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Happy Fall ?, my dear Bazaaro’s (trying on some pet names for my lovely readers – what do you think?) I’ve been rockin’ and rollin’ with fungal acne skincare & makeup videos over on Youtube, but sometimes it’s nice to take a step back & do a post that’s a bit more personal.
Today I want to give you an official Fall 2020 update on my fungal acne friendly makeup & skincare journey.
If you didn’t know – I started my fungal acne journey in the summer of 2019. I’ve been sharing all I can about malassezia folliculitis for more than a year now! And I guess you could say I’ve learned a few things along the way.
If you’re new to the world of fungal acne/malassezia/pityrosporum folliculitis, allow me to enlighten you:
- What is fungal acne?
- How to tell if you have fungal acne
- Fungal acne skincare routine
- Fungal acne safe foundation | concealer | lipstick | eyeshadow
And these are just a handful of the resources I’ve created on the topic!
Don’t Know Which Products are Safe?
Clueless when it comes to picking fungal-acne-safe products off the shelves at Walmart, Target, Ulta, & Sephora?
With my fungal acne friendly shopping lists, you’ll be able to pick out skincare & makeup products with complete confidence.
Download my FREE Shopping Guides & take them with you to the store!
Simply fill out this form & I’ll send them to your inbox!
My Fall 2020 Fungal Acne Skincare Routine
Even before I discovered fungal acne, I have dealt with other types of acne for more than 17 years of my life! You can read the whole story here.
Happily, my skin is usually quite clear now simply by following a fungal acne safe skincare & makeup routine. This doesn’t mean I don’t get the occasional breakout leading up to that time of the month, or because – #maskne – anyone else dealing with it? ?
I also have that *marvelous* added bonus of dealing with scarring leftover from my severe acne days. I’m not just talking hyperpigmentation – that’s not my biggest problem anymore. I’m talking about actually pitted scarring – ice pick, box car, rolling scars.. I don’t know the technical name for mine.
Unfortunately, as far as I can tell – there isn’t a product that is going to fill in those dents – my kind of acne scarring may improve some over time, but if I ever really want it gone, I’ll probably have to pursue professional treatments or get fillers. More on that to come…
But for now – here is the skincare routine I’m currently following to keep my skin clear & drive fungal acne away:
Morning Routine
- Optional Cleanse with Bioderma Cleanser or Vanicream Cleanser, but if I’m feeling too dry, I’ll skip this step & head straight to the next!
- Optional Use Stridex pads – twice per week, or as-needed.
- Apply Hylamide Vitamin C25 Booster (Vitamin C serum)
- Apply Moisturizer. This is a two step process:
- Dampen skin with spray bottle of water & massage in a few drops of The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid
- After that dries down, spritz with water again & apply moisturizer. I use CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, but that may be too rich for some (alternate FA-safe option).
- Apply Sunscreen
- I prefer this one by Paula’s Choice
Evening Routine
- Remove makeup with Albolene & remove eye makeup with Bioderma Micellar Water
- Cleanse with Bioderma or Vanicream Cleanser
- Apply Azelaic Acid *every other night
- Apply The Ordinary’s Niacinamide *on nights when I don’t use AZ Clear
- Apply Moisturizer
- Dampen skin with spray bottle of water & massage in a few drops of The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid
- After that dries down, spritz with water again & apply moisturizer. I use CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, but that may be too rich for some (alternate FA-safe option).
Check out more of my favorite fungal acne safe products by The Ordinary here.
Once per Week Mask
- Use Sephora Glycolic Acid Face Mask. If I do this mask, I remove my makeup & cleanse my skin first, but I don’t apply any other acids or serums, just follow with moisturizer.
My Fall 2020 Fungal Acne Makeup Products
Part of treating & preventing fungal acne means using makeup products that don’t contain ingredients known to feed the malassezia yeast.
And as a self-proclaimed makeup, skincare, and beauty junkie with a Sephora & Ulta obsession- this has been the most difficult part of treating my fungal acne. The problem is two-fold.
- I had to throw away all my old cult favorite products, and
- I have far fewer “safe” makeup products to choose from
I’ve made it work, though. These are the products I’ve been using as part of my everyday makeup routine. Most are products I discovered at the beginning of my journey & have continued using for lack of better/different options (and lack of finances – thanks for that, pandemic!)
- Foundation: Dior Backstage
- Concealer: NYX Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
- Contour: Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder
- Powder: Makeup Revolution Banana Powder to set
- Eyeshadow: Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder again
- Mascara: Falsies by Maybelline
- Lips: Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lip
Feeling Stuck When It Comes to Clearing Your Fungal Acne?
When I first found out I had fungal acne, it took me months of research to figure out what I could & couldn’t use. And I still made mistakes!
The resources I found online didn’t have the answers I needed, so I had to be my own guinea pig.
And now that I’ve done all the work, I want to share it with you!
If you’re feeling confused and want the straightforward information, products, and skincare routines I used to treat & clear my fungal acne, I’ve created the From Fungal Acne to Clear Skin Guide just for you.
Download it now to fast-track your results to clear skin for life.
My Thoughts on Fungal Acne & Maskne?
Last but not least, I want to take a moment to discuss maskne! ?
Have you been dealing with it? I certainly have! Wearing a mask for hours on end + the humid (warm & damp) environment created by breathing + bacteria & germs.. it’s an acne incubator!
I know #maskne is having it’s heyday right now, because I constantly see articles about how to deal with it.
And my best advice for how to treat it is this:
- Cleanse the area as soon as you can after removing your mask.
- If you can, take breaks while wearing your mask to let your skin air out.
- Use Stridex pads (or other treatment like salicylic acid) more frequently, applying only to the area of your face covered by your mask so you reduce the risk of drying your skin out too much.
- Keep using moisture! So many people try to dry out acne by avoiding applying moisture to the area, but your skin requires it for healing. Read my article about how a damaged moisture barrier could be preventing you from getting clear skin.
Be sure to come hang out with me @brookesbeautybazaar on Instagram!
