An in-depth guide on how to get rid of forehead acne once and for all.

Growing up, most people experience getting forehead acne. Teens experience this during their puberty years due to biological changes in the body so a lot of people have gotten this at least once in their lives.

Unfortunately, some people who are far from their adolescent years are suddenly experiencing this, and it gets a little more bothersome. You have to constantly hide them at work or during dates. Plus, unlike when you were younger, your friends don’t have as much acne anymore so it really puts you in an embarrassing position.

Lucky for you, this in-depth guide covers everything you need to know to solve this quickly and effectively.

What Causes Forehead Acne?

Before knowing how to get rid of forehead acne, you have to know how you got them first. Different causes call for different solutions, so if you know how it started, you would know how to end it.

The forehead is just one of the many areas where acne can break out. This area, together with your nose, is called the T-Zone on the Acne Face Map. The Acne Face Map clusters different zones of the face where acne can appear. Although fairly unproven yet, there is a long-standing belief that breakouts in each of these zones are triggered by different things.

High stress is a factor that is often blamed for acne since it possibly contributes to oil production. However, it is important to note that while stress may not directly cause acne, it has been found to increase acne severity.

While the jury is still out on those factors, let’s take a look at some more scientifically proven causes of your forehead acne:

Excess oil production

Oil is a natural substance that lubricates and protects us from dry skin. This is why our body produces it naturally and regularly through the sebaceous or oil glands. These oil glands are activated during puberty which explains why most of us experience acne during our adolescent years. Unfortunately, excess oil production can still be a concern even for those who are way past their adolescent years. For instance, you might be experiencing Seborrhoea, the medical term for overactive sebaceous glands that produce too much oil.

When dead skin cells clog the openings of these glands, oil builds up and allows the acne-causing bacteria to thrive and cause breakouts.

Genetics is also to blame for excess oil production. According to several studies, if your parents have oily skin, then you’re more likely to inherit that genetic trait too.

The T-Zone (your forehead and nose region), also has more oil glands compared to the rest of your body. The more oil glands, the more oil is produced. This is one of the reasons why forehead acne is so common for people with acne prone skin..

Woman using products on her forehead (From: Pexels)

Hair accessories and hair products

Sometimes there are other culprits clogging up our pores besides our dead skin cells.

Pomade acne is the term used for clogged pores caused by hair products. Although the term singles out pomade, other hair products like styling gels, edge controls, and more can cause this as well.

These products tend to contain ingredients like lanolin, beeswax, petroleum jelly, and hydrocarbons. These comedogenic substances, together with coconut oil and cocoa butter, are viscous and can easily clog your pores and cause acne breakouts.

Dandruff

This may not be very obvious but dandruff and acne have the same root cause, excessive oil production. If you’re experiencing dandruff, then it won’t be surprising if you experience acne problems as well.

Additionally, dandruff can also settle on our face, particularly along the hairline. These flakes of dandruff can clog your pores and cause oil to build up.

Woman with an itchy scalp (From: Pixahive)

Clothing or makeup irritation

Acne can also be caused by irritations caused by clothing or makeup. This is something that people with sensitive skin are very familiar with. However, even if you don’t have sensitive skin, your face may still react negatively to certain products or fabrics.

Fibers such as polyester, acrylic, and nylon are known to trigger bad reactions due to their synthetic nature. Be sure also to check for pore-clogging materials on your make-up and use non-comedogenic products instead. Not to mention, clean your brushes regularly as well since they may help in spreading bacteria that can irritate your skin and cause blockages.

Frequently touching your forehead

According to a study from the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, an average person touches their face around 15.7 times per hour. This minute gesture actually spreads dirt and bacteria onto our faces and can easily aggravate our acne breakouts.

How to Get Rid of Forehead Acne?

Thankfully, forehead acne is something that a good skincare routine could control. Maintaining a proper skincare routine is very important if you want to get rid of acne and keep it that way in the future. Here are the things you should include in your routine:

Low pH cleanser

Low pH cleansers are slightly acidic and range from pH4-6. This is better for your skin as it maintains the natural pH of your face’s acid mantle.

The acid mantle is a layer on the skin surface that has a pH level of 4.5-6.2 — just enough to combat bacteria and other contaminants.

With low pH cleansers, the skin’s acidic barrier is enforced and will effectively be hostile to acne-causing bacteria. This can help control the acne bacteria and prevent breakouts.

Exfoliation

Our skin naturally sheds dead skin cells around every 30 days in order to make way for newer cells. Unfortunately, not all skin cells are removed naturally and that can clog our pores and cause acne. In order to address this, people resort to exfoliation to mechanically or chemically remove the dead skin cells.

This is where exfoliating products such as BHA enter the picture. Beta Hydroxy Acid or BHA is an organic compound that can dissolve the mix of oils and dead skin that clogs pores. They penetrate deeper but tend to be gentler compared to the usual methods of exfoliation.

Woman getting exfoliated by a dermatologist (From: Pexels)

Light therapy

Blue light therapy is a groundbreaking non-invasive treatment for acne. It is one of the latest innovations in dermatology that uses light to kill certain bacteria on the skin.

This therapy makes use of light in the blue wavelength which, as they have found out, can kill Propionibacterium acnes — a slow-growing bacteria that is linked to acne. Multiple studies have continuously linked this type of therapy to decreasing amounts of acne on the face.

If you’re thinking of trying out something new to solve your acne problem, then LED therapy might be the way to go.

Use a Clay mask

The use of clay masks is popular among individuals with oily and acne-prone skin. Clay masks are great at absorbing oils and other impurities that clog pores.

The forehead tends to be the oiliest as it has the most sebaceous glands. With that, it just makes sense to incorporate clay masks into your skincare routine if you want to remove excess oil and unclog your forehead pores.

The right way to use a clay face mask involves knowing the three phases of the mask. First is the damp phase, followed by the start of the dry phase, and then the dry phase itself. The trick is to not wait for the mask to completely dry out. Instead, do a touch test: if the mask looks dry but still feels a bit sticky, it is time you rinse it off.

Woman using a clay mask (From: Pexels)

Use non-comedogenic products/anti-dandruff shampoos

One of the main reasons for forehead acne is dandruff or comedogenic products. So, consider replacing your current products with non-comedogenic hair products and anti-dandruff shampoos. For starters, you should avoid comedogenic substances on the hair products you’re using. This includes components like lanolin, Algae extract, Benzaldehyde, and most essential oils.

For the dandruff problem, a simple switch to an anti-dandruff shampoo would suffice.

Change pillow covers frequently

It is no secret that pillow covers can harbor bacteria and other germs through time. Obviously, the longer you wait before you change your pillow covers, the more bacteria you culture there. If you want to prevent these bacteria from getting to your skin and clogging your pores, then start changing your pillow covers.

According to Acne.org founder, Dan Kern, pillow cases should be changed at least once a week. Make it a habit to wash your pillows every three months as well.

Avoid touching your forehead

We mentioned earlier that one of the causes of forehead acne is the frequent touching of the area. Touching your face can spread oils and other debris that can block your pores.

So, this forehead acne solution is pretty straightforward: minimize touching your face. This may not be a grand or expensive way to prevent acne, but this small change in habit can go a long way.

No picking or popping of pimples!

Although it is tempting and people find it amusing, popping pimples is actually bad for the skin. It can cause a lot of unwanted results to your skin so it really isn’t advisable.

Popping pimples can break your skin barrier and cause acne scars. If your pimple contains infected pus, popping it could spread the bacteria and cause an outbreak. Popping a pimple can also push the contents back inside your pores and cause an infection.

Popping pimples can often cause more harm than good so don’t do it.

Animated woman touching her pimples (From: Pixabay)

Conclusion

Forehead acne is troublesome but they don’t have to be a cause for worry if you can get rid of them easily. With the methods mentioned above, your forehead acne issues should fade away like a bad memory.

No more hiding under your bangs, no more uncomfortable stares at the mirror, and no more reminiscing of your adolescent pimple problems. You’ll wake up each day knowing that acne won’t do its damage any further because you know how to solve it.

What are your secrets to getting rid of forehead acne? Let us know down below!