Meet Our Top 5 Malassezia Skincare Brands

Best Skincare for Malassezia

What is Malassezia?

Malassezia is a fungus that feeds on oil and sebum found on the skin and in hair follicles. It causes skin conditions such as seborrheic dermatitis, dandruff, fungal acne, folliculitis, atopic dermatitis, and more. There is still much research to be done around the treatment and prevention of malassezia overgrowth. Sezia is doing our part to increase awareness and provide you with the resources needed to manage your malassezia.

What We Look For in Skincare Products

Because malassezia feeds on sebum and oil, we use machine learning to scan the labels of tens of thousands of skincare products to determine if the ingredients are safe for folks who are prone to malassezia overgrowth.

1. Free of Harmful Oils

The first test a product must pass is to be free of problematic oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, castor oil, and more. These oils (also known as lipids) have a fatty-acid chain length between C11 and C24. The malassezia fungus thrives on oils within this range, so they are problematic for people with malassezia imbalance. Even if some of these lipids are typically antifungal - such as coconut oil - when it comes to malassezia, they will usually make the condition worse overtime.

2. Free of Toxic Ingredients

Next it’s important to avoid harmful and carcinogenic ingredients like parabens, synthetic fragrances, sodium lauryl sulfate, PEGs, talc, and others. These additives can cause inflammation and serious side effects over time. That’s why we do our best to recommend products without these harmful ingredients.

3. Safe Antifungal Ingredients

Since malassezia is a topical fungus, a robust skin care routine should have an antifungal component. We look for products that will help to reduce malassezia fungus without damaging skin cells. These ingredients include pyrithione zinc, tea tree essential oil, colloidal silver, grapefruit seed extract, sea salt, caprylic acid, and others.

4. Reviews from Real People

Some skin care routines can look good in theory, but we want to make sure they are actually helping real people experience real improvements. Anyone can pay for bots to leave positive reviews, but a picture says a thousand words. That’s why we do our best to recommend products with verified and photo-based reviews.

Skincare We Recommend

1. Dermazen

Summary: According to their website, Dermazen focuses on helping people with seborrheic dermatitis, dandruff, and malassezia overgrowth. Right now, they only have one product, but it seems to work remarkably well. We have used their Calming Seborrheic Serum a few times and we’re impressed. So far, it has helped every member of the Sezia staff. The downside is their international shipping options are limited.

Why We Like Them: Their formula is clean and minimalist. They don't use any fillers or questionable ingredients. The serum seems to fight the malassezia fungus (sea salt, grapefruit seed extract, tea tree essential oil, and colloidal silver) while also moisturizing skin with aloe vera, MSM, hyaluronic acid, and urea. They even use xylitol, which can be helpful in dissolving the biofilm protecting fungus from antifungal treatments. For all these reasons, they earn first place.

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2. Malezia

Summary: Malezia describes themselves as a “microbiology-based skincare company that got started on Simple Skincare Science. If you haven’t checked out the Simple Skincare Science blog, it is a treasure trove of wisdom. The founder (known as “f.c.”) started by curing his own harsh fungal acne and writing about the topic. Eventually, he created a line of products to help other people with fungal acne and malassezia overgrowth, primarily on the face. Currently, it doesn’t look like they offer any treatment for the scalp.

Why We Like Them: Their ingredients are also very clean. Their moisturizer uses urea, hyaluronic acid, and caprylic/capric triglycerides which are all fantastic ingredients for boosting hydration in the skin. They are clearly dedicated to helping folks with fungal acne and facial irritation caused by malassezia.

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3. Happy Cappy

Summary: Happy Cappy started as a solution to cradle cap (seborrheic dermatitis affecting infants and children). They began with a shampoo formulated by a pediatrician known as Dr. Eddie, who wanted a better solution for his young patients suffering from malassezia overgrowth. They’ve since expanded into body wash, lotion, and other solutions specific to seborrheic dermatitis and sensitive skin.

Why We Like Them: They offer a wide variety of solutions and their products are doctor-formulated. Their ingredients aren’t as natural as our first two recommendations, but the products appear safe for children and have been used for years with great results.

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4. The Ordinary

Summary: The Ordinary’s products aren’t specifically designed for malassezia treatment, but several of their formulas can help reduce sebum (oil), dirt, and yeast from skin. These are all essential parts of a well-rounded malassezia skin care routine. Our top picks for people with malassezia imbalance would be their Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% as well as their Lactic Acid 5% + Hyaluronic Acid 2%.

Why We Like Them: They are cost effective and have a large variety of formulas. While their ingredients aren’t always as holistic as we prefer, most of their products seem relatively safe for most people. You can pick up a few of their products for under $50 and find yourself with a well-rounded skincare routine.

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5. Clinique

Summary: Clinique has been in the skincare industry since 1968. They are committed to creating skincare free of fragrances, parabens, and phthalates and their products go through rigorous testing. They definitely offer the widest variety of skincare options.

Why We Like Them: All their products are free from parabens, phthalates, and fragrances. Overall, they seem to avoid using problematic oils in the C11-C24 range. Unfortunately, they do occasionally use dyes and hard-to-pronounce ingredients. So if you are trying to keep your skincare as clean as possible, the first two brands on this list are going to be your best choice.

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SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Do you have a malassezia-safe brand that we missed? We're always on the lookout for the safest and most effective skincare for the malassezia community.

Send us your brand recommendations to info@sezia.co and we'll consider adding them to the list.

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