When Actives Attack: How My Skincare Routine Made My Fungal Acne Worse

Fungal Acne Series | Post 2

At first, I thought I was doing all the right things. I had a routine packed with popular active ingredients:

• Niacinamide for texture
• Salicylic acid for breakouts
• Vitamin C for glow
• Retinoids for everything else

But instead of improvement, I watched my skin spiral; the tiny bumps multiplied, my cheeks itched, and my forehead felt inflamed almost every day. It felt like betrayal. My skincare was supposed to help me not make things worse. So, what was wrong?

The problem wasn't just the products, but the condition

The truth is, active ingredients are great, but not when your breakouts are fungal. Fungal acne isn't acne at all; it's a yeast imbalance, and the usual acne products don't target it. In fact, some actives can irritate your skin barrier or even feed the yeast without you realizing.

1. Overexfoliation: I was layering chemical exfoliants, such as salicylic acid, daily. Instead of clearing the bumps, they thinned my skin, stripped my barrier, and created the perfect home for yeast to thrive. 

2. Niacinamide overload: Yes, this is a great ingredient, but I was already using multiple products, which led to overload, irritation, and inflammation. All these weakened my skin's natural defense.

3. Occlusive products that trap the yeast: My moisturizer and serums contained fatty acids, esters, and oils that were not fungal acne safe. These ingredients provided the yeast with more food, making it almost impossible for it to heal.  

4. Skipping antifungal treatments: No matter how perfect my routine looked, it didn't include what my skin actually needed: antifungal treatments like ketoconazole or selenium sulfide. 

How I knew my activities weren't helping

I started noticing: 

• My skin got worse after new activities.
• I developed red/white headed, itchy bumps, especially on my cheeks and forehead.
• My breakouts became uniform and clustered.
• No matter how gentle I was, the bumps returned.

That's when I stopped everything and went back to the basics. And that was the beginning of healing.

If you're here too, don't panic.

It's ok to feel frustrated. It took me months to realize that not all skincare is universal. Some skin problems need targeted solutions and not the trendiest actives. You don't have to throw away everything, but you do have to know what your skin is going through.

What's next?

In the next post, I'll share how I simplified my skincare routine to just 4 fungal acne-safe products and finally saw real progress. 

Let's unlearn and glow up together!