Naughty & Nice: Fabric Softeners & Dryer Sheets Can Cause Acne

Naughty & Nice: Fabric Softeners & Dryer Sheets Can Cause Acne

Acne Mythbusters are putting your laundry products to the test. What’s on our “naughty” list of pore cloggers, and what’s on the “nice” list of acne-safe?

Naughty: Fabric Softener & Dryer Sheets

Shocking as it may be, your fabric softener (including dryer sheets) can make you break out. Whether your brand calls it fabric softener or fabric conditioner, if it’s organic or synthetic, it is a huge acne trigger.

When you use a fabric softener you are coating your linens, towels, and clothing in chemical or natural fat derivatives and sticky fragrance that bind to the fabric and transfer onto your skin and into your pores.

It’s hard to say no to that snuggly, warm, “just-out-of the dryer” smell, but your skin will thank you for skipping the fabric softener. See below for acne-safe alternatives.

Acne-Safe Safe Fabric Softener Alternatives

  • ¼ cup White Distilled Vinegar (during rinse cycle or in fabric softener slot)
  • ½ cup Baking Soda (add to water in the washer before adding clothes)
  • Wool Dryer Balls (try adding a drop of pure organic essential oil to wool balls if you miss the scent of dryer sheets)
  • Tennis Balls (in dryer)

Nice: Free & Clear Laundry Detergent

Most laundry detergents have lots of fragrance, chemical dyes, perfumes, and skin irritants that can trigger skin sensitivities and irritations including eczema and acne.

Even if your detergent is organic is can still irritate your acne.

If you think about it, laundry detergent plays a pretty big role in your skin. From the clothes that touch your body to the towel you use to dry off with, to the pillow you sleep on — all of them are coated in the residual ingredients from your laundry detergent.

Lucky for us acne sufferers, many laundry detergent brands have a “Free & Clear” or “Free & Gentle” that is free of the skin irritating ingredients.

A Few Acne-Safe Favorite Laundry Detergents:

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