How your phone, towel and pillowcase may be playing havoc with your skin

Turns out, sometimes the real threats to your glow aren’t the products you’re using, but the towel you’re drying off with, the detergent you wash your bedding with, or the phone screen pressed against your cheek.

It’s no wonder, then, that “barrier repair” cream has become the beauty world’s latest fixation, with ceramide-rich balms and microbiome-boosting serums dominating the shelves, promising to restore what everyday life quietly wears down. But while we invest in all the right things to protect our skin, we rarely pause to question the habits quietly sabotaging those efforts.

Take the pillowcase, for example: ground zero for nightly skin damage. It absorbs sweat, oil, skincare residue, even the occasional drool puddle, and then the next night, the same happens again. “Even though silk pillowcases are said to cause fewer wrinkles, as long as you have a clean pillowcase, it doesn’t really matter whether you’re sleeping on silk or cotton,” says Dr Gizem Seymenoglu, a London-based medical aesthetician with Longevita, so washing it every two to three days, especially if you’re breakout-prone, is a must.

Material aside, laundry detergent can also be a hidden trigger. Most commercial options are loaded with synthetic fragrances, optical brighteners and enzyme-based cleaners that can linger in your sheets and towels long after the rinse cycle ends, and all these may irritate your skin. You may even be allergic to some of them.

Moving on to the bathroom, Dr Dina Gamal, a dermatologist and medical writer, notes that “drying the face with unclean towels” is among the most common daily habits she sees that contributes to irritation and breakouts. Most of us reuse the same towel for days, rubbing it over freshly cleansed skin without a second thought. But if that towel isn’t drying completely between uses, you’re dealing with a potential breeding ground for bacteria and mould.

And if you’re someone who cranks up the heat during your shower, that could be quietly working against your skin, too. Hot water might feel soothing, but all that steam and heat can strip your skin’s natural oils, leaving it more prone to dryness and irritation, particularly if you’re using active skincare. Lukewarm water might not feel quite as luxurious, but your skin barrier will thank you.

Your phone isn’t innocent either. Did you know most carry more bacteria than a toilet seat? Combine that with heat and friction from calls, and you’ve got a recipe for jawline breakouts. “We always have our phones in our hands, and they can be very, very dirty with all the build-up of oils, make-up and bacteria,” says Seymenoglu, adding that even headphones may pose a similar risk. “We hold them in our hands, put them on our heads, place them in bags and on other surfaces, and that can allow bacteria to accumulate.” So, if your breakouts tend to cluster along your jawline or cheeks, especially on one side, this might be the reason.