Can Your Phone Really Give You Zits?
Have you ever noticed phone-related breakouts? Or, wait, let me rephrase the question: Do you breakout on your cheek or jawline, but mysteriously only on one side?
I can say that this isn’t currently a problem for me, but it’s certainly something I’d heard could happen. But Well+GoodNYC, smart cookies that they are, wanted to find out if, in fact, this happens all that commonly. Here’s what they found…
Texting may be less personal, but it could save you from a 21st-century skin-care problem: cell-phone breakouts.
While lots of people are concerned about bacteria on their phone (especially after Sanjay Gupta discovered fecal strep on Anderson Cooper’s last fall), jawline acne may have more to do with phone-face contact than grime, say dermatologists.
“Some people hold cell phones to their faces and talk for a long period of time, perspiring onto the phone and blocking the pores,” explains Mitchell Kline, MD, a dermatologist and professor at New York-Presbyterian Medical Center’s Weill Cornell Medical College.
Holding your phone against your cheek traps oil in the pores, which can lead to those deep-forming acne cysts, agrees Neil Sadick, MD, a renowned dermatologist and researcher. (Ever notice it also melts your makeup to your phone and down your face?)
But don’t flush your iPhone just yet.
“Your skin has its own immune system, and it can handle a lot. Most of the stuff on a cell phone won’t cause break outs,” says Doris Day, MD.
Dr. Day cautions that if you’re prone to eczema or have a nickel allergy (some phones, but not iPhones, contain nickel), you may have more of a problem. (That problem is called contact dermatitis, which looks like tiny little clusters of pimples, but isn’t acne.)
She also says to watch out for the office phone. Since it ends up pressed against the faces of all of your coworkers, too, it may be dirtier. (Ew.)
Uh yeah, that’s gross. But help is here! They’ve sourced some tips from experts on how to deal with this very modern problem. Read their tips here.
How do you deal with this? Have you ever noticed a connection?
My first love Zack Morris via
I use a bluetooth headset which is more safe during driving anyways and also lets me move around in the house and do things at the same time (like laundry folding) while on the phone:) I still have some breakouts on my jawline, which is probably hormonal though…I can’t blame the phone:)
I use my iPhones earbuds if I’m on the phone more than a super quick call, and mostly I text or email. I’ve never noticed any connection with breakouts, but I’m one of those OCD people that cleans my stuff a lot – like wiping down my phone and keys.
Well, of COURSE Dr. Doris Day would say that talking on the phone is not a problem! All she does is talk on the phone to Rock Hudson all day in her pink bedroom!
Awe man!! YUCK! I’m kind of a germaphobe and I try to make it a point to give a good wipe down to my phone, keyboard, door knobs, etc. every once in a while but this just made me wonder about something – I’m dealing with some perioral dermatitis, and I don’t think it’s from the cellphone but it could be??
I haven’t been able to pin point the culprit which is a sad sad thing, especially since I feel like I use clean products (Kahina Argan Oil, Kahina lotion, honey/baking soda DIY face wash or Kahina facial cleanser, and done deal.) so what gives?! Anyone else out there have this problemo??
Apart from a weekly call with my parents I really don’t use the phone outside of professionally. (No, I don’t work for an after hours chatline, I mean in the office!) So at work, since I spend a LOT of time on calls, I use a headset that doesn’t touch my face. I originally got it because my neck was breaking trying to cradle the headset between my head and shoulder for any length of time and a large portion of most days is spent on the phone, but now feel extra good about it when I think of the bacteria I’m probably avoiding, too. (We don’t share headsets so it’s all my own filth on the device. ;P )
I do fret, however, whenever I think about the dirt stuck in my keyboard or other awkward places. *shudder*
My skin is super sensitive. Anything can flare up a rash or acne. So I usually don’t hold the phone to my ear. I use a headset to listen and hold the phone like a mic to talk on the phone.
I almost always break out more on one side of my face than the other, but I don’t talk on the phone terribly much. I’m pretty sure it’s from sleeping on one side most of the night. Switching pillowcases more often has helped.
fellow germ haters – I have silicone keyboard covers for my computer that can be removed and washed easily. Keeps away bacteria, viruses, lunch crumbs….
Wow – YES! And here I thought my skin was just allergic to my office….
Thank you for this post!!!
And thanks @A, I never thought about the pillow case thing either. Good advice!
Great picture, as usual.
Very good advice, I always recommend to my clients that they clean their phones regularly.
http://ctesthetic.com
As soon as I read this, I thought, “Oh my gosh, everything makes sense!” But reading through the comments, I think a’s theory about the pillowcase is probably more accurate. I’ve been spraying my sheets and pillowcase with a solution of tea tree oil and water every morning before I make the bed, and my face has been much better lately. The skin is a mysterious thing, though, who knows what will happen next week …