Fungal Acne and the search for clean products

Question

I am a registered nurse so I have to wear a mask at work and a year ago I received a facial where after the facial my face was red, painful, and itchy. I went to see a derm but was seen by a PA who recommended hydrocortisone which didn't do much. During that period, I was using Cetaphil and an Aveeno oatmeal moisturizer that also didn't seem to actually soothe either nor was I looking up specific ingredients like I am now.

Fast forward a year, my skin is still inflamed, red, hot, burns, and itches. Some days are worse than others with pustules/whiteheads and mild hive-like appearing spots. I am waiting to see another derm to do a skin scraping, saw another provider today that prescribed multiple anti-fungals (pray it improves), and also going through all the ingredient lists of my face and makeup products via Anthropic/Claude AI to see if its safe or not (feeds the yeast/FA feeder). Unfortunately so many products (like soooooo many) contain unsafe ingredients into the product that I start compiling a list. One ingredient I have been noticing in a lot of products if Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride.

Currently my skin barrier is abysmal and feels non-existent. Anything other than my Cetaphil gentle cleanser, water, and my hyaluronic serum from Evolve Organic Beauty are the only things my skin can tolerate however my skin feels so incredibly dry that it makes my skin feel worse and probably will stop using the serum because I can't add more moisture skin I can't layer it with anything to bring in more moisture. My doctor has prescribed me oral antifungals and ketoconazole 2% shampoo to apply to my face to see if there is improvement and thankfully didn't just prescribe antibiotics like most providers do which can make fungal acne worse. While I don't have a confirmed diagnosis, my gut and what I know is telling me this is fungal because this has never happened to me until work and the facial..

Here are my questions for anyone who has dealt with this;

  1. What face products/brands (cleanser, serums, moisturizers, etc.) did you find that worked for you when finding out that you have fungal acne?

  2. What makeup products/brands did you find that worked for you?

  3. For anyone who has to wear a mask at work, have you found a mask that worked better at being moisture wicking? I change out my mask often but sometimes I am stuck in a patient room for a long time or unable to take it off in between cause I am always against the clock when it comes to bedside nursing in america.

Any and all help is so appreciated. To anyone going through the flares, the itchiness, the burning, sensitivity, embarrassment from whiteheads, minimized confidence, etc., you are not alone. Thank you in advance.

Posted Apr 2, 2026, 10:35 PM UTC

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