On & off relationship with bumps, that’s me!

I didn’t remember when was the last time I had a 100% clear skin, I guess never. I do remember when my face was full of acnes back in my teenage years, it was so bad until I didn’t want to see my face on the mirror. But that was then and now is another different game.

After many trips to dermatologists, and they were just calming down my acnes but didn’t really make them disappear for live, I decided to take things by my own. So I search here and there, why my foreheads are full with acne-like eruptions. They’re not itchy, but quite disturbing because they changed my skin texture, which can’t be covered by concealer. Then I saw Kathleen Lights’ youtube video, about her problem with Fungal Acne or scientifically called Malassezia Folliculitis. I saw her video and be like…damn…that was the same like my problem. Then.. I watched Liah Yoo’s YT about Fungal Acne and everything sort of fell into one. It’s usually due to excess yeast which tend to increase during hot, humid weather, especially when we are sweaty. Living here in Jakarta, Indonesia with its’ crazy hot and humid weather really harm my skin. That’s why whenever I travelled to colder climates country, my face started to clear up. At first, I thought maybe it’s the water, but now I know, it’s the weather mixed with our own fungus. Yikes!

Then, I began my never-ending research about Fungal Acne. This post really helps me to decide my next step to treat them. Automatically, I switched and add stuffs to my skincare routine. I added some natural stuffs in between, like Raw Honey and Moroccan Rhassoul Clay (mixed with Rose Water) for facial mask.

After about a week, I saw better changes in my forehead.

Here are my heroes and game-changers (from L-R):

1. Natural Pacific Fresh Witch Hazel Pad Toner, which is formulated with hyaluronic acid and propolis (one of the powerful ingredients recommended for fungal acne). I used this as gentle exfoliator twice a week after water cleanser.
2. La Roche-Posay Serozinc. I spray this every morning pre-makeup even before I had fungal acne, and I increase the usage to twice a day now (morning and night before toner).
3. Natural Pacific Real Floral Toner Calendula. Beside calendula, it also contains allantoin which makes flaky & chapped skin smoother. This is my first toner after water cleanser to remove makeup residue completely and to calm and moisturize my angry bumps
4. Hadalabo Gokujyun Ultimate Moisturising Light Lotion. Currently doing 3 out of 7 toners skin method, this is my game-changing hydrating toner.
5. Nizoral Krem. I saw in YT, people will actually wash their face with Nizoral shampoo, but I don’t want take that route. I tried this cream which can be easily bought on my local pharmacy. Ketoconazole known to inhibit every species of Malassezia. Because I only have them on my forehead, I use cotton bud to apply Nizoral cream as the last step of my skincare routine every night.
6. Rosette Acne Cleansing Paste, a clay type of face wash with no artificial colors, oils and mineral oils (I purchased this in Tokyo, but I believe they have this in Singapore, too). This is my water cleanser.

Final say: This whole Fungal Acne disease made me more aware to read intensively on ingredients before I decided to purchase any skincare products (thanks CosDNA too for breaking down each of them). I’ll update you on my journey as a fungal acne warrior and will share you my complete AM and PM routine on my next post. Till then!

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA