe most of what you read about candida on the web.

I look forward to hearing the update in few days.

Judging by your answer, I think it's malassezia as well and not candida. I'm considering buying Lamisil instead because I barely see any improvement and I'm impatient.

In 2014-2015 I used to apply coconut and/or olive oil as hair masks once a week. Mostly on the ends of my hair, but also sometimes for the scalp because I heard it was good for hair growth. That's the only thing I could possibly think has contributed to it because I haven't taken antibiotics since I was a toddler, and I never took birth control.

Just to let you know, Head and Shoulders containsSodium Chloride which is a pore clogging ingredient, I wouldnt wash your face with it at all

Sodium chloride is NOT a pore clogging ingredient. Do not believe the information that one reads on the wb about pore clogging products. Much of it is rubbish, based on nothing (or sometimes on studies on rabbit's ears!). Sodium chloride is table salt and it is abundant in sea water. if sodium chloride clogged pores then everyone who swims in sea water would get acne, and the reverse is actually true. Swimming in sea water is good for controlling acne.

In any case, Clear Skin has a fungal outbreak NOT ordinary acne, so matters to do with ordinary acne are irrelevant.

ClearSkin

Yes, the coconut and olive oil could have encouraged malasezzia. I assume that you have not taken accutane or used corticosteroids (prednisone, hydrocortisone) ? There is some evidence that accutane can cause fungal outbreaks, and corticosteoids definitely do.

But it does not matter what the cause is - the important thing is to get rid of the problem. Yes, do buy Lamisil and use that together with the Canesten. Also, see if you can find a shampoo with climbazole in it. Climbazole is best for getting rid of malasezzia. Mustela Foam Shampoo for Newborns is a really god shampoo for controlling malasezzia and it is very gentle. You can use it on your face and scalp.

You can also try using Lotrimin Ultra if the Lamisil does not control your problem which I think it will. Lotrimin Ultra contains butenafine which will control malasezzia.

You should see results after 7 days or so, but probably not earlier than that. Don't be too impatient. Fungi are "wily beasts" and they take a while to kill.

Are you in the US ? If you are, you can buy climbazole powder online and make up your own antifungal shampoo. I can explain how to do this after I hear back from you.

One final question - have you been in a hot tub ?

My skin has gotten really dry after washing with h&s twice a day though so I think I'll either stop using it or only wash with it once a day. I'm not in the US so I can't find the baby shampoo either. I might have to order it from the UK if the shipping isn't too expensive,but that would take a while to arrive. I will look into it. The other climbazole shampoos I found seem to not be very gentle.

I have not been in a hot tub as far as I can remember, but I'm guilty of taking long steamy showers. Lol.

OK, don't use the Head and Shoulder shampoo - the problem with most shampoos is that (very annoyingly) they contain sodium laurel sulphate which is very irritating to skin.

You should be able to get Mustela Foam Shampoo for Newborns online - it is manufactured in France but it is available in many countries. The Mustela shampoo does NOT contain any irritants.

Can you continue to use the Head and Shoulders shampoo to wash your hair ? Do that, if possible - but you certainly don't want to irritate your skin.

I would only use shampoo on your skin once a day, even the Mustela shampoo. You should only wash your skin once a day, if possible, because you want to keep it dry.

Buy, and then apply the terbenafine cream (Lamisil) mixed with the clotrimazole cream (Canesten) 2-3 times a day, whilst you wait for the Mustela climbazole shampoo. Applying the terbenafine cream (Lamisil) should go a long way towards fixing your skin problems.

Can you send me the brand names of the other climbazole shampos that you have investigated. I should be able to tell whether they will irritate your skin if I look up he ingredients. Climbazole is excellent for killing malaezzia but so is terbenafine, so the Lamisil mixed with clotrimazole, or you can try the Lamisil on its own, if you wish, should fix your problems after several days.

Do NOT take long steamy showers - doing so will encourage the fungus. Remember that fungus LOVES moisture - that is why mushrooms come up after rain, and it is why bathrooms become mouldy if not well ventilated (mold is fungus - not the sort of fungus that attacks skin, although mould can cause an allergic reaction in people who have an outbreak of skin fungus).

Are you seeing any improvement in your skin so far ? Have the itching and/or burning reduced ? Is your skin less red than it was ?

The shampoos I found are called "SIM SENSITIVE SYSTEM 4 CLIMBAZOLE SHAMPOO 2" and "Waterclouds Relieve Mild Climbazole Schampoo", unfortunately they both contain SLS.

Here are the ingredients:
Sim Sensitive: Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, PEG-4 Rapseedamide, Sodium Laureth-8 Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Salicylic Acid, Disodium Undecylenamido MEA-Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Oleth Sulfate, Butylene Glycol, Heliantus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Etract, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Climbazole, Piroctone Olamine, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Propylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Menthol

Aqua, Sodium LaurethlSulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine,lSodium Laureth-11 Carboxylate,lPEG-4 Rapeseedamide, Glycerin,iClimbazole, Piroctone Olamine,lHydroxypropyl Guar HydroxypropyltrimoniumlChloride, Caprylyl Glycol,iGlyceryl Caprylate, Ethylhexylglycerin,lMenthoxypropanediol, Alcohol, Menthol,lSalicylic Acid, CitriciAcid

I have yet to find a website that sells the baby shampoo where the shipping isn't more expensive than the actual product, hehe. I'm pretty desperate though so I might just order it anyway.

I know it's not that good to take hot showers, but I live in a cold country and I'm freezing all the time, so I keep forgetting . I'm gonna use H&S shampoo everytime I wash my hair because so far it hasn't irritated my scalp.

About my skin atm... It's difficult to tell about the redness because I have a lot of hyperpigmentation from old acne. I guess my chin looks a bit better regarding the bumps, but I don't see much difference on my cheeks and forehead  I guess they maybe flattened down a little bit though? It's still itchy unless I apply Canesten, and I woke up in the middle of the night because my chest was itching so much. And yes, I have the pimples and the itchiness on my chest and back as well if I didn't mention it before... I'm so tired of this because it makes me feel so ugly.

Clear Skin

Thanks for your reply.

I would buy the Waterclouds climbazole shampoos, and wash your hair in that. The SLS in the shampoo won't irritate your scalp too much, if at all. You could try washing your face in this shampoo, although I suspect the SLS will irritate your skin, as it did in the Head and Shoulders shampoo.

Do buy the Mustela Foam Shampoo for Newborns online, if you can.

Getting rid of fungal acne is a journey. You will achieve that goal - but it will take time. Fungus is a "wily beast".

If the clotrimazole is helping, but just for a short period of time after applying, then you DEFINITELY need to buy and apply terbenafine cream (Lamisil) to the affected areas. The (short term) response to the clotrimazole cream (and the itching etc.) tells us that the problem you have is caused by fungus, and most probably malasezzia fungus. Clorimazole cream will help control malasezzia fungus, but clotrimazole is NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS TERBENAFINE FOR CONTROLLING MALASEZZIA.

So get some terbenafine cream as soon as you possibly can, and start applying it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. You can mix the terbenafine cream with the clotrimazole cream and apply them together.

Also, buy some tea tree or eucalyptus oil and dilute the oil down 1 in 10, and spray that onto your chest, and use a brush to put the diluted tea tree or eucalyptus oil onto your back (or ask someone to do it for you). You should also put the terbenafine/clotrimazole cream onto your chest and back.

You can use also dilute tea tree oil or eucalyptus oil by 1 in 20, and wipe or spray that onto your face (avoid getting it in your eyes) - wipe, not spray it onto your forehead 2-3 times a day, and during the night. Tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil are antifungal - they are not like olive oil etc.

Hang in there - you know what is causing the problem, and the problem is solvable. That is good news, and you are way ahead of most people who do not know what is causing their problem ans/or they are making it worse by taking antibiotics, using moisturisrs etc.

If you don't get any benefit from using the terbenafine, the climbazole shampoo and the diluted tea tree/eucalyptus oil after a week or so, there are other options to control your problem which I can advise you about.

I am fairly certain you will see very good results after a week or so of applying the terbenafine cream etc.

Happy to hear back from you, Clear Skin.

Doyou mean that the waterclouds shampoo is better than head & shoulders for hair? Or can I stick with h&s to save money?

I bought lamisil yesterday and applied it before bed. Didn't think it was as moisturizing as canesten though, but I will still continue using it! If the lamisil helps, would you still recommend me to buy the mustela shampoo? It's not gonna arrive until next week (or the week after that since there's a holiday in my country next week)so in the meantime I have nothing to wash my face with anyway because the head and shoulders was waaaay too dry.

Also, do I need to throw away my makeup after this? I'm a full time uni student who had to quit my job in order to keep up with the intense schedule I have at school, so it would be sad to throw so much money away... I have some isopropyl alcohol at home that I can spray on my makeup palettes, but I don't know if it kills fungus?

Clear Skin

You can use the Lamisil cream mixed with the Canesten cream, if you wish.

Waterclouds shampoo will be better than Head and Shoulders for controlling malasezziam because climbazole targets malasezzia, whereas pyrithione zinc (the antifungal in Head and Shouldes shampoo) is just a general antifungal. And, pyrithrione zionc is irritating to skin along with the SLS in Head and Shoulders (I should have let you know this earlier - sorry).

If the Lamisil (mixed with Canesten or not) works to control your skin problem, maybe there is no need to buy the Mustela Foam Shampoo. You/we can decide this when you see if the Lamisil (plus Canesten ?) works.

I woul still buy the shampoo with climbazole in it and use it t wash your hair - not your skin

You could wash your face in chlorhexidine wash with no or low alcohol (sometimes sold as Hibiclens), if you can get that locally. Dilute the wash with water down to 1-2% chlorhexidine, if it is stronger than that. Otherwise, just buy a gentle wash (or shampoo) which does not have SLS in it, and use that to wash your face (just once, or maybe twice a day).

Avoid using liquid or cake makeup, if you can. Can you use loose powder instead of liquid or cake makeup ? If you are happy to use loose powder as makeup, you can buy loose powder that is a bit dark for your skin, and add some antifungal powder (which yo should be able to buy at any pharmacist) to it. Antifungal powder is white, so you can make the colour of the powder correct for your skin.

Hang on to your make up, though. I understand about cost. You might find that your "acne" recovers, and then you could try using liqiud or cake makeup again (after spraying it with isopropanol - that is a good idea).

Isopropyl alcohol does not always kill fungus, but it is better than nothing.

Today I feel like most bumps have flattened a lot. My skin still looks awful, but I guess it looks better than it did a week ago. It's still itchy, unfortunately. Almost more itchy than a couple of days ago, but I guess that could be due to warmer weather and/or that my skin got dry from H&S. The chest and back itch the most. On the back however, I don't think I have many small bumps... They are actual pimples, not zits (mostly).

I have loose powder makeup from Lily Lolo already, but I feel like it would look too dry now that my skin is rather flaky. Can I use the antifungal cream underneath the makeup or would that cause some chemical reaction with the makeup and/or be bad with contact from the sun? I feel like I will need some type of moisture underneath the powder. This week I've just been home studying for exams so I haven't worn makeup, but I need to prepare for next week when I actually need to leave the house and wear it, lol.

Clear Skin

Great that things are improving, albeit slowly.

Yes, the itching might be caused by your skin flaking of from the Head and Shoulders. Also, I think fungus might get itchy when it is dying.

If the itching is too much, apply some hydrocortisone cream or lignocaine/lidocaine cream - sold as anti-itch cream for bites etc. Hydrocortisone cream reduces the body' immune response but it is fine to use it for a few days.

Lignocaine/lidocaine cream has some antifungal effect as well as stopping itching) - it does not reduce the body's immune response, but it should not be used for more than a week or so at any one time.

Add some Lamisil to the clotrimazole cream - that might "do the trick" and fix/almost fix the problem.

You can use antifungal cream under liquid or cake makeup - that would be OK.

Great to hear from you at any time. Thanks....

New update:

Thank you for all your help! My skin looks a lot better today actually (I mean, it's not clear but it's looking much better than last time I wrote), BUT around my "laugh lines" the skin feels weird (almost like it's wet although it's the opposite , or like it's cold) and looks like it's gonna get wrinkly or something, and I'm only 24. Could it be a side effect from the creams? Should I stop using them? As of today I have been using Canesten for 7 days in a row, almost twice a day, and Lamisil for 5 days, once  a day. The itching still persists, but mostly along the jawline and chin.

I don't know if I need some cortisone/cortisole cream for the itching, but since I have pimples/damaged skin it feels unsafe if it were to get it inside of a pimple as it could damage the immune system...

Also, how often would you recommend me to wash my hair with the Waterclouds shampo? Of course I'm gonna use it every time I wash my hair, but the question is HOW aften should I wash it? Cause I know you don't wanna wash too often, but also not too infrequently.

Clear Skin

I would use the Waterclouds shampoo whenever you wash your hair - every second day ??

I would not worry about the "wrinkly" skin thing - it will be temporary only. Some people suggest that this wrinkly stuff is the fungal biofilm, coming off the skin.

The antifungal creams won't give you wrinkly skin, even if there is temporary effect. The wrinkly stuff will probably flake off off. Don't worry if it does do that.

Moisture collects in one's laugh lines, so the fungus has possibly colonised there quite a lot, and possibly formed biofilms which go wrinkly as the fungus dies.

I would try using the Lamisil twice a day along with the Canesten.

I share your concerns about hydrocortisone and immune systems. You could try applying lidocaine/lignocaine cream to the itchy areas - that has some antifungal effects and it will help stop the itching.

The other thing you can do is crush a cetirizine antihistamine tablet or two and ad the crushed tablet to the antifungal cream, and apply that to your face. That should help control the itching quite safely.

Do NOT stop using the antifungal cream - from your post, the antifungal creams are working, albeit slowly (but fungus is hard to kill, so that is not surprising).

I don™t feel like my skin is improving that much anymore and it makes me wonder if it™s even fungal at all  I think I have to go see a dermatologist regardless because the ITCHINESS IS DRIVING ME INSANE. I feel like the itchiness would™ve improved at least a little bit  at this point since I™ve been using antifungals for 1,5 weeks, but I feel more itchiness. Yesterday, it was fine though so I thought it had gotten better but today it was insane. I applied lamisil but that didn™t even help this time. Spraying witch hazel on it worked a tiiiny bit at least for now... Would crushing any antihistamine tablet work btw or does it have to be that specific brand?

regardless if it™s fungal or not, when can I go back to using my normal face creams? I miss them.

Clear Skin

Itchiness indicates fungus. Dermatologists know nothing about fungus. They will only prescribe antibiotics which will make the condition worse and worse.

Ceitrizine is the best and safest antihistamine to use, but you can use any type of antihistamine topically short term. You can also apply lidocaine/lignocaine cream to stop the itching. Lidicaine/lignocaine cream is mildly antifungal, as wel,l and it will control the itching. You can buy lidocaine/lignocaine cream as anti-itching cream without a prescription.

The itching is annoying but it is also quite likely a sign that the antifungal creams are working, ie, the itching is possibly the fungus "fighting back", but you will win, not the fungus. The itching should disappear in a few days, but do apply the lignocaine/lidioaine cream to stop it.

You cannot use any cream with organic oils in it while you have malasezzia fungus. Malaszzia feeds on organic oils. If you get the problem under control, then maybe (?) you could use a little cream with organic oils in it COMBINED with antifungal cream. I would not do this, though because doing so is likely to make the fungus take off again.

Can you remind me - have you taken tetracycline, minocyline, doxycycline or lymecline antibiotics ???

Okay thanks. My mom told me that she got itchy skin on her neck many many years ago and went to a dermatologist who checked under a microscope and found out she had a fungal infection, so she actually got Lamisil to treat it though. So I guess not all dermatologists are alike.But like, in a few months when the problem (hopefully) has been solved, can I use normal face creams then? I want to get theJuice Beauty SPF 30 Oil Free Moisturizer for the summer because I prefer using natural products and I want an SPF for summer so that my hyperpigmentation won't get worse. I've never tried it before but it's the closest I can get to an SPF with as little oil in it as possible which is also natural. According to a website I found which analyzes products for ingredients that could be bad if you have malassezia, and it only found twoingredients in this particular cream. (sorbitan stearate and polyglyceryl-10 laurate).

Nope, no antibiotics for me, not since I was a little kid.

Clear Skin

You can certainly use oil free moisturisers in due course.

Re your question - about using normal face creams, ie, face creams with organic oils ? I would not, but you will have to make that judgement call when the time comes. I think the fungal problem will come back if you do use face creams with organic oils, but there will only be one way to find out! Use the face cream on a small area of skin... and se what happens - but don't do this until everything is clear.

That is interesting about your mother. I think that a propensity to get fungal infections might run in families (ie be genetic), noting that the actual cause of the fungal infection is usually something that one does or takes.... Yes, and 1 in 100 dermatliogists does know what they are doing, but most do not (if dermatologists knew what they are doing, this site would not exist).

The Juice Beauty product sounds fine. I understand about needing to use sunscreen. See how you go with using it....