Have you ever had big painful bumps all over your forehead and temples? It’s not the end of the world, but I’m actually crying inside. The pimples on temples are especially painful. For some reason, they prefer my left temple to the right temple (not that I wish they also appear on the other side). In my other post, I have covered sweat pimples/back acne specifically. In this post, I will talk more about pimples on temples and how I get rid of them for good.
Pimples on temples: close up
I will show you what my skin looked like three days ago, right before Christmas Eve. This picture was taken on the 23rd during nighttime right after I took shower.
It is very frustrating to see my face in the mirror every morning and spot new bumps appearing. Even without spotting it, I can feel the painful bumps on my skin when I run my hands on my face in the morning once I wake up.
Why Do I Get Pimples on My Temples?
This is the question that I was interested in, and until today, I can’t figure out exactly why. However, I have some hypothesis. I came up with this hypothesis because I had some acne at hairline and some pimples on back of neck near hairline. As we know, there are oil follicles near our hair roots and if you have acne-prone skin, you might have overly active oil glands. And here we are talking not only oil glands on the skin but also oil glands on the scalp.
With more active oil glands on the scalp, you may have pimples on the scalp, acne at hairline, and also pimples on temples. Acne, which is caused by bacterial infection, can spread from one point to the nearby areas. Considering temples and hair are close to each other, pimples on temples can appear due to bacterial infection near the hairline.
Similarly, pimples on back of neck near hairline might have the same cause. This is even more annoying though, because it is difficult to treat (since you cannot see it).
How did I get rid of the pimples on temples?
Hydrate and Moisturize My Skin
I noticed a big difference when I changed my facial cleanser back then. Facial cleanser can have a big impact on your skin condition, even if we do not really expect it. My facial cleanser back then was not right for my skin type. It was too harsh and too dehydrating for my already sensitive skin.
I thought acne-prone skin equals to oily skin (major misconception!). Consequently, my skin became too sensitive and inflamed and therefore the pimples on temples as you can see on the photos. I changed my facial cleanser to a more gentle, hydrating one. Also, I started slathering my skin with moisturizers – which I never used before. The combination of hydrating cleanser and rich moisturizers really helped to calm down my skin and help it to heal. I also applied the same moisturizer to my back every night after shower. I will wait for it to dry before putting on my pyjamas.
Use Hydrating Shampoo for Sensitive Scalp
Similarly, for acne at hairline and pimples on back of neck near hairline issue, I changed my shampoo. It used to be a harsher shampoo that is a bit drying for my scalp. I thought since I had some pimples on my scalp, I should use shampoos for oily scalp. Little did I know, it made my scalp condition worse and also contributed to the acne at hairline. Once I changed my shampoo to cater to my sensitive scalp condition, my acne at hairline and back of neck issue also calmed down.
Do I still have pimples on temples?
How’s my skin now? I’m finally free from this angry red spots issue, and no more pimples on temples, acne at hairline, or pimple on back of neck near hairline! The photo below is taken in 2017 (2 years since this blog post was first made), and my skin is only getting better ever since.
This is my skin in 2022. No makeup, only no-tint sunscreen.
