What to avoid if I have fungal acne?
·La Théorie
In short
- Fungal acne is Malassezia folliculitis — a yeast, not bacteria — and it is not the same as regular acne.
- Malassezia cannot make its own fatty acids, so the ingredients to avoid are plant oils, butters, free fatty acids, their esters and polysorbates.
- “Non-comedogenic” and “fatty alcohol-free” do not tell you whether a product contains fatty acids — that is a separate question.
If you live in Singapore, you probably know the term already: small, even bumps across the forehead or chest that itch a little, come back after every humid week, and do not respond to the usual acne routine. You may have run your products through a fungal-acne checker and still be getting them. The reason is usually not the checker. It is that two different questions are being mixed up.
This article goes through what to avoid if you have fungal acne — and, more usefully, why those ingredients share one trait, so you can read a label yourself instead of depending on a list.
First, what fungal acne is — and what it is not
“Fungal acne” is the everyday name for Malassezia folliculitis: hair follicles inflamed by an overgrowth of a yeast that lives on almost everyone’s skin. It looks like acne, which is why it is so often mistaken for it [4]. Three conditions get bundled under one word, and only the third one is what this article is about.
| Condition | What it usually looks like | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Regular acne (acne vulgaris) | Blackheads, whiteheads, pimples of different sizes | Sebum, dead skin cells and bacteria inside the pore |
| Folliculitis (in general) | Inflamed hair follicles anywhere hair grows | Many causes: bacteria, shaving or friction, sweat, occlusion |
| Malassezia folliculitis (“fungal acne”) | Small, uniform, often itchy bumps in clusters — forehead, hairline, chest, back | Overgrowth of Malassezia yeast inside the follicle |
Not every case of folliculitis is fungal, and not every bump is about fatty acids. The mechanism described below applies to the third row only. Telling them apart with certainty is a dermatologist’s job — this article only helps you know when to ask.
What to avoid if you have fungal acne
Malassezia cannot make the fatty acids it needs to live. It takes them from its surroundings — which, on your face, means sebum and whatever you apply [1][2]. So the ingredients to avoid are, almost without exception, sources of fatty acids.
| Group | Why it matters | Names you will see on the label |
|---|---|---|
| Plant oils and butters rich in fatty acids | Olive, avocado, argan, shea and cocoa butter are mostly long-chain fatty acids — the type Malassezia grows on best | Olea Europaea Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter |
| Free fatty acids | Listed on the label as the acid itself | Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Linoleic Acid |
| Fatty-acid esters | Commonly flagged on fungal-acne lists: skin enzymes can split some esters back into fatty acids | Isopropyl Palmitate, Isopropyl Myristate, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Palmitate |
| Polysorbates | Emulsifiers built on fatty acids; commonly flagged | Polysorbate 20, 60, 80 |
| Lanolin | Wool wax; rich in fatty-acid esters | Lanolin, Lanolin Oil, Acetylated Lanolin |
| Yeast and ferment extracts | Often listed as a precaution; evidence is mostly anecdotal | Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Saccharomyces Ferment |
A note on chain length — and coconut oil
Not all fatty acids feed the yeast equally. In culture, Malassezia grows well on long-chain fatty acids such as palmitic (C16) and oleic (C18:1) acid, and much less on shorter chains such as lauric (C12) and myristic (C14) [3]. Coconut oil is mostly lauric acid, which is why some people tolerate it. The reason to be careful with coconut oil on acne-prone skin is its pore-clogging tendency, not this mechanism.
What is usually fine
This is the part most lists skip, and it is where the two questions separate. Several ingredients that are “heavy” for pores are not food for Malassezia, because they contain no fatty acids at all.
| Ingredient | Why it is generally considered fungal-acne-safe |
|---|---|
| Squalane | A hydrocarbon, not a fatty acid. Lightweight emollient |
| Glycerin · Hyaluronic Acid · Panthenol | Water-binding humectants; no lipid for the yeast |
| Niacinamide | Supports oil balance and barrier; not a lipid |
| Silicones (Dimethicone) | Not a fatty acid. Heavy for some pores, but not food for Malassezia |
| Mineral oil | Same logic — occlusive, but contains no fatty acids. Whether it suits your pores is a separate question |
| Fatty alcohols (Cetyl, Cetearyl, Stearyl Alcohol) | Alcohols, not acids. Generally considered fungal-acne-safe despite the similar name |
Fungal-acne-safe is not the same as non-comedogenic
A non-comedogenic label answers one question: does this product clog pores?
It does not answer the second question: does this product contain fatty acids that Malassezia can use?
A moisturiser can be non-comedogenic and still be rich in fatty acids — plant oils are the usual reason. That is how someone chooses “the right product” and still gets the even, itchy bumps. And the reverse is also true: a formula with no fatty acids is not automatically non-comedogenic. They are two independent criteria. If your skin is prone to fungal acne, you need to check both.
And it is not the same as “fatty alcohol-free”
Search results mix these up constantly. Fatty alcohols — cetyl, cetearyl, stearyl alcohol — are waxy thickeners, not acids, and are generally fine for fungal acne. Fatty acids — oleic, palmitic, stearic acid and the oils that contain them — are the ones that matter here. A product can be “fatty alcohol-free” and still full of fatty acids.
What the research shows — and how the product is made
The three parts below are kept separate on purpose: what has been studied, what we chose when building the formula, and what has not been verified.
1. What the research shows
Genome sequencing found that Malassezia lacks the enzyme for making its own fatty acids and therefore depends on lipids from outside [1]. Later metabolic models and culture experiments confirmed that the yeast grows when specific fatty acids are available, with different results depending on chain length [2][3]. A 2019 study in Cosmetics examined how a range of common cosmetic ingredients affect the microorganisms that normally live on healthy skin, Malassezia among them [5].
2. How La Théorie is formulated
This is why the La Théorie range is built on a 0% Fatty Acid formula. Rather than aiming only at “does not clog pores”, it removes the group of ingredients that Malassezia uses — a choice about ingredients, made for skin that has already tried several non-comedogenic products without finding a fit. Used in more than 20 dermatology clinics and aesthetic centres in Korea.
3. What has not been verified
The studies cited above are about ingredients and the yeast, not tests of this product. The product has no clinical trial of its own for fungal acne or folliculitis. Third-party ingredient checkers currently list several La Théorie products as fungal-acne-safe; those checks are done by the sites themselves, not by us. And, as above, “no fatty acids” does not guarantee a product suits every skin, and it does not replace the non-comedogenic criterion.
How to read a label for fungal acne
- 1.Read the first 5–7 lines. Ingredients are listed by amount. An oil or butter in the top lines is a large share of the formula.
- 2.Look for “Oil”, “Butter” and Latin plant names. Olea Europaea is olive, Persea Gratissima is avocado, Butyrospermum Parkii is shea.
- 3.Separate acids from alcohols. Stearic Acid is a fatty acid. Stearyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Only the first one is the concern.
- 4.Do not stop at “non-comedogenic”. If your bumps are small, even, itchy and clustered, check the fatty-acid question as well.
- 5.Patch-test first. Apply to the jawline or inner wrist and wait 24–48 hours — humidity makes reactions show up faster.
Frequently asked questions
- Is fungal acne the same as regular acne?
- No. Regular acne involves sebum, dead skin cells and bacteria inside the pore. Fungal acne is Malassezia folliculitis — hair follicles inflamed by an overgrowth of yeast. The bumps tend to be small, uniform, itchy and clustered on the forehead, chest or back. A dermatologist can tell them apart.
- Is a non-comedogenic moisturiser enough for fungal acne?
- Not necessarily. Non-comedogenic describes pore-clogging potential; it says nothing about whether the product contains fatty acids that Malassezia can use. They are two independent criteria — and a fatty-acid-free formula is not automatically non-comedogenic either.
- Are fatty alcohols like cetyl alcohol a problem for fungal acne?
- Generally no. Cetyl, cetearyl and stearyl alcohol are waxy thickeners, not acids, and are usually considered fungal-acne-safe. The ingredients that matter are fatty acids — oleic, palmitic, stearic acid — and the plant oils and esters that contain them.
- Does coconut oil feed fungal acne?
- Less than most oils. Coconut oil is mostly lauric acid (C12), and in culture Malassezia grows far less on short-chain fatty acids than on palmitic (C16) or oleic (C18:1) acid. The reason to be careful with coconut oil is its pore-clogging tendency, which is a separate issue.
- How do I know if my bumps are fungal acne?
- Typical signs are small bumps of the same size, in clusters, often itchy, on the forehead, hairline, chest or back — and a routine for regular acne that does not help. To be sure, see a dermatologist; the appearance alone is easy to misread.
References (5) ▾
- [1]Xu J. et al. (2007). Dandruff-associated Malassezia genomes reveal convergent and divergent virulence traits. PNAS 104(47):18730–18735.
- [2]Triana S. et al. (2017). Lipid metabolic versatility in Malassezia spp. yeasts studied through metabolic modeling. Frontiers in Microbiology 8:1772.
- [3]Liebregts J. et al. (2025). Lipid-dependent growth of Malassezia spp. in defined medium with single fatty acids. FEMS Yeast Research 25:foaf043.
- [4]Chalupczak NV, Lipner SR (2025). Malassezia Folliculitis: An Underdiagnosed Mimicker of Acneiform Eruptions. Journal of Fungi 11(9):662.
- [5]Dobler D. et al. (2019). Impact of Selected Cosmetic Ingredients on Common Microorganisms of Healthy Human Skin. Cosmetics 6(3):45.
This article is general information about cosmetic ingredients and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis or advice. Skin varies from person to person. If your skin is inflamed, painful or the condition persists, please see a dermatologist.