Skin Experts Reveal the 7 Common Gym Habits That Cause Breakouts

Despite the matching workout sets and personalized water bottles, going to the gym isn’t all fun and mirror selfies. As we climb towards our fitness goals, we can irritate our skin.

While you may be working out, your skin might be breaking out. For anyone struggling with the skin’s appearance after a workout, the skin experts at Clarins published a guide with advice for crushing your workout and skincare routine.

Below, the team at Clarins shared 7 things you might be doing at the gym that could be causing your skin to breakout, with expert tips on how to lift your gym - and skincare - routine at the same time:

1. Wearing Makeup

First things first, you should never exercise with a full face of makeup. While there’s nothing quite like makeup for a confidence boost, if there’s ever a time to avoid wearing it, then it’s when you’re sweating it out at the gym.

When you exercise, your pores and sweat glands open up to cool your body temperature down. The problem is that with makeup on your face, your pores will get clogged very easily and this can lead to breakouts and blackheads.

If you tend to exercise straight after you finish work, try to get into the habit of packing a cleanser in your gym bag with you - think of your cleanser as being just as essential as your trainers, and then you’ll never forget it!

When it comes to makeup removal, oil cleansers are the ultimate product for quickly melting away anything that’s sitting on your face - and much kinder to your skin’s health than using a makeup wipe. If you typically exercise more than 4 times a week, getting into this habit is even more important.

2. Using Makeup Wipes

Use wipes to clean your house or for emergencies at festivals, but never on your face. It doesn’t matter how much of a rush you’re in, there’s no excuse for using a wipe to remove makeup before a workout. And there’s even less of an excuse to quickly ‘clean’ your face with a makeup wipe post-workout either - save your skin and the environment one less problem!

To drill the point home even further, makeup wipes do anything but clean, all they’re actually doing is moving sweat, dirt and old makeup around your face.

If you are running late and cleansing isn’t an option then micellar water is the next best thing to use and will help to remove the bulk of your makeup. 

3. Avoiding Moisturizer

If there’s one product you should always wear during exercise then it’s your moisturizer as it will work to keep your skin hydrated too.

Try to exercise with a water-based moisturizer or lightweight serum on your face so your skin can sweat freely and avoid any thick or heavy skincare products, as this could lead to blocked pores as well.

4. Touching Your Face Mid-Workout

Gym equipment is covered in millions of germs, so bear this in mind next time you go to touch your face during a workout. It sounds obvious but spreading the bacteria from your hands onto your face is a recipe for pimples.

It’s easy to forget, but for this same reason, always thoroughly wash your hands after working out in the gym too.

5. Not Bringing a Towel to the Gym with You

Try to get into the habit of bringing a compact towel to the gym to wipe away excess sweat during your workout. Doing this is a lot more hygienic than allowing the sweat to sit on your face or succumbing to the temptation of using a dirty sleeve. 

Avoid the even less appealing option of resorting to the scratchy paper towels commonly found in gyms as this will irritate your skin even further.

6. Delaying Your Shower Post-Workout

Although it can be tempting after a tough workout to collapse on your bed or start on dinner, get into the habit of washing as soon as you come home.As you exercise, your pores open to drain sweat from your sweat glands. These same pores can get clogged with leftover skin or sweat cells if you don't clean and cleanse right after you sweat. 

Unsurprisingly, clogged pores can lead to acne - commonly referred to as ‘sweat acne’ - as well as blackheads and whiteheads so do your skin a favor and never skip a shower.You should also avoid doing your skincare in the shower. Admittedly, it’s convenient and saves time, but the water is far too hot for your face so aim to cleanse when you get out of the shower - not before or during.

7. Put on Clean Workout Clothes

You might be thinking there’s no point changing your gym clothes because you’re only wearing them for an hour or so every day. However, dead skin cells, bacteria and oils can leave on your unwashed clothes which can clog your pores.

 To prevent a breakout, wash your gym clothes or change them after each gym session to prevent dirt from building up and clinging to your skin.