So Your Earphones Could Be Giving You Acne

And the reason why is pretty gross.

Woman wearing earphones

Down the gym or on the bus to work, you’ll rarely see us without our earphones plugged in, blasting out some new tunes we’re streaming on Spotify.

But while we’re more than aware that being constantly ‘plugged’ to our earbuds probably isn’t great for our hearing, it never crossed our minds that it could also be wreaking havoc on our skin.

But here’s the thing, just like your phone, the wires on your earphones harbour bacteria and once you pop those buds into your ear and the wires make contact with your face, you’re allowing that bacteria to transfer to your skin and cause breakouts.

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“Bacteria can certainly colonise or grow on any surface and may cause acne and even skin or hair follicle infection,” Dermatologist Rebecca Tung explains to Allure.

Think about it: your earphones regularly get tossed into the bottom of your handbag – or worse, your gym bag in amongst all your sweaty workout clothes – so they easily pick up germs.

The fix? It’s pretty simple: give those wires a spritz with anti-bacterial spray or a once over with rubbing alcohol every once and a while. Your skin will thank you.