followed by the forehead and sideburns," says Dr Santhanam. Fungal acne generally occurs when there's an excessive build-up of a fungus called malassezia, says Dr Rinky Kapoor, a consultant ...

If the diagnosis is still in doubt, skin scrapings may be sent for fungal culture, keeping in mind that Malassezia will only grow on a lipid-containing medium, such as Leeming and Notman agar.

All species of Malassezia except M. pachydermatis, a zoophilic species, require skin lipids for growth, because they do not synthesize long-chain saturated fatty acids. Due to this lipid ...