No matter how many promising skincare products you buy, sometimes it just feels like your skin is destined to breakout. And, while stuff like genetics is kinda out of your control, it turns out there are a load of other things (you can totally fix) that might be giving you acne.
Here we round up six common AF things you probs didn’t know might be causing you to breakout.
1. Not Washing Your Pillow Cases Often Enough
Dr. David E. Bank, director and founder of The Center for Dermatology, Cosmetic & Laser Surgery, says that regularly washing your pillowcase is key to keeping acne at bay.
“When your pillowcase isn’t laundered or changed regularly, a build-up of dirt and oil from the environment as well as your skin and hair touching the pillow is transferred back to your skin. This can clog pores and cause blemishes.”
So how often is often enough, you ask? At least ONCE A WEEK.
2. Same Thing Goes For Your Makeup Brushes
Ask any dermatologist and they’ll tell you that washing your makeup brushes once a week is a good rule of thumb. And if you have oily, blemish-prone skin, you should probs be washing them every few days. Um, yikes.
While washing your brushes with soap and water on daily basis is kinda unrealistic, experts recommend using a cleanser in between washes to help keep the bristles fresh and bacteria-free. If not, you’re pretty much brushing those germs on and around your face day in, day out.
Well now I just feel dirty tbh.
3. Some Face Scrubs
Dafuq?? I don’t know about you but I feel incredibly lied to right now. We’ve always been told that bacteria and dead skin cells are one of the leading causes of breakouts, which means investing in a good ol’ face scrub can work wonders. But it turns out your face scrub can also cause acne, especially if the exfoliant is too harsh or you’re using it too often.
“Many best-selling facial scrubs contain jagged particles, such as apricot and walnut seeds, that do not cleanse the skin, but, instead, cause tiny cuts in your face,” explains Dr. Aaron Tabor of Healthy Directions.
“Even if you cannot see these little cuts, they are more than big enough to allow bacteria to enter. The result is redness, inflammation, and blemishes.”
4. Eating Spicy Foods
Well, it seems practically nothing is safe anymore. Apparently spicy foods can also contribute to skin issues like acne. When you eat foods with a lot of heat, your blood vessels dilate as a response to inflammation. Just like the facial scrub situation, the key is moderation, to help reduce irritation and the chance of triggering a breakout.
5. Kissing Bearded Blokes
Making out with a rugged, bearded dude might seem like a good idea (because, hello, Chris Hemsworth) but that sxc stubble might actually be causing havoc on your skin.
When those prickly hairs brush up against your face, it’s pretty standard to walk away with a not-so-cute pash rash. But we’re sorry to tell you that this redness around your mouth area is also a sign of friction and inflammation which, in turn, prompts your skin to promote more oil to help soothe the irritation, says Jeanine Downie, cosmetic dermatologist of Image Dermatology. More oil then leads to more breakouts and BOOM! There’s your next breakout.
6. Using Certain Shampoos
If you experience ‘bacne’ (back-acne, for the uninitiated), you might wanna take a long, hard look at your shampoo. Why? Because, according to Dr. Annie Chiu, a dermatologist and the director of The Derm Institute, some of the main shampoo ingredients, like sulfates and silicones – which help cleanse and moisturise your hair – can also be comedogenic (which means they block pores). That’s it, I’m done.
While you can’t stop using shampoo, one way to avoid it clogging your pores is to make sure you thoroughly rinse off any residue, or even tilt your head to the side to avoid as much contact with your skin as possible.
