Fungal acne ingredient checker · malassezia folliculitis · Last updated 2026-09-27
Fungal Acne Checker
Paste any ingredient list and this free fungal acne checker flags every malassezia trigger in seconds. Malassezia — the yeast behind fungal acne (malassezia folliculitis) — feeds on specific fatty acids, so this tool checks your product against its known food sources: plant oils, fatty-acid esters, polysorbates and debated gray zones. Everything runs in your browser; no sign-up.
Check a product for malassezia triggers
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What is fungal acne?
Fungal acne is not acne at all — it is malassezia folliculitis, an overgrowth of a lipid-dependent yeast inside the hair follicles. It looks different from regular acne: clusters of small, uniform bumps that often itch, typically on the forehead, hairline, chest and back.
The malassezia yeast cannot make its own fatty acids, so it lives on the lipids it finds — on your skin and in your products. That is why a routine rich in plant oils can feel like acne that never gets better: every application keeps feeding it, and ordinary antibacterial acne treatments do nothing to a fungus.
A fungal acne ingredient checker flips the equation. Paste an INCI list and see at a glance whether the formula contains known yeast food — and which fungal-acne-safe ingredients to reach for instead.
Ingredients that trigger fungal acne
Every ingredient below can feed malassezia — free fatty acids with C11–C24 carbon chains, or compounds its lipases can split into them. The tables group the database by the role each ingredient plays as yeast food.
C11–C24 fatty acid (13)
- Behenic Acid
- Eicosanoic Acid
- Isostearic Acid
- Lanolin Acid
- Lauric Acid
- Lithium Stearate
- Magnesium Stearate
- Myristic Acid
- Oleic Acid
- Palmitic Acid
- Stearic Acid
- TEA Stearate
- Zinc Stearate
Fatty-acid ester (40)
- Ascorbyl Palmitate
- Behenyl Erucate
- Butyl Stearate
- Cetyl Acetate
- Cetyl Ester NF
- Cetyl Palmitate
- Decyl Oleate
- Disodium Oleamido PEG-2 Sulfosuccinate
- Ethylene Glycol Monostearate
- Ethylhexyl Palmitate
- Isocetyl Stearate
- Isodecyl Oleate
- Isopropyl Isostearate
- Isopropyl Linoleate
- Isopropyl Myristate
- Isopropyl Palmitate
- Isostearyl Isostearate
- Isostearyl Neopentanoate
- Jojoba Oil
- Myreth-3 Myristate
- Myristyl Lactate
- Myristyl Myristate
- Octyl Stearate
- Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate
- Polypentaerythrital Tetralaurate
- PPG-2 Myristyl Ether Propionate
- PPG-30 Cetyl Ester
- PPG-50 Cetyl Ester
- Propylene Glycol Laurate
- Retinyl Palmitate
- Sterol Esters
- Sucrose Distearate
- Sucrose Stearate
- Sulfated Jojoba Oil
- C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
- Triethylhexanoin
- Coco-Caprylate
- Cetearyl Olivate
- Sorbitan Olivate
- Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Plant oil / triglyceride (38)
- Almond Oil
- Apricot Kernel Oil
- Argan Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Babassu Oil
- Behenyl Triglyceride
- Canola Oil
- Castor Oil
- Chaulmoogra Oil
- Cocoa Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Corn Oil
- Cottonseed Oil
- Cupuacu Butter
- Evening Primrose Oil
- Flaxseed Oil
- Hydrogenated Castor Oil
- Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
- Maleated Soybean Oil
- Mink Oil
- Olive Oil
- Peanut Oil
- PEG-8 Castor Oil
- PEG-40 Castor Oil
- Safflower Oil
- Sandalwood Seed Oil
- Sesame Oil
- Shark Liver Oil
- Soybean Oil
- Sulfated Castor Oil
- Sunflower Oil
- Wheat Germ Glycerides
- Wheat Germ Oil
- Shea Butter
- Grapeseed Oil
- Rosehip Oil
- Marula Oil
- Hemp Seed Oil
Ester emulsifier (polysorbate & co.) (26)
- Glyceryl-3 Diisostearate
- Glyceryl Monostearate
- Glyceryl Stearate SE
- PEG-8 Stearate
- PEG-20 Stearate
- PEG-40 Sorbitan Laurate
- PEG-78 Glyceryl Monococoate
- PEG-100 Stearate
- PEG-100 Distearate
- PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
- PEG-150 Distearate
- PEG-200 Dilaurate
- Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate
- Polysorbate 20
- Polysorbate 80
- Propylene Glycol Monostearate
- Sorbitan Isostearate
- Sorbitan Laurate
- Sorbitan Oleate
- Sorbitan Sesquinoleate
- Sorbitan Stearate
- Glyceryl Oleate
- Glyceryl Laurate
- Glyceryl Caprylate
- Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate
- Polysorbate 60
Lanolin family (11)
- Acetylated Lanolin
- Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol
- Anhydrous Lanolin
- Ethoxylated Lanolin
- Lanolin
- Lanolin Alcohol
- Lanolin Oil
- Lanolin Wax
- PEG-16 Lanolin
- PEG-75 Lanolin
- PPG-12-PEG-65 Lanolin Oil
Fatty alcohol (gray zone) (1)
- Oleyl Alcohol
Fungal-acne-safe ingredients
These ingredients give the yeast nothing to eat. Hydrocarbons are the classic case: squalane and mineral oil are called "oils", but malassezia has no enzymatic route to metabolize them — which is exactly why they anchor most fungal-acne-safe routines.
Hydrocarbon (not metabolizable) (8)
- Ceresin Wax
- Hydrogenated Polyisobutane
- Mineral Oil
- Squalane
- Petrolatum
- Squalene
- Isododecane
- Isohexadecane
Debated gray zones (39)
Ferments, fatty alcohols and C8–C10 esters split the community: strict routines avoid them, plenty of people tolerate them fine. We mark them debated instead of pretending the evidence is settled.
- A & D Additive
- Beeswax
- Candelilla Wax
- Carnauba Wax
- Ceteareth-20
- Cetearyl Alcohol
- Cetyl Alcohol
- Choleth-24
- Emulsifying Wax NF
- Glyceryl Tricaprylate/Caprate
- Isocetyl Alcohol
- Laneth-10
- Laureth-23
- Laureth-4
- Myristyl Alcohol
- Oleth-10
- Oleth-20
- Oleth-3
- Oleth-3 Phosphate
- Oleth-5
- Pentaerythrityl Tetra Caprylate/Caprate
- Phytantriol
- PPG-5 Ceteth-10 Phosphate
- PPG-10 Cetyl Ether
- Propylene Glycol Caprylate/Caprate
- Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Caprate
- Propylene Glycol Dipelargonate
- Steareth-2
- Steareth-10
- Steareth-20
- Steareth-100
- Stearyl Alcohol
- Stearyl Heptanoate
- Tocopherol
- Tridecyl Neopentanoate
- Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate
- Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate
- Bifida Ferment Lysate
- Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
How this fungal acne checker works
The yeast's biology sets the rules. Malassezia cannot synthesize its own fatty acids, so it must scavenge fatty acids with carbon chains of roughly 11 to 24 carbons — lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic and oleic acid all fall inside that range.
Anything a lipase can split into those acids counts as food too: fatty-acid esters (isopropyl myristate, glyceryl stearate), triglycerides — which is what virtually all plant oils and butters are — and ester emulsifiers such as polysorbates and sorbitan esters. Ferments and fatty alcohols sit in debated gray zones and get their own yellow rating.
Hydrocarbons like squalane and petrolatum pass deliberately — no metabolic route means no food. Ingredients without enough evidence stay marked "no data" instead of getting a verdict we cannot back up. Every entry also keeps its independent pore-clogging rating, because malassezia-safe and non-comedogenic are genuinely different questions.
Fungal acne checker FAQ
What is fungal acne?›
Fungal acne is the popular name for malassezia folliculitis — an overgrowth of malassezia yeast in the hair follicles. It shows up as clusters of small, uniform, often itchy bumps on the forehead, chest or back, and unlike bacterial acne it does not respond to regular acne treatments, only to antifungals.
What ingredients trigger fungal acne?›
Malassezia feeds on fatty acids with C11–C24 carbon chains and everything its lipases can break down into them: plant oils and butters (triglycerides), fatty-acid esters such as isopropyl myristate or glyceryl stearate, polysorbate emulsifiers, and free fatty acids like lauric, oleic and stearic acid. Yeast ferments are a debated gray zone.
Is squalane fungal-acne safe?›
Yes. Squalane is a hydrocarbon — malassezia has no enzymatic route to metabolize it, so an "oil" name does not mean yeast food. That is why squalane is the go-to emollient when almost every plant oil is off the table.
Is glycerin fungal-acne safe?›
Yes. Glycerin is the backbone of triglycerides but carries no fatty-acid chain the yeast can use, which makes it one of the safest humectants in a fungal-acne-safe routine.
Are fatty alcohols safe for fungal acne?›
Debated. Cetyl and stearyl alcohol are saturated, solid fatty alcohols that many people tolerate well, but because the yeast lives on fatty substrates, stricter routines avoid them. This checker marks fatty alcohols as debated rather than forcing a safe-or-trigger verdict.
Is caprylic/capric triglyceride fungal-acne safe?›
Usually yes. Its fatty acids are C8–C10, below the C11–C24 range malassezia can feed on, which is why it anchors many fungal-acne-safe products. A minority of stricter lists still flag it, so this tool shows it as debated.
Is a comedogenic checker the same as a fungal acne checker?›
No — and the difference trips people up. Coconut oil both clogs pores and feeds malassezia; sunflower and hemp seed oil barely clog pores but still feed the yeast; sulfates are harsh and pore-clogging for some people yet are not malassezia food. If fungal acne is your concern, check both axes.
How do I get rid of fungal acne?›
Antifungal actives are the direct fix — zinc pyrithione or piroctone olamine washes, and ketoconazole shampoo by prescription — paired with a malassezia-safe routine so the yeast has nothing left to eat. For a stubborn rash, see a dermatologist: a quick KOH scrape settles the fungal-vs-bacterial question for good.