Acne Breakouts? Your Pillow Could Be The Cause

How often do you wash your pillow? That was what my aesthetician, Lucy, asked when I went in for a facial at Kate Somerville in Los Angeles, CA. She explained that not washing it enough could be the source of some of my acne breakouts, particularly the ones on my cheeks. To be honest, I never even considered my pillow as a potential source of acne. Seriously, what's next?!

I wanted to know more about it so I asked aestheticians Michelle Ornstein, founder of Enessa Skincare, and Nerida Joy. Both of them agree that dirty pillow cases aren't the best for your skin.

"Sweat, metabolic waste that comes out of the pores, night cream, dead skin cells, drool, and invisible mites that live on the skin gets right on the pillow case," says Ornstein. All of these can cause clogged pores, whiteheads, and blackheads. Yikes!

It's even more of a problem if you don't wash your hair every night before bed. All that hair product and dirt that your hair picks up throughout the day ends up on your pillow. As a dry shampoo addict and someone who washes their hair about twice a week, this is totally me.

Those with oily or combination skin should especially be on top of changing out their pillow cases at least every couple of days, says Joy. If you don't have problematic skin, a good rule of thumb is to change your pillow cases at least once a week and twice a week in warmer climates where you tend to sweat more.

That said, the material of your pillow case matters too--organic cotton is the most ideal material. "It's very important to use cotton fabric pillow cases so that it is breathable and doesn't suffocate the skin. Suffocation of the skin will definitely add to more acne and skin congestion," says Joy.

I'm going to test this out to see it if makes a difference. Fingers crossed!

Image: @damselindior