How Winter Hats Can Cause Forehead Acne

When the temperature drops the warm clothing comes out. This includes scarves, sweaters, coats, and jackets. While these items are fun to wear they do come with some strange side effects. In the winter I get a lot of forehead acne. I use to think it was due to the change of weather and maybe I needed to use a different moisturizer for the dry air. But what if it’s not that at all, what if it’s my winter hat?

I never really thought about it before, but I always wear a winter hat. And when I take it off my forehead is covered in acne. So I did some research and it looks like there could be a correlation between hats and forehead acne. The main reason is that hats keep the heat in and as a result, your skin sweats more.

Sweat is actually one of the causes of acne, especially on your face. So when you keep your head warm with a hat all the sweat sits in the pores on your forehead and doesn’t have a chance to evaporate. It’s gross but it makes sense. I usually wash my hats every week so they don’t get too dirty. Even so, I still get acne from them.

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There are a few things you can do to help prevent hat acne. First, try to wear hats that are made from natural materials like cotton or wool. Hats that are made from synthetic materials like acrylic will trap more sweat on your head. Also, make sure to wash your hat often and let it dry completely before wearing it again. Try not to wear your hat every day just so you don’t give the pores on your forehead time to breathe.

I noticed that I got a lot less acne from my hats when I used these tips, but it wasn’t enough for me. For even better results I began sleeping without a hat and letting my hair hang down around my face. This allowed my forehead to breathe and I didn’t get any new acne.

The problem is that backwards hat helmet do this really well. They also cause friction against the hairline which can cause skin irritations and small pimples to form called folliculitis. It’s not quite acne but it can look similar and be just as painful. I’m going to try and cut my backwards hat wearing days down a bit.

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Other tips to prevent acne from hats:

  • Don’t wear your hat backward
  • Wash hats weekly to prevent grime from building up
  • Don’t sweat a lot in your hat because this can cause acne. So take it off when you exert yourself.
  • Carry wipes in your bag to clean any sweat, dirt or oil that has built up on your hat
  • Wash your face with cold water after removing you hat. This will close the pores up and make it harder for acne-causing oils to build up in them.

Winter hats can definitely cause forehead acne, but there are ways to prevent it. Make sure you wear hats made from natural materials and wash them often. Try not to wear your hat every day and let your hair hang down around your face at night so your forehead can breathe. If you still experience acne from hats, try using one of the tips mentioned in this article. Thank you for reading!