That time I ignored the all doctors when it came to my skin...

And I'm sooo glad I did!

Once upon a time, my skin was a disaster. It was the stretch of over 3-4 years where my skin would behave, and then act like a naughty teenager. It was exhausting and I had tried allllll the things! (spoiler alert: that in itself was a HUGE problem).

TL;DR: I cured my skin condition when dermatologists couldn’t - read my story here!

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we??

YIKES. As a Pro Makeup Artist, this isn’t a great look.

⬆️These two photos were taken after I was on the latest dermatologist’s protocol of Protopic (top photo), and then starting Aczone two weeks later (as instructed) 🥴

So let’s fast forward through all the times I FAFO, actually did all my own sleuthing on the internet, stumbled upon a blog that literally changed. it. all, called SimpleSkincareScience.

Malessezia folliculitis. What in the hell is that?! 🫠

Malassezia folliculitis, also known as fungal acne, is a skin condition caused by an overgrowth of yeast (malassezia) that naturally lives on your skin. Unlike regular acne, which is caused by bacteria and clogged pores, this type of breakout happens when the yeast gets out of balance, often due to excess sweat, humidity, or certain skincare and makeup products. Newsflash - 90% of what was in my makeup bag was not actually *safe* for my skin condition 😭

It looks like clusters of small, red, itchy bumps (sometimes mistaken for acne) and often appears on the forehead, chest, back, or shoulders. Since it’s fungal, regular acne treatments like benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid don’t work—instead, antifungal treatments or ingredients like sulfur, ketoconazole, or zinc pyrithione can help get it under control. A few years of following this new way of shopping and using products that wouldn’t trigger my skin I had moderate success. My routine felt like a hodgepodge of random products but since it seemed to keep it at bay, I continued until the founder of the SSS blog launched his own line - the rest is history! 💨

Once my skin was under control, I found a reporter that was looking to cover a story of someone who had their fungal acne misdiagnosed and their journey to fix their skin 🙋🏻‍♀️ Needless to say, I was thrilled that day in May 2023 when I found my story on the homepage of INSIDER (now Business Insider) between a Selling Sunset post and The Little Mermaid world premier 😂

You can read the full story here!

⬆️And here’s my skin, still looking great, 3 years later (same boring products lol)

I swear - listening to our gut rarely steers us in the wrong direction. Just take a look at my before & afters in that post… that’s some scary shit right there!

While I don’t encourage people to diagnose themselves, I do recommend advocating for yourself and not giving up when something just isn’t right 🩶

Shannon xx