Acne following long rides in summer

hanscc
hanscc Posts: 11
edited June 2018 in Training, fitness and health
Hi All,

Have looked online on several forums but can't seem to pinpoint the cause of this issue so hoping someone might be able to help me.

I've always done a lot of endurance sports - marathons, adventure races, duathlons, road biking, mtb etc. 5-6 years ago i did my longest event 10+ hours on the road bike and it was in perfect conditions - lovely sunny day with minimal wind! Next morning i woke up to find my face, mostly around my chin and up around the nose had severely broken out with acne - little whiteheads 30-50 spots littered about. Undeterred i hopped bike on the bike to ride the 10 hours back home - more facial destruction!

Since then every time i've been out on the bike for more than an hour in sunny conditions (luckily rare enough in Northern Ireland) i break out again. After a week MTB holiday in Spain it was just dreadful! The next MTB trip to spain i carried with my oil-free wipes and cleaned my face every hour and then applied a non oily base block with SPF (Clinique City Block SPF25). It did help, but it did not prevent it

My skin is typically very clear and as i wear makeup daily to work i;ve always been excellent about cleanse/tone/moisturise daily, always experienced the odd spot or two but nothing to this level.

So now that the good weather is upon us, a night out this week on the bike and i have 30+ spots next day. This is definitely exercise/heat related issue so be interested to know if anyone else has experienced similar and what has been done to alleviate the symptoms.

Thanks!

Comments

  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    I'm assuming rightly or wrongly that your a woman but either way i'd say your pores are either already blocked or getting blocked.

    I have the same issue, as an older gent my skin is pretty thick but has always been prone to pore blockages, i shower before every ride and after and use minimal creams of any sort including sun creams, i find that helps. Winter is worse for me when i'm fully covered.

    Try a few days without makeup before a riding see if that makes a difference.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • hanscc
    hanscc Posts: 11
    Yes lady biker! I wear makeup day to day but rarely when on the bike - certainly not on a bike holiday so don't think its makeup related. Most riding is done at weekend so would shower in morning, apply a non-oil base (no make-up) but seem to opposite of yourself and have zero bother in winter but second there is a bit of warm weather its a total breakout!
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    have you been riding long? I also found heat rash type spots for a long time when i first started out.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • mamil314
    mamil314 Posts: 1,103
    Can you not go without 'base', whatever that is? In winter less temp regulation is needed so pores play lesser role. Should consult a specialist tbh.
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    https://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic ... uced-acne/

    Was intrigued by this. Found the above on the net which seems to offer some good advice!
  • navrig2
    navrig2 Posts: 1,851
    I used to get this after exposure to sunshine. It was either a reaction to the sun cream I was using or the sun itself. Happened several times and then stopped. I wasn't exercising, typically I was lying on a beach in Greece. It was hot though.

    It was 35 years ago so I can't remember if I ever narrowed it down to a particular brand of sun cream, in those factor 8 was very high.
  • vohraamir40
    vohraamir40 Posts: 1
    Try out organic soap from oilscenter online store. They provide a wide choice of non-allergic soaps, with different smells and components, they're great for washing routine. You can also use Candelilla Wax Vegan Flakes to make your own soap.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    immune system... when you do a long ride your immune system gets somewhat compromised and you are more likely to get infection... which ultimately it's what acne is. Realistically, there is not a lot you can do about it... you can try all sorts of snake oils, vitamins and rubs, but ultimately none of them will work
    left the forum March 2023
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    edited January 2020
    ugo.santalucia said:

    immune system... when you do a long ride your immune system gets somewhat compromised and you are more likely to get infection... which ultimately it's what acne is.


    Acne is not an ‘infection’ and has nothing to do with the immune system.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    I guess someone needs to red the new Bill Bryson book. By half way through the first chapter you would know the cause of Acne.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    like it or not, a pimple is a follicle getting infected...
    left the forum March 2023
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    edited January 2020
    ugo.santalucia said:

    like it or not, a pimple is a follicle getting infected...


    It's a good attempt at back-pedalling, but it doesn't alter the fact that acne is nothing to do with the immune system and is not caused by an infection. Which is what you said earlier. Just take the correction and move on.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    Having had acne through my teens and twenties and having tried pretty much anything available on the market... it's not something you can "cure" other than using a long course of antibiotics. IME pimples in adult life pop up when you are very tired, stressed and worn out, because the immune system finds it harder to prevent infection settling in...
    left the forum March 2023
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Acne is a chronic condition, so the op is not experiencing Acne they having an acute episode of pimples or blackheads due to blocked follicles becoming inflamed.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    edited January 2020
    ... inflamed and infected...

    Moral is there is nothing the OP can do... just live with it
    left the forum March 2023
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,273
    What is it on this forum with spammers reactivating long gone threads? Is almost as if BR is an open goal for spambots.

    Number of posts = 1.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    Ha... well spotted... :D
    left the forum March 2023
  • cruff
    cruff Posts: 1,518
    ugo.santalucia said:

    Ha... well spotted... :D

    Hat
    :D
    Fat chopper. Some racing. Some testing. Some crashing.
    Specialising in Git Daaahns and Cafs. Norvern Munkey/Transplanted Laaandoner.

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