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How Often Should You Wash Pillowcase to Avoid Acne?

You Should Be Washing Your Pillowcase Way More Often Than You Think to Avoid Acne

Photographer: Diggy LloydRestrictions: none

There are many unexpected causes of breakouts, and your pillowcase could be one of them. The best way to ensure that your peaceful night's sleep doesn't wreak havoc on your skin is to wash your pillowcases often . . . probably a lot more often than you actually do. Residual makeup, bacteria, dirt, and oil can build up on your pillowcase, thus interfering with your freshly washed face when you hit the sheets.

Wash or Switch Your Pillowcase Every Few Days

Yep, that's right — you should wash it extremely often! At least once a week is the general consensus among skincare experts. If you have sensitive skin and are particularly prone to breakouts, you should also be conscious of the type of detergent you use. "It's better to use fragrance-free detergent and to avoid fabric softeners," Debra Jaliman, dermatologist and creator of Sea Radiance skin care, told Health. If you're like me, this frequent wash cycle seems like a hassle — ahem, the struggles of finding quarters for laundry in an apartment building — but it really is important. To space out wash cycles but have a fresh case every few days, you could stock up on your favourite to have backups, or try something like the Déjà Pillowcase, which has "pages" you can turn over every night for a week.

Ideally, you should be cleaning everything that touches your face weekly, including your makeup brushes, beauty blenders, phone, and pillowcase. (You should be washing your actual pillows every few months, too.) We work hard to perfect our skincare regimens, so don't let little things counteract the effort!

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Diggy Lloyd
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