Mine is so so so damaged, I am also limited to using fungal acne safe products because of seborrheic dermatitis on my face and scalp (honestly surprised my skin doesn’t react poorly to the Tula cleanser. Used to use Vanicream’s Gentle Facial Cleanser but it wasn’t helping the acne I was experiencing in that point in time (and perhaps the other products I was using as well, since it was a whole diff routine than this one here). At its worst, flare ups can look similar to psoriasis with plaque-looking skin build up. It traps hair and can cause ingrowns and infected hair follicles, it’s wild. If I use the proper combo of products in my routine, I can typically clear it up within a day or two but nothing ever lasts. I try to switch things up and it’s always a hit or miss, even when they’re 96% considered FA-approved :( Any tips on repairing my skin’s barrier, without the ingredients being Malassezia fung / yeast irritants… but also actively fighting weird hormonal acne (benzoyl peroxide has worked best)?! Ugh lol. I would greatly appreciate your advice! Thank you so much ♡
thank you for your recommendation ♡
definitely stop using the AHA and BHA every day, especially in the same day. i recommend using the bha 1-2 times a week and the AHA once a week, make sure it’s a few days apart, this should help ur skin barrier heal a lot, as well as try and add in a sunscreen that’s at least spf 30 or higher, the sun can easily damage our skin barrier, hope this helps 😊
Have you tried azelaic or mandelic. They’re known for killing FA specifically but gentler than sulfur, benzoyl and salicylic. I have very sensitive skin, extreme combo possibly rosacea skin, if someone looks at me wrong my barrier dies 😂 I get best results from a a low level azelaic, short contact 20-30 min only on the breakout areas before washing off and doing the rest of my routine. I started every other day to clear it, now I only do it when I can feel that tell tale tingle/itch. Q+A brand Azelaic. Facetheory Mandelic. The mandelic did work, just much slower. But everyone’s different. If you want quick results when it’s really bad to blast it out of there, not caring for the barrier de la Cruz sulfur ointment is good, you can maintain it with the azelaic or mandelic afterwards.
Other than azelaic I totally baby my skin with NMF’s and SPF. Have you thought of including something as simple as sugarcane squalane to help keep in hydration? What is your skin like outside of FA? Do you know if you react to arginine? Cetyl alcohol? The biggest thing that I think helped repair my barrier was a strong panthenol serum. Good luck!
Google "dr dray barrier repair" and/or "dr dray fungal acne" and/or "dr dray seborrheic dermatitis" . Lots of vids - education and product recommendations. In this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LkaiHFIMtA she recommends her fave Korean skin care products (which I see you use). Hope this helps.