r/Folliculitis

I’ve had this for years and have never been sure of what it could be. I’ve tried benzoyl peroxide 10%, salicylic acid, exfoliating, moisturizer, and nothing seems to work

So, for the last like 5-6 years, I’ve always had little pimples on the back of my scalp. They’re not painful usually; more just annoying and I enjoy popping them, even though that doesn’t make them go away.

They’re usually always in the same exact smaller spots on the back of my scalp, I’d almost not even care, but then there’s times like now, when these pictures were taken, where they actually do get really inflamed and a little painful and noticeable and gross to see. There’s a clear correlation to me between these flare ups and my mental/ physical wellbeing. I’ve been pretty stressed out lately, not sleeping well, not eating enough, etc.

Idk i went to a dermatologist once when it wasn’t very bad, they basically just scheduled a follow up and didn’t tell me anything and then I moved away. So I just started using head and shoulders shampoo and every now and then throw some neosporin on it or other antibiotic ointment 🤷‍♂️. Cuz idk what it is and if it’s not always like pictured above I don’t super care.

BUT do you guys think it’s this folliculitis?

My skin is combination, dry and highly sensitive.

Has anyone dealt with something similar, or does anyone have any recommendations on what would be the safest starting point without damaging my skin barrier?

I had 2 instances of pustules on my hair and both resulted in bald patches. Anyone experienced something like this? And will the hair grow back eventually?

My doctor has tried 3 creams. 2 shampoos and A round of antibiotics and last week I got a lot of blood work to check on allergies
She is very concerned that nothing is helping and is trying to find a dermatologist to send me to. Some areas that have more outbreaks then others are becoming bald spots.
Any suggestions on what this might be?

I read a 2025 case report (Korytnikova & Halasz): topical roflumilast 0.3% foam cleared scalp folliculitis in 10 days, sustained at 24 weeks.
It is a PDE-4 inhibitor that blocks the inflammation driving pustule formation, unlike antibiotics which target bacteria that may not be the actual cause.

FDA-approved May 2025 for scalp psoriasis. Not available in Europe yet.

Anyone in the US been able to get Zoryve prescribed and try it for folliculitis?

Here is the study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11730259/

I have usual flaky build up on itchy scalp but also red spots? Is this usual? Also a lot of hair loss over last year.

I should say my scalp symptoms are completely resistant to anti fungal shampoo like ketaconazole.

Went to see dermatologist on Thursday and she didn’t think it was cancer. Said we could biopsy, or wait and come in 4 weeks and see any changes/biopsy. Scab is in middle from when I tried popping when it first appeared. It is raised off my face some. In grown/cyst acne? Or something like BCC? My concern is that it hasn’t gone away after so long.

Hey, everyone.
I'm the same guy from this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Folliculitis/comments/1j97w29/folliculitis_caused_by_klebsiella_aerogenes/

(I had to make a new account because I lost access to the previous one.)

The plan I eventually followed was this:
February: Ciproxin & Dalacin C for 15 days
March: Ciproxin & Dalacin C for 21 days
May-June: Ciproxin for 30 days
July: Bactrimel for 9 days (I was prescribed 14 days but stopped at 9 because I was having some minor allergic reactions)

I also used Bactroban inside my nostrils for 10 days if I recall correctly.

I was done with medication on July 7, 2025.
My face was super clear and I was very very happy to get back my life and my normal routine.

Then sadly, when May 2026 arrived, I started having folliculitis again.
These pictures are from the last 15 days.

Is it possible to be completely clear for 10 months, then have the infection rapidly come back like this?
The area of pustules is also quite vast which is alarming me.
I also wonder if this is caused by Klebsiella aerogenes or Staphylococcus aureus, or something else this time.

What do you guys think?

Anyone who managed to get their skin clear once and for all?

Started as what looked like a small pimple/irritated follicle in my mustache area near my upper lip last Saturday. I had also been dealing with a really dry/crusty nose for a few weeks and admittedly was picking at both the inside of my nose and the pimple a lot.

Over the next few days it became swollen, painful, and turned into more of a boil type lesion. Went to the ER —the ultrasound showed no drainable abscess so they started me on oral antibiotics.

A few days later dermatology looked at it. They cultured it, kept me on antibiotics, and added mupirocin ointment both on the lesion and inside the nostrils. They said it looked like an abscess/furuncle/staph-type infection and recommended warm compresses.

Now about 3-4 days into antibiotics it has evolved from a tight swollen “pimple” into more of an open/raw/crusting clustered lesion. Some scab/crust has naturally loosened and come off with warm compresses and ointment. No fever so far and vitals have stayed normal, but appearance-wise it honestly looks pretty nasty and has been stressing me out. Posted pictures of my timeline here.

Mostly wondering:
Has anyone had a boil/furuncle progress like this instead of becoming one giant pus pocket?
Did yours look worse before it looked better?
How long did the open/raw healing phase last for you?

Hi there,
I’m a 24-year-old male, around 5’9” and approximately 98kg. I’d estimate I’m around 22% body fat and fairly muscular, although I fully accept that I’m overweight and do need to lose fat.
For the past year and a half, I’ve been getting boils on my inner thigh roughly every 4–5 months. They’re usually quite painful. The first one was able to pop/drain on its own, but the more recent ones haven’t been and have required antibiotics.
On one or two occasions, I had two boils close together, although always within the same general area on the inner thigh.
I currently use a private online service through AXA, and they’ve prescribed antibiotics (fluxolacillin, forgive my spelling) when needed, but there’s never been an in-person consultation or much explanation about what might actually be causing this. So far ive been prescribed twice a course of 1 week and 4times a day which had worked at eliminating the boils. However It’s starting to become both frustrating and a bit worrying because it keeps recurring.
I wanted to ask for opinions on:
What this could potentially be

Why it may be recurring

Whether this sounds like something more chronic

Possible treatment or prevention options

I do agree that losing weight may help, but I’m wondering if there could be another underlying cause as well.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi everyone. I started developing this rash 2 months ago. My doc first perscribed me a steroid cream that did nothing. The rash got a lot worse after that so I went back and was perscribed Fusidin cream and Cephalexin for 7 days. After 4 days of this I wanted a second opinion so I went to a derm who told me to stop the antibiotics and perscribed Lyderm. I finished the course of Cephalexin and used the lyderm, 95% of my skin cleared. Then about a week later the bumps started appearing again this time slower and not as severe. So i went back to derm who wanted to put me on doxycycline for 6 weeks however im going to mexico so didn't want to put me on while i would be in the sun. Instead she perscribed 10% benzoyl peroxide wash and topical clindamycin. My folliculitis is mostly upper abdomen/under breast and some on back. Ive been on this for 2 weeks now and I see some improvement but slowly. I noticed however i was getting bumps on my neck so I started using the BP and clinda there however it is not helping my neck. Could this be causing a fungal reaction on my neck? First pic is when it started, then when it got worse, the went away and came back and now my neck....

Also, im not sure why I randomly got this. Im a lifeguard and swim instructor so I thought maybe from the pool but none of my coworkers got it and our pool is well treated and i never went in the hot tub.