Persistent acne on one side of your faces tends to be due to dirty phones, pillowcases, and other habits like touching your face. Cleaning your smartphone regularly with a disinfectant wipe can help minimize breakouts. If you're on the phone frequently for work, consider purchasing a Bluetooth headset.
Cheek acne may be due to one or more of the following: makeup, your phone spreading bacteria, dirty pillowcases, touching your face, or hormonal changes. The good news is there are several steps you can take to prevent it or reduce the severity of your cheek acne. See a doctor to get your acne treated.
Cheeks. You can worsen acne with friction, and it's actually known as “frictional acne.” “A person lying always on their right side or their left side will [likely] get more acne in that area,” he said. “Similarly, if you're always answering your cell phone with your right ear… that can worsen your acne, too.”
Benefits. While ice alone may not cure a pimple, it can decrease swelling and redness, making the pimple less noticeable. Ice also has a numbing effect, which can offer temporary pain relief for severely inflamed pimples.
Given the increase in oil production, she says your skin will usually look greasier and slightly more inflamed. Zeichner adds that stress acne can also look like a combination of blackheads, whiteheads, red bumps, and pus pimples.
This is called acne face mapping. In some cases, acne in a specific area of the face can be linked to a deeper issue. In other cases, acne might just be coincidental or genetic. Keep reading to learn more about common places for facial acne and how you can stop it in its tracks.
“A cotton pillowcase can irritate acne-prone skin unless you're washing or changing the pillowcase every couple of days,” said VanHoose. It can exacerbate existing acne and even make new acne outbreaks more likely.
Some types of hormonal acne cause a large number of comedones to develop especially on the sides of the face – temples, cheeks and jaw line. Enlarged pores on the nose and cheeks are commonly seen with hormonal acne. Hormonal acne can be really frustrating and cause a reduced quality of life for sufferers.
"Dirty pillowcases may cause acne in people who are prone to breakouts," Lian Mack, MD, board-certified dermatologist at GlamDerm Gramercy Laser and Medical Dermatology in New York, tells InStyle. "Over the course of a few days, dead skin cells, oil, and bacteria can build up on the pillow's surface.
Satin has very low absorbency, and therefore helps to preserve the moisture balance in the hair and skin. Satin also won't absorb any applied night creams. Silk (and cotton) are highly absorbent, which can rob hair and skin of their natural oils. Satin feels cool to the touch, whereas silk warms up with body heat.
If your sheets are bacteria ridden, they can cause acne breakouts on your skin. Normal cotton sheets are woven in a way where the fibers can trap sweat and bacteria. As your body expels heat when you are sleeping, the fibers catch the heat, which promotes your sweat glands' activities and often produce more sebum.
The location of these blemishes on the face supposedly represent the organ that's affected. There's no real scientific basis to Chinese face mapping. Instead, it's based on years of observation and a belief that energy, qi, flows to and from organs along invisible pathways.
Sudden acne breakouts can be because of numerous reasons, including hormonal changes or hormonal imbalance, an unhealthy diet including lots of deep fried and junk food, release of cortisol hormones because of excessive stress, excessive production of sebum and much more.
Following a nutrient-dense diet, cutting out dairy, and limiting added sugars are evidence-based practices that may improve acne symptoms. Taking certain supplements like vitamin D and green tea extract, getting enough sleep, quitting smoking, and reducing stress are other healthy ways to fight this disease.
Acne Problems
If you haven't gotten enough rest the night before, the telltale sign of sleeplessness could sit on top of your nose. Acne can flare up when you aren't getting enough sleep. In fact, sleep deprivation is considered one of the three main acne triggers, along with stress and sweating.
What does hormonal acne look like? Whiteheads, blackheads, papules, pustules, cysts and nodules are all common hormonal acne symptoms. Normally, whiteheads and blackheads do not cause pain, inflammation or swelling, but if they do, then they are most likely forming into cysts and pustules.
Does putting toothpaste on a pimple make it go away? You may have heard this suggestion, but experts on acne say don't try it. Toothpaste could make that spot on your skin even more red, irritated, and noticeable.
Applying ice on the face has been known as a good way to reduce puffiness and swelling of the skin, especially around the eyes. It also helps to ease pain by countering the effects of inflammation. That's why rubbing ice on the face can also help to soothe sunburn.
If you've got oily hair, that oil can seep down onto your face — and cause pimples. Make sure you wash your hair each day to keep excess oil off of your forehead, face, and back to help prevent acne.