Coconut Oil
★★★★★
I had been to your site in the past and found a cure for my daughter's warts (ACV) so I came back looking for something to help with this Tinea Versicolor, but I didn't have much hope.
I read through different remedies and settled on Coconut Oil, as I figured I couldn't go wrong with that. I purchased a bottle of Fractionated Coconut Oil, which is in a liquid form, and began applying it to the affected areas both in the morning and at night.
This is like a miracle. I expected it to take weeks, at best, but within a few days the rash I had been living with for years was virtually gone. Within a week there was no sign it had ever existed. No discolouration, nothing at all.
It's a crime that this isn't a cure that's publicized by medical practitioners. I love your site and greatly appreciate the knowledge you've accumulated and the community you've built. I'm in your debt.
(Akron Ohio)
09/16/2015
Hi I see coconut oil worked great for you and I look forward to using it for my problem. I'm writing bc I'd like to know if this helped with the itching for you. The way the rash looks is off putting enough but honestly the itching is getting to me. I've been dealing with this prob about 10 years and I almost just completely gave up trying to get it under control. I can't wait to start applying coconut oil. I bought a tub of it wholesale the other day to cook and moisturize with (organic virgin). I just discovered today the benefit for the tinea versicolor issue.
(Somewhere, Europe)
09/17/2015
(Northampton, MA)
08/02/2024
Hi Daniel,
If you don't get the answer you are seeking and want an option that won't leave oil stains your shirts, you can make a boric acid solution to apply to the neck area for your Tinea Versicolor (TV).
Mix 2 level full teaspoons of Boric Acid Powder with one cup of distilled or filtered water. This can be applied to the neck area without leaving grease stains on your clothes. To make application easier for the neck area, the solution can be applied using a spray bottle and it is not oily or greasy feeling on the skin. Once dry, it should have no feeling on the skin.
Two applications per day should do. If you use a two ounce spray bottle, you can carry this in a pocket or purse for use on the go.
Here is a link to a typical product :
https://www.amazon.com/Florida-Laboratories-Lb-Create-Solution-Household/dp/B014I5IU8Q/
Art
Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Anyway, I tried the coconut oil. I had a shower every morning and would scrap out the hard coconut oil with my finger nails and smother my body with it every morning. It was winter and cold and the coconut oil was solid but melted when I put it on my body. It did this every day for a week and then started to see the spots fade, after two weeks they were completely gone. I've been doing this about six weeks now and will continue to use coconut oil as a moisturiser as it has "cured" my rash.
I say "cured" in quotation marks as I think if I stopped this treatment long enough, the rash would come back eventually, as it is hard to completely eradicate apparently, but hey, I'll just keep using the coconut oil for skin care as my skin is so nice now!
(India)
11/20/2015
Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Long story short, the dermatologist diagnosed me with a slight case of keratosis pilaris and prescribed me a topical ointment to try to get rid of it. Unfortunately this treatment didn't work at all, and I eventually just waited it out and it went away.
Since then, I've gotten many cases of what I now now is tinea versicolor, always off and on, and always at the worst times! Just recently I was in the market for a certain type of oil for another reason and began reading about coconut oil and its many benefits. As I read about its anti-fungal, anti-Candida, and anti-bacterial qualities I was thrilled (as I also suffer from occasional bacterial/yeast/candida infections) because I am aware of the fungal nature of tinea versicolor. This discovery also occurred coincidentally during one of my worst tinea v. outbreaks ever.
I decided to purchase some liquid coconut oil and apply it topically on my arms to see if it would live up to its properties/claims, and WOW I'm simply amazed. After only 3 days of use, the spots almost completely vanished (even more so than their normal-state very faint appearance). How the dermatologist missed this one is beyond me, and I'm always thrilled to find a natural remedy for my ailments. Coconut oil for tinea versicolor is a godsend!!!
Coconut Oil
★★★★★
EC: This post was copied from the vitiligo page here: https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/vitiligo.html#TEDS
(Springfield, Mo)
03/31/2013
★★★★★
Coconut oil is the ONLY thing that has helped my tinea versicolor. I only been using a week and 90% of my affected spots has returned to normal. I still apply every night very generously.
(San Diego, Ca)
04/22/2013
★★★★★
Coconut Oil was the only thing that worked successfully for me. Selenium Sulfide worked occasionally.
(London)
05/06/2015
How long after using coconut oil does the colour of the skin turn back to normal?
Coconut Oil and Patchouli Essential Oil
★★★★★
I made a lotion out of coconut oil and patchouli essential oil. I'm not sure if its the coconut oil or the patchouli but it went away after about week. I had it so bad for years...I only use it once a day, after I get out of the shower. I do notice that if I dont use it for a couple days I will start to get itchy again. And it smells a lot better than using ACV!
(Tennessee)
06/19/2015
Coconut Oil, Oregano Oil
★★★★★
(Ontario, Canada)
02/25/2018
★★★★★
Thank you for your post. I have been dealing with tinea for 20 years. Nothing has ever made it go away. Not prescription or over the counter remedies. I tried your suggestion of coconut mixed with oil of oregano, not actually believing that much would change. To my pleasant surprise....My spots are almost completely gone after only 5 days of using the mixture. For the first time ever, I have hope. Thank you for your post!!!!
Colloidal Silver
★★★★★
Colloidal Silver
★★★☆☆
WORKED TEMPORARILY
Colloidal Silver
★★★★★
Copper, Environment Change
★★★★★
I first discovered I had Tinea in 2012. I noticed a spot on my neck and also my right bicep. I tried all sorts of things on it, from; Tea Tree Oil, cortisone, doctor prescribed creams. It only proceeded to get worse regardless of what I tried. As the years went on it spread down my arms, all over my chest, up my neck and all over my back. Even down in to my thighs. I felt hopeless.
I was living in Central PA at the time, which is pretty hot and humid during the summer. At night, my skin would crawl and itch. I did my best to eliminate sugar, beer, tobacco, etc. It seemed the worse my Tinea got, the worse I got. I grew hopeless that I would live with this for the rest of my life! I would shower twice a day, change my bed sheets every few days. I did all sorts of things. I would apply it after the shower from head to toe, and then go to bed. It was quite the routine. I even created my own creams with Coconut oil, tea tree oil, oil of oregano, and grapefruit seed extract, which helped the inflammation the best. It helped, but didn't really make a dent.
Of course I noticed when I avoided sugar or the heat and humidity my skin would do better, but overall it was still there and itching.
In my life at the time I had difficulty avoiding alcohol, sugar, carbs, etc. I also struggled with depression and anxiety and understood the connection between the food, and mood. My life seemed like I would get started going in the right direction and then I often just gave up again.
After years of battling the ups and downs with tinea I just learned to live with it. I will say that over the years, I sought out different spiritual practices too. Very few helped practically, I practiced hot power yoga, which if you read a lot of the tinea forums, they tell you it will cause your skin to become inflamed. For me, it did get somewhat inflamed, but it also seemed to recede too. Eventually my yoga practice fell off, my tinea came back just as strong again.
It wasn't until I moved to Colorado in the cooler, dry climate that I noticed less flare ups. Over all, it was less inflamed from the things I ate, like carbs, sugars, or an occasional beer. It's now 2018 and 6 years later, I can say that my tinea is very much receding. In addition to the environmental and climate change, I also started wearing a copper bracelet I purchased at a Meditation Event.
When I was pursuing the items, a bracelet jumped out at me and I felt really drawn to it. I walked around a bit, but eventually came back. I bought the copper bracelet and within a week I noticed a difference in my skin. My skin hadn't flared up at all. Not even much when I had a beer. And as the weeks went on, it continued to recede. Now, about 2 months from when I purchased the bracelet, the red splotches and patches on my chest and back have receded to where they don't even touch anymore. If you look at my chest, what would look like goose bumps are just the Tinea dwindling away in to the pours of my skin. I used to be literally covered on my chest to where you couldn't even tell I had normal skin. My skin was just chronically inflamed and I will say I was lucky in a way. I have olive red skin and once the tinea covered me, it was hard to tell I had it. But if you looked under my forearms where it's pale, it was really blotchy and kinda off putting. But even under my forearms has dissipated to the point you can't see it. Lastly, in addition to the copper bracelet, I have been practicing Kriya Yoga and that has helped my overall well being with anxiety and depression.
While these things may not be supplements or creams, I can say that what I read about Copper Bracelets in Indian culture makes sense to me. That an imbalance of any mineral can cause issues in the nervous system. It seems for me, I was lacking copper and I've been able to absorb it through the skin beneficially. I share this not as a solution for everyone, but as hope that it does get better.
To those out there still looking for an answer after everything they've tried still didn't work. Don't give up. You'll find your solution if you keep searching.
General Feedback
Hydrogen Peroxide
★★★★★
Inulin
★★★★★
I have never been free of the itch for more than a few days. I tried all of the topicals including sulfur, anti-dandruff, nizoral shampoo and a LOT of essential oils. Cumin essential oil (based on countless hours of research into studies) has a good inhibition rate in the lab for various strains of the yeast that cause tinea. I tried it with MCT oil topically, because you want an oil that doesn't feed the yeast. This was pretty good at cutting the itch and so was betadine, which shouldn't be used for very long. Betadine has been said to cure tinea in studies. It definitely helps, but the itch would always come back. I feel like I needed something internal.
The more I read about root causes the more I explored the idea of feeding the bacteria we already have, vs. getting rid of all of the bacteria. When you have the right amounts of good bacteria they will keep all of the bad bacteria in check. It's always a competition in the gut and on the skin. But I believe the internal fight can make its way to the skin with many routes.
I started reading about the power of inulin fiber and how it increases bifidobacterium and there are many benefits to this. Anyways, I am still experimenting but I have not been itchy for weeks and the only thing I changed, was eating jicama daily (buy it at the grocery store, it's in the root vegetable section, and eating about 1/4 cup -1/2 a day. I eat it plain, or you can add it to smoothies. It's kind of like a light apple texture. Like jerusalem artichoke it is very high in inulin. I can't find the jerusalem artichokes anywhere, so I've been eating the jicama. I also add kefir to my smoothie which I think is a great way to get the prebiotic power of inulin to boost the probiotics and help them take root in the body (but kefir on its own has never been enough). You could try inulin supplement powders, and I am going to look into other prebiotics powders in addition to food. I will update in a few months to see if there are any changes. I am going to be trying ginger topically to see if I can get my pigment to come back. I am sooo excited to be free of the itch for now.
I think of it this way, we all have seeds in the garden (probiotics), but the prebiotics are the fertilizer to make the probiotics blossom like crazy. When you take the anti-candida stuff you're eliminating the good and bad bacteria, but if you don't rebalance with a lot of good, then the bad slowly takes over again. Probiotics alone usually do not take hold very well. We all have good bacteria in the gut, so just feed that!
Medicated Shampoo
★★★★☆
