ashleycat

My acne/pimples have always been quite bad, but recently I have started exercising in an attempt to shift the 40kgs I need to get me down to a healthy range ... anyway, the size of my Everest aside, I have starting gyming and swimming - my skin seems to have really taken this personally, and has been terrible ever since I started.

Is it the sweat that is causing me to break out? (and yes, I am working up a sweat!!! hooray!)

Or is it the chlorine from the pool drying out my skin which causes it to produce even more oil to balance out? After swimming my skin does feel very dry and tight ... for like 10 minutes anyway.

Merigreen

Yes, both sweat and chlorine can aggravate existing acne. The salt in sweat can irritate sensitive skin and spread bacteria. Chlorine actually kills the bacteria that causes acne, but it too irritates sensitive skin by, as you said, drying it out.

Try to stay in air conditioning and carry a towel to wick your sweat. Wash your face before and after you workout.

Swim the backstroke so your face isn't in the water (half-kidding).

(When I was a teenager, my mom used to tell me that chlorine cured acne, just to get me to go swimming. While in the short-term it didn't work, exercising and being in the sun did help my overall well-being.)

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PCOS symptoms since age 11 (heavy acne & oily skin, minor weight issues & hirsutism)
Irregular AF (38-45 days) after stopping BCP at age 29
Dx PCOS at age 32

Paleo Diet
Yoga, outdoor activity, and swimming



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Miss Destruction

Also, do you use a scented body wash afterward? I've experienced breakouts from not only the sweat thing but having scented body wash (bath and body works stuff) and my skin becoming really irritated and having more breakouts. I use Neutrogena acne body wash now after I work out and it helps a lot. I think there's a moisturizing kind too that might help you since you swim.

zigzag

I've always had acne in some form or another. When swimming and gymming I haven't noticed worse acne, as opposed to when I don't swim and go to the gym.

I guess anything harsh on the face (chemicals), will aggravate acne and if you have sensitive skin, that certainly won't help.

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• 31 yrs, 173 cms, cw 66 kgs, gw 59 kgs.
• Metformin (Glucophage), 1700 mg, Folic Acid 800mg, Zinc 30mg, tbsp apple cider vinegar w/water 1-2 times daily
• Low GI, low carb type diet plus regular exercise
• Have IR and Acne