What’s Causing Your Workout Breakouts?

You don’t workout in makeup, you wash your face post-workout, you keep your sweaty hands OFF of your face, and you still suffer from breakouts. It’s annoying, it’s embarrassing, and it’s down-right frustrating. From a girl with the most sensitive skin in the world, I feel ya, friend. It sucks.

There are acne-inducing catalysts in the most inconspicuous places; and I have learned from experience, the devil is in the details. The diminutive details.

Catalyst #1: Your “sweat rag” or towel – Notice a pattern in your breakouts? Is it right above your eyebrow line, or underneath your chin where you’ve used your towel? The detergent in which your towel is washed could be causing a reaction. If you’re using a towel provided by the gym, try bringing your own from home. And for extra precaution, try using a laundry detergent free of dyes and perfumes.

Catalyst #2: Your clothes – Same concept. If you’re not a towel-user, you’re certainly a clothes-user. We’ve all wiped our chin or forehead with our shirt a time or two. Experiment with your laundry; try washing your workout clothes in the sensitive-skin laundry detergent. No dyes, no perfumes, and no breakouts.

Catalyst #3: Your hair products – If back-ne is a problem, your long sweaty ponytail just might be the culprit. Your hairspray/moose/heat protectant product, mixed with sweat, is not a good combination. A tank that covers your back, and a bun, instead of a ponytail, will clear this pesky problem right up.

Catalyst #4: Your perfume – Rather than spraying your perfume directly onto your neck or chest, spray it in front of you, and then walk through it. It keeps the scent light, and prevents the solution from penetrating your pores.

Catalyst #5: Your headphones – For the longest time I was breaking out right underneath my ears, all the way down to my jawline. For the life of me, I could not figure out what was going on. And then one day on my run, as my headphone cords were touching the side of my face, it dawned on me. My freakin’ headphones. Really? I’m allergic to headphones? Yes. But, I found a solution. After every workout, I soak a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and clean the cords to get rid of any built-up bacteria. Ta-da! Problem solved. (If you’re a Beats user, you can clean the headphones with rubbing alcohol. Do it.)

Catalyst #6: Cleaning solution – The sanitizing wipes and solutions, used on mats and medicine balls, are absolutely necessary for cleanliness purposes. And while they’re great for sanitizing, they’re not always sensitive-skin friendly. If you find random breakouts on your legs, arms, back or stomach, don’t freak out. It’s the cleaning solution. To solve the problem, lay a towel down on your mat or medicine ball.

See what I mean? The devil is in the details! But, if you suffer from workout breakouts, hopefully you learned a little something today.

Are there any other catalysts you’ve discovered? Did any of these surprise you?

Stay fit, friends! Xo