I never noticed my problem (which was mainly on my face and scalp) correlated with flares - but let me tell you, if your problem is painful red bumps that seem subcutaneous, and may eventually (after sometimes a week or so) form a whitehead - the following may work for you, as it has
*cured* me of this folliculitis (thank you God). The things were like subcutaneous cysts and could be very painful.
Try using Head and Shoulders shampoo. What I would do is maybe use it in my hair and actually rub some around on the affected area of skin as well. Perhaps letting it sit on for a few minutes before washing it off. (I would imagine there is a better product using the effective ingredient in H&S for skin vs hair, however, since I had to discover this solution on my own, as dermatologists could care less and prescribed me antibiotics, I will rely on someone else to help me figure out if there is a better formulation of this zinc for use on skin) I believe it works in some way by being anti-fungal. At any rate, if it does work for you, then I would be leary about using any antibacterial products on your skin, especially so if they are not even working for you.
If you try it, please post here to let me know if it helped.
Good luck!