While I’ve gotten my skin condition pretty much under control in recent years, there are occasions when I still encounter a rather inexplicable breakout. Quite often, we can attribute it to the skincare or makeup that we’re using (or testing, as it were) or even more often, to our hormones.
Breakouts caused by ingredients in skincare or makeup that don’t agree with our skin, or which clog our pores, can usually be easily traced and identified. If you pay attention to your skin, that is. I know most of you here do!
Yet other times, I’ve come across some pretty bizarre situations myself, when I can’t quite put my finger on what’s causing my breakout. These aren’t acne, which is bacterial, but rather, spots or pimples or zits. Whatever you may call it, it is uncomfortable and makes us uncomfortable about the condition of our skin.
Worse yet, it’s when you thought you had everything under control, and your skin looking smooth and glowy with your skincare ministrations, that makes a sudden zit encounter even more traumatic!
Aside from the usual cosmetics ingredients that may clog skin and cause breakouts, I’ve identified 5 other reasons for you breaking out that you may not have thought of. Incidentally, they have all happened to me, which is how I worked it out, of course! 😀 If you think of others, or if this helps you, share! 😀
Shampoo and Hair care
Shampoo. Who’d have thunk?
One of the earliest posts I wrote here on MWS was about whether ingredients in shampoo and conditioner can cause pimples, spots and breakouts. I was convinced that my breakouts was due to my use of Tresemme hair care (which I stay miles away from these days!) and I dumped my thoughts in a blog post.
Years later, people are still commenting on it, sharing their experiences and having the lightbulb go on, about their inexplicable sudden skin breakouts, and a change to a new shampoo and conditioner. So, if you aren’t sure why you’re suddenly breaking out, consider if you’ve recently changed your shampoo or conditioner. But to be safe, adopt my tip of washing you face last in the shower. That way, you make sure you wash off all those nasty chemicals that may have come into contact with your skin 🙂
Not drinking enough water
If you drink enough water, you will have clearer, more naturally glowy skin. Don’t, and one of the first things you’ll notice is a dull complexion and in some cases, breakouts.
For myself, I notice that if I don’t have enough water in a day, I will start experiencing minor breakouts. That odd spot here and there that bugs me to no end, especially when I’ve just convinced myself that I’ve gotten my skin under control. Caring for the skin is truly a lifelong affair! You can’t just expect to plonk on all that skincare and be done with it.
Sometimes, it’s that odd imbalance here and there in diet or lifestyle, that tips the scales. Not so noticeable when you’re younger, and your body bounces back more quickly from stresses and imbalances. But when you hit your 30’s you’ll notice how everything takes longer to return to equilibrium. Now that I’m in my 40’s (can’t kid myself anymore!) I’ve noticed this more than ever! Gotta work harder at restoring equilibrium… or at least, not disrupting it more than usual. Drink your 8 glasses minimum, peeps!
Food and what you eat
During this year end season of feasting, and for some of us, all the way to the Chinese New Year, we tend to find ourselves eating more unhealthy foods than normal. Sweets, fatty, or oily foods tend to abound at this time, and you know how people say not to eat too much chocolate or fried foods because it can give you pimples? Well, it can.
For myself however, I found that one food that would give me spots, without fail, was beef. Strange? Yes, I know! I’ve actually shared my thoughts in this earlier post about this. Basically, if I overindulge in my red meat, I end up with breakouts.
Sometimes, these breakouts could even be attributed to food allergies. For me, I still eat my beef. But I eat in moderation. Fortunately, I have lots of options in terms of food, and I love my fruits and veges so I try to maintain some sort of balance 🙂
Probiotics
Still on the subject of things you eat (notice the trend? Breakouts as as much about what you put in you and you put on your skin!) I’ve noticed that probiotics played merry hell with my skin.
One experience was more than enough for me, and I wasn’t about to repeat the experiment to see if different brands of probiotics or other types of probiotics would be ok for me. Incidentally, while there isn’t a lot of information out there on this, I’ve had so many people comment to share their experience of breakouts when taking probiotics! So, I know for a fact that I’m not alone, and so do they! 😀
Dirty makeup brushes and sponges
This one is something we are well aware of, yet I’m sure we tend to overlook or forget. Wash your makeup brushes regularly. I hesitate to say once a week, because I’m tardy myself, and often can go for weeks without washing my brushes.
It’s no surprise therefore that I do notice breakouts happening occasionally, especially around my cheeks, as that’s where my foundation brushes go, and I rarely break out on my cheeks. I only have myself to blame of course 😛 Makeup brushes, even if we just use them on ourselves, can harbour bacteria or dirt, and if you keep them in the open, be exposed to dust that can irritate the skin. So, keep them clean. If you want to use a makeup brush, then don’t be lazy about washing them. I am lazy, but I don’t actually hate it, the way I see people moan about hating to wash their brushes. I actually enjoy it… when I’m not being lazy of course LOL! 😛
So that’s 5 reasons for breakouts that I think people may not think about. It’s all happened to me at one point or another and each time, a lightbulb goes on. I’ve shared my experiences in one post or another over the years, so you can tell that this is something I think about often LOL!
Have you experienced any breakouts due to the reasons I’ve shared? Do you have others I may not have realised?
I think, because we’re all different and individuals, the reasons for our skin reacting to certain products, food or situations will be different. But for the most part, you may also realise from here that what you put IN your body is just as important as what goes ON your body. Sometimes, that’s what’s causing the spots and zits. So once you stop eating/using the offending item, they go away without medication! 🙂 Do share, if there are other strange or unusual causes for breakouts that you may have experienced 🙂
Paris B
The stupid phone at work. At one point of time, I was commuting a lot for work and worked out of hot desks so I would use whatever communal phone available at the hot desks. These are of course grubby as hell. It was finally a lightbulb moment when breakouts occur only on the right side of my cheek (I know, attractive as hell. Don’t jelly)I immediately swapped to use the soft phones from my laptop and hooked to my bluetooth headset. Breakouts cleared. My neck and shoulders thanked me. No longer in trouble with the Health & Safety Officer. Win all round.
If you rely on the phone at work a lot, have anti-bac wipes handy. I clean mine once a week at least.
Yes, excellent point! Phones at work can be really icky. Also keyboards. Type, type type, touch face = spots 😛
Hormones…you can’t beat that 🙂
Nope, that we can’t. Sadly 🙁
I thought I’d also share something – I believe that consuming dairy products can cause breakouts and acne (and there’s research proving so) but this is very personal as I’ve known people who consume dairy often and don’t have acne but it doesn’t hurt to try. If anyone is having bad breakouts or acne, try reducing dairy intake because it certainly helped for me.
Also, I think we Asians believe in something called ” re qi” (heartiness) in our bodies especially when eating something like chocolate or deep fried foods. Some may not believe this (e.g. Westerners) but I do and I think too much “re qi” causes breakouts as well (in my experience) so…. To each their own hahaha
Take this with a grain of salt.
I’m with you on dairy, Robert. And sugar. Too much of either and that can explain the sudden spotty breakout (and weight gain!) I don’t eat a lot of dairy due to my lactose intolerance so I’m grateful for that, to be honest. Also, I don’t eat a lot of sweets either, not having a sweet tooth, so again, I don’t know if I might break out due to sugar. But not overindulging or even indulging in either very much has perhaps, helped my skin remain pretty clear from spots! Oh and I’m also your typical Asian so I believe in the cooling and heaty foods theory! Can’t discount all these for just pure mumbo jumbo you know 😉
Exactly! I try to explain these asian stuff to some of my ‘white’ friends and they don’t believe me (not that I thought they would). I recently just found out as well that after pregnancy, the mothers (foreign) don’t take leave for a month to stay at home? I was like..” WHAAAAT… isn’t that not good for them because of air getting into their bodies yada yada yada”.. actually had to stop halfway because the look they gave me was “wtf” hahahahaha
They’ll probably tell you, isn’t some air good for you? LOL!!!! My gran swears by the confinement period though. Says it’s why gwailo women get achey in their old age. Esp with winter and all. That said, she hasn’t really lived anywhere other than where it’s warm so maybe she’s just biased hehe
Half of the sunscreen products I’ve used (or things containing sunscreen e.g. BB and day cream) caused me to break out. Fortunately, after years of testing, I’ve discovered a few that’s safe on my pimple-prone skin.
OMG I recently just noticed that one of the main culprits for my breakouts is the sunscreen that I’ve been using as well! Apparently, I can’t tolerate synthetic/chemical sunscreens (e.g. oxybenzone)…so I’ve been sticking to physical sunscreens and see how it goes.
Good point as well! I am careful with sunscreen containing zinc oxide because I break out if it’s too high concentration in a product!
Wow, you actually break out from probiotics? That is the first time I am hearing such a thing. LOL. I do take probiotics daily (although I have finished my stock) but so far, no issues. I guess everyone has different skin type. I know that work stress and lack of sleep is the main cause of the occasional spots that I get. Those two are difficult to avoid but I guess I will have to manage it somehow 🙂
I know right? It’s ridiculous because I thought I was doing my body a favour. Bah 😛 But since then, so many other people have reported the same thing so I’m kinda glad I’m not alone. Not good news for the probiotics companies I guess LOL! Stress and lack of sleep are definitely breakout triggers. If I don’t sleep well for long periods of time, I end up with bumpy skin 🙁
It might sound odd but I do find that dirty pillows case/pillows can cause breakout on me. I would have spots along my jawline and cheeks because I always sleep sideways. This happens to me at some hotels and my face is the best hygiene detector, hehe….
I adore cheese and puddings but I had to restrain myself from consuming too much. Dairy products freak my skin out too, *sob sob*.
Not odd May Yee, but a very good point! I sleep on my back, but I have noticed that sometimes, changing my sheets results in my skin clearing up, around my chin area, where my duvet will rest against. I don’t think many of us actually change our sheets weekly as people say we should 😛 And dairy is definitely a breakout culprit. I don’t eat a lot, because of my intolerance, which might be a good thing actually LOL!
Certain type of probiotics. I have been taking probiotics for a few years but I never stayed loyal to certain manufacturers. A few months ago, I was in Amsterdam n the weather was just perfect but when I woke up one morning, I had severe acne breakout on my left jaw. I just started on a new type of probiotics but I did not occur to me at the point of time ( the probiotics was given to me by my sis to be consumed during that particular trip). When I came back to Msia, I bought yeast probiotics and hell broke loose. I went through detox, drank 4L of water daily, reduce carbs and sugar and yet, those cystic acne popped up everyday. I went to see the dermatologists and went through electro cautery. Then one day, there was this light bulb moment, the probiotics! I stopped them immediately and it has been 2 weeks now. No more new acne and the old ones are clearing.
That thing about hair care is really true. Or even having bangs/fringe. I find that I tend to break out more when I had a fringe. All that sweat = hello pimples!
That’s true about fringes too! But they’re so cute!
For me it’s the bloody toothpaste and lipbalm. My breakout area has shifted from forehead to MOUTH. Ffs, I’m constantly fighting them there as I started using lipbalms again. Ugh..
Oh yes! I’ve heard about toothpaste causing breakouts for some people, and who’d have thought. It’s so innocuous!
First of all, WATER! That’s the primary thing that we need to have in everything, not just for taking care our skin but for our other bodily functions. Especially when we lived in such humid, tropical place where sweats keep pouring out during hot day or on rainy day, keep going to the toilet LOL I found that when I have more than 2 liters of water daily, my skin has better hydration whether I put on my hydration skin care or not. Of course, work best with the hydration skincare, haha.
I think my biggest mistake is my skincare routine and how I take care of my makeup tools.
I’m so lazy to wash my face before bed so I rely heavily on the day I wear makeup so that I can properly wash my face – makeup is visible so I feel icky to go to sleep with it compare to just sunblock and the day dirt which is hard to see by rough eyes. I hate washing my makeup tools because it always took me to confidently have them dry and ready to use after 2 days hanging for dry, haha. Maybe I need to have proper extra tools so that I can use my backup while waiting for the rest to get ready.
Don’t forget the right skincare. We might think our skin is dry or oily and ended up choosing the wrong products. You might think you have blemish-type skin so end up with the full range of anti-acne products but in my case, I can only use temporary before end up getting too dry skin (experienced this twice with different brands!). I also stir clear from brightening/whitening range as usually those have powerful agents … guess what? … that caused my skin get so dry, flacky and redness. I rather have skincare that work slowly than those miracle products that act fast as those Speedy Gonzales products tend to make my skin even worse than prior condition! My point for skincare is wrong products may cause your breakouts and other concerns so please, please be careful on whatever those glossy adverts and sales assistants say to you!
I agree on washing face last after washing hair, whether just water or with shampoo. But I’m not sure if I put my conditioner on, can I wash my face while waiting for the conditioner to set then wash it or do I need to wash off the conditioner first then wash my face?
Ugh yes, makeup tools! I have been meaning to wash my brushes for erm… WEEKS but haven’t got around to doing it. And I’m wondering why I’m breaking out now tsk tsk. I don’t practice what I breah, that’s why! Oh and you’re also right about using skincare that’s not suitable for our skin. I don’t use whitening for this reason – far too drying, although every brand out there gives me a strange look when I tell them so. I should know better right? I’m a user! 😛 For me, I usually wash my face after my conditioner, because that is the one with all the silicones. So I do shampoo -> conditioner (Leave on) -> shower gel -> wash off conditioner -> wash face 😀
I have recently changed my Brand of probiotics. I have a horrible breakout on my face and 1 on my chest. They are not simply zits. They seem to be rizens.
I have read that others have had the same issues, but I wonder if I continue taking them, my face will clear up. I need the probiotics for intestinal problems.
It seems to me that perhaps they will get all bad bacteria out of skin and be done with it. Most spots have gotten better.
I have experienced cystic acne too and the only thing I can blame is probiotics. It was the only change i made in my diet. Also my doctor asked me to stop taking it.