Acne At MY Age? 8 Surprising Causes Of Adult Breakouts

You’d think that now that you’re older, you’ve outgrown the acne that plagued your adolescence, right? Your sporadic adult breakouts, on the other hand, would suggest differently. Puberty, as we all know, is a time when acne hits pretty hard. But what if I told you that hormones aren’t the only thing that trigger breakouts?

Whether it was a prescription medication, some magic cream, or a smile from the hormone gods – you believed you had your acne under control. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, a cluster of zits appears. What exactly is going on? Hormones do play a part in these nasty breakouts, but there are other UNEXPECTED causes too! We’ve listed some causes of breakouts that may surprise you.

1. Pillowcases

Pillowcases serve as a disposal spot for hairspray, drool, and dead skin. But like anything else, pillowcases transfer dirt and oil to your skin and contribute to the development of acne. To avoid this from happening, changing them every couple of nights, especially if you sleep on your side, is an excellent move. If you don’t have a lot of pillowcases, try using t-shirts every few nights instead.

2. Towels

Towels, like pillowcases, collect a lot of ugly stuff. If you use body or hair products and wipe your hands on your towel, everything you’ve transferred onto there will end up on your face the next time you dry off. Also, for hygiene purposes, consider using a different hand towel just for your face. If you leave your towel to dry in a constantly humid place, such as the bathroom, it will quickly become infested with germs and fungus, which can cause breakouts and rashes on the skin. So practice having separate towels, particularly for your face, and changing them often.

3. Your Hands

Touching your face, which most of us do without realizing it, is a typical cause of breakouts since you’re transferring bacteria to your skin while also exerting pressure on it. Your hands touch all sorts of things and are exposed to bacteria all the time. So if you keep touching your face with unclean hands, it’s gonna cause breakouts. Here’s an important thing – if you already have acne on your face, just DON’T touch it! That will cause more damage to your face. And even if you want to touch your face, make sure your hands are clean.

4. Handphones

All of your on-the-go messaging is fantastic for staying in touch with friends, family, and coworkers. But what about your skin? Not at all. You might not know this, but you expose your cell phone to microorganisms throughout the day. You keep them in your pockets, backpacks, on tables, and even take them to the bathroom; all of this exposes your phone to microorganisms. When you converse on the phone, a large portion of germs is transmitted to the screen, which will eventually come into contact with your cheek for a phone call. Hence, the breakouts! Make it a practice to wipe off your phone screen every morning with rubbing alcohol for a quick clean. This should help keep breakouts at bay.

5. Hairstyling Products

Do you have little bumps along your hairline or on your brow? That’s probably caused by your hair care products. Whiteheads and other types of acne can be caused by shampoos, conditioners, and styling treatments in these areas. You may feel, but not see, the bumps since they are so small. Styling products cause oil to seep onto the forehead, trapping acne-causing germs in your pores. These clogged pores become irritated, causing redness, pus, and, eventually, blackheads and whiteheads around the hairline and forehead. To be safe, ensure your hair products stay away from your skin. Also, keeping your hair from touching your face is highly recommended. Bangs, for instance, exacerbate acne by placing skin-clogging hair products right up against your forehead – and if you sweat a lot, it makes things worst.

6. Travelling

Have you ever wondered why, after a vacation, your skin looks like the moon’s surface? Acne can be triggered by changes in the environment, such as the sun, heat, and humidity. Of course, you can’t control the weather or humidity where you go, but avoiding excessive sun exposure and applying a sunscreen may help decrease outbreaks. Also, while your skin is adapting to environmental changes, don’t add additional products to the mix. Give your skin time to adapt. And even if there are breakouts after the holiday, you can treat them slowly with your existing skincare regimen.

7. Oil Paper

And you thought they really help your skin! Oil blotting papers are among the most widely used skin tools that might make it difficult to remove excess oil from your skin. The truth is that your skin needs at least a small amount of oil, but when you try to remove it with an oil blotting sheet or other instrument, it goes into defence mode. While part of the oil absorbs into the paper, the remainder of the dirt, crud, makeup, and excess oil that wasn’t absorbed is pushed back into your pores. This creates an oxygen-depleted environment deep within your pores, allowing acne bacteria to thrive, resulting in breakouts, blackheads, pimples, and general skin congestion. As a result, you’ll not only have oilier skin than before, but you’ll also get fresh breakouts! You can still use blotting paper but don’t use them excessively.

8. Mask

This is new to the list, given that we’ve been wearing them for more than 2 years. Masks definitely cause breakouts! Oil, germs, and dead skin cells are already present on your skin. When you put on a mask, though, these toxins can build up even more, clogging your pores. A mask also collects humidity from your breathing and sweating, perhaps increasing your acne risk. To minimize your risk of acne, make it a habit to change your mask every day. Using clean masks ensures that less bacteria collects in them, making your skin less prone to having unwanted breakouts.

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