When treating fungal acne, you will find that traditional acne products don’t work. This is because fungal acne is not like regular acne caused by bacteria. Fungal acne is caused by an overgrowth of the yeast Malassezia on our skin which then causes folliculitis; this is physically manifested as lesions on the skin resembling acne. If left untreated without a proper antifungal agent, fungal acne can last for years.
According to NCBI, the fungus Malassezia is a member of the normal skin flora; however, when provided with conditions like excessive oil secretion and excessive sweating, it dominates over the other flora members to cause fungal acne breakouts on the skin. Those who live in hot and humid climates, prone to sweating profusely, and adolescents are at high risk for developing this skin condition. Therefore, people are usually advised to adopt specific lifestyle changes and take antifungal remedies such as herbal and topical or ingestible medicines to control fungal acne.
To accelerate the skin healing process, you can use certain essential oils that have been studied to contain antifungal properties. Essential oils are plant-derived substances containing healing properties for us humans for most of our health issues, and luckily fungal acne is one of them. Studies suggest that some of these essential oils are better in treating fungal acne.
Also, some recent cases of fungal acne reported being unresponsive to known fungal treatments showed promising results with the use of essential oils. Therefore, I am going to list down the names of these essential oils, but make sure to not apply them directly to your face as applying concentrated oils directly to the skin may become problematic; that is why it’s advisable to dilute them in a carrier oil and then proceed to apply them to the affected areas.
- Virgin Coconut Oil
Consistent application of virgin coconut oil on affected areas of skin will help control the growth and proliferation of fungus. - Turmeric Oil
Turmeric oil contains curcumin, which permanently gets rid of fungal breakouts and prevents acne scars from forming. - Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is a potent fungicide that gets rid of the fungus by stopping it from increasing. Tea tree oil has other skin-improving properties due to having antioxidants, which makes this oil great for including in the skincare regime. - Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil is harmless and can be used regularly on the affected areas. It gives promising results on healing the skin from fungal acne. - Thyme Oil
Thyme oil contains two well-studied compounds with fungicidal properties. These compounds are added in antifungal treatments and target a wide variety of fungus. They act to prevent the overgrowth of fungus. Thyme oil is excellent for applying daily on affected areas as a spot treatment method for fungal acne. You will see miraculous results with the regular application in no time.
Note: We do not recommend the casual ingesting of essential oils. It can cause irritation and possible damage to your organs. Please do not ingest essential oils unless under the supervision of a medical doctor versed in pharmaceutics and an experienced aromatherapist.
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