Acne affects tens of millions of people worldwide. It is characterized by the appearance of spots, pimples and angry red pustules that can appear on any part of your body including your Forehead.
It may not be a commonly known fact, but a process known as “face mapping” can determine the type and cause of your acne.
Forehead Acne: Its Causes, How To Treat and Prevent Further Outbreaks
Acne affects tens of millions of people worldwide. It is just as likely to affect men as it is women – it doesn’t discriminate. There are many different types.
Acne on the forehead is one of the most noticeable areas it can affect.
It may not be a commonly known fact, but a process known as “face mapping” can determine the type and cause of your acne.
For instance acne breakouts on your chin and around the jaw line, are usually caused by hormonal changes.
A breakout on your cheek, could well have been caused by bacteria on your mobile phone being transferred to your skin as you talk.
This article looks at the causes of acne breakouts of your forehead and the options available to treat them.
Causes Of Forehead Acne
Here is a rundown of main causes of forehead acne:
- Hormonal changes
- Poor hygiene
- Over use of cosmetics
- Medication
- Poor diet
Most cases of acne are caused by the pores becoming blocked with a mixture of dead skin cells and the skins natural oil – sebum.
This causes bacteria to develop within the pores which then causes the appearance of spots, lumps, bumps and those nasty red pustules.
Whether it’s on your face, or you suffer from bacne, acne on your chest or the subject of this article, the forehead, the arrival of acne can really have a detrimental effect on your appearance and self confidence.
There are some other factors that can cause forehead acne.
This can include hormonal changes ( the monthly cycle, pregnancy and even the menopause), poor hygiene, using cosmetic products that irritate the skin.
Even some medicinal drugs such as steroids can all be attributed to acne breakouts in some people.
Some common comedogenic cosmetic products have been known to increase blocked pores, leading to increase acne breakouts.
It can also be caused by hormonal changes or imbalances in the body.
Washing the skin regularly is essential, yet you would be surprised at how many people do not cleanse their face daily.
Lifestyle factors can also influence forehead acne, the main one being our diet. Eating foods high on the glyecmic index are particularly bad for the skin.
Forehead acne has a number of other causes:
Hair and Haircare Products
A common case of acne is also the most overlooked. Its the physical contact between your skin and certain chemicals that can trigger your breakouts.
Hair treatments, shampoos, conditioners, treatment oils and the like can play havoc with our skin, largely because of their ability to block our pores.
You will know if hair products are to blame for your acne breakouts because these tend to appear on the forehead. Also the neck where the hair touches it, and down your back if you have long hair.
Stopping Forehead Acne Being Caused By Your Hair Products
It’s actually quite an easy fix, make a change to the products that you use, look for those that contain more natural ingredients .
Avoiding shampoos free from parabens are a good place to start.
Also, get into the habit of washing your face after you have washed your hair to make sure that any residual hair product has been washed away.
The natural oils in your hair can also be key cause of forehead acne.
If you are prone to oily hair, the oil can transfer to your forehead, causing the pores to clog and those horrible little pimples to appear.
To avoid this, try and keep your hair away from your face, in particular the forehead as much as possible. Do away with a fringe or tie the hair up so its not making contact with the face.
Clothing, Hats and Scarves
Just as the hair care products that we use can contribute to acne breakouts, so can our choices of clothes and accessories.
We are talking hats, hair bands, hair scarves here, they can all cause breakouts through contact with both our hair and our skin.
They can help transfer oil, dirt and bacteria from our hair onto the skin – this is particularly so in the with sensitive skin.
Hats and scarves can also cause us to get hot and sweat. This too can cause our pores to block, especially in women who wear makeup.
The simple thing to do is to try not wearing any hat or hair accessories that come into contact with your forehead or other parts of your skin for a couple of weeks.
If the breakouts subside, you know the cause.
Touching Your Forehead With Your Hands
Touching your skin isn’t really linked to acne on any area of the face, but its still a key reason why so many people get forehead acne.
Its a bad habit in general, but one thats very hard to stop doing, this again is particularly important if you have sensitive, acne prone skin.
Our hands can have all manner of bacteria and dirt on them, which can easily transferred to you foreheads simply by touch.
This can spread easily throughout the pores and can ultimately be the cause of some quite nasty breakouts.
The right precautions can really help reduce the risk.
Obviously the first thing to say is to stop touching your face, but that is nigh impossible, it’s something that most of us do subconsciously many times a day.
So the next best thing is to wash our hands regularly. Use hot water and wash for at least 20 seconds to ensure that any dirt and residual bacteria is washed away.
If you are out and cannot wash your hands anywhere, then carry a good antibacterial gel with you at all times.
Puberty
Many (but not all) suffers of forehead acne are going through puberty. It is at that time that the skins natural oil, (Sebum) increases its production.
On your face there is a so called T-Zone, a line across your forehead horizontally and a vertical area down though the centre parts of the face.
It is this area that is particularly prone to excess sebum (oil) production. During puberty the key is to use products that reduce and control sebum production.
The Food That You Eat
There has been a long running debate between scientists as to wether the foods that we eat can actually cause or aggravate acne breakouts.
Although research is continuing it has been determined that those on a poor diet are more likely to see can develop not just on their forehead, but all over the body.
Highly glycemic foods, along with dairy products have been linked to increased acne breakouts.
To help, try and reduce as many of the eyes of foods and increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.
Try some alternatives to cows milk too, there are a large number of nut and plant based options available.
Also try and get a good level of antioxidants into your body ( found in foods and other supplements) as they are essential to having clearer skin
Stress And Anxiety
Stress has long been associated with acne, the we are stressed or anxious our body releases a hormone called cortisol ( the stress hormone).
This is known to trigger an increase in sebum production which as we now know can cause pores to become blocked.
Treating Your Forehead Acne
If you have done everything else, changed your diet, your haircare products and kept your hair off the forehead, then a good over the counter treatment is usually the next thing to try.
They are usually quite inexpensive and can be bough both online and in good drug stores.
Look for one that contains salicylic acid as its a very effective ingredient. It’s also simple to use too.
In most cases, just put some of the treatment onto the effected area and leave over nigh. In the morning simply wash as you would normally.
Make sure that you wash your face and forehead twice a day, and always use a good moisturiser after cleansing. NEVER EVER go to bed with your makeup still on.
Should I Squeeze My Forehead Acne?
It’s never a good idea to squeeze any spot or pimple, what you are doing is potentially spreading the dirt and bacteria into other pores, so this could cause infection.
Also forcibly bursting any spot could leave an acne scar.
To treat a solitary spot, simply apply a spot treatment directly to it.
How To Get Rid Of Acne On Your Forehead – Conclusion
Forehead Acne breakouts can be caused by a variety of reasons, the food we eat, the clothes and accessories that we wear and of course our diet.
Most acne breakouts on the forehead are easily treatable with minimal fuss.
Mina Mansell
If you have tried everything in this article and you still have the problem after a few weeks then its best to consult with your doctor or dermatologist. They will be able to advise you on a more intensive treatment plan.
reference articles:
- Acne Vulgaris, StatPearls, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459173/ - Effective over-the-counter acne treatments. Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18786494
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