Facial Acne

[zhaoweidatubist]

I have been dealing with the issue of acne around my lips and it interferes with my playing. How do you guys take care of your face?

[Bnich93]

I solved it by practicing until it bleeds and ignoring it until it went away. Not helpful, but true.

[tbonesullivan]

Is it just around where the mouthpiece makes contact? That could be some type of contact dermatitis.

If it's overall acne, I would start with over the counter cleansers and other treatments. If that doesn't clear things up, time for a dermatologist.

[MaryAnn]

As others have said, if it's where the rim makes contact, very likely a contact allergy, and the solution is to change that which is contacting, even something as simple as putting clear nail polish on the rim. I was allergic to silver plating but do fine with a gold rim.

[cjk]

Your age is probably important here. If you are a teenager, it may be hereditary. Ask your parents if they had the same issues as a young person. I'm "middle age" and did have some acne issues as a teenager. I eventually grew out of it.

If you're an adult, you should probably see a dermatologist. If you're a teenager, seeing a dermatologist certainly wouldn't hurt.

If you think it's possibly a material allergy, change the material of the mouthpiece rim and see if it goes away.

[NCSUSousa]

I have been dealing with the issue of acne around my lips and it interferes with my playing. How do you guys take care of your face?

How I take care of my face - I clean my face gently with just hand soap, and only shave every 2-4 days. Keep my electric razor clean. I shave with a regular manual razor about 1x per week (or anytime I'm going to play tuba in public) and use the electric razor between (not every day) so my wife doesn't complain about my beard. I never let it get to the itchy phase of beard growth.

I treat acne as an infection - clean and use antibiotic ointment so it heals quicker. Don't shave in any area with an infection.
I have sensitive skin, so I don't use any of the 'acne treatment' stuff on my face. That stuff just irritates my face more.

I used to have acne issues all the time, back when I shaved every day with my electric razor. Ever since I learned that acne is basically a bacterial infection in the skin pores, and that it was getting spread by my electric razor, I'm much more careful to keep my equipment clean and dry. Also since learning that, use razors of any kind far less often. Ever since I made that change, I don't have ANY acne issues.

[basslizard]

First - as others have asked/noted/stated - if it's just around your mouth, near or where your mouthpiece makes contact with your face, it is probably caused by a reaction to that mouthpiece. Every summer in high school we'd start off with band camp for two weeks before school started. Not having touched a tuba for a couple of months, I'd come back with a massive sore under my bottom lip from the spit and contact dermatitis. I had issues with what I thought were cold sores or acne around my mouth. Never occurred to me that the cheap nickel-plated mouthpiece I was using might be the cause. It absolutely affected my playing because it was painful and hard to clear up. That scab under my lip would last for a couple of months. Amazingly, I don't have a scar from it. When I picked back up a tuba a couple of years ago, I started once again with a nickel plated mouthpiece. The sore came back. Then I kept noticing a certain mouthpiece being touted around here, took a chance, and ordered a stainless steel sellmansberger three piece. I adore it. Most comfortable mouthpiece I've ever played on, even better than the lexan ones I've tried.

Mom speak moment:

Get a bar of plain dove soap, sensitive skin. Wash your face before you go to bed, every night, and whenever you take a shower. Just use the soap. You can do this by wetting your face with a washcloth over the sink, lathering up your hands (doesn't take as much as if you're washing your whole body), gently massaging your face with the lather, rinse using a clean washcloth or by bending over the sink, cupping warm (not hot) water with your hands to rinse.
Pat your face dry with a paper towel, or be sure to change out a facial towel regularly (probably more regularly than your shower towel)
Use a light, unscented/sensitive skin moisturizer*. Any type of facial cleanser is drying and can cause irritation.

Once your face adjusts to this routine, if you're still having issues, you can add in something with salicylic acid, like a cream or a toner, but be careful. It can burn, or cause irritation. Traditional benzoil peroxide gently patted onto unbroken blemishes also works to clear them up faster. All of this is drying and irritating. Some people swear by a salicylic acid facial cleanser. If you decide to go this route, find a clear one, no dyes, fragrances, or extra froo-froo junk. Don't use too much, and ease into it slowly. It's harsh and can make you more sensitive to sunburn.

Acne is a bacterial infection. It can be treated with antibiotics if it is bad enough. Hormones and stress and genetics play a huge role in acne breakouts. The reason I suggest patting dry with a paper towel is that it cuts down on spreading the bacteria around.

*controversial statement - avoid a moisturizer with SPF. Wear a hat if you're going to be in the sun. The amount of lotion you're going to need to apply is far greater than you might think in order to actually reap the benefits of the sunscreen, and will need to be regularly reapplied (every couple of hours) if you are using it as a sunscreen. This same thing goes for makeup. It's a great gimmick for those of us who wear foundation or tinted moisturizer. You'd have to wear it pancake-style and reapply it every couple of hours for it to actually work, and wind up looking like a clown.

** If you're going to be out in the sun, use sunscreen. Please. Wear a hat if possible, use a high SPF, something with physical block rather than chemical block. And when you get inside at the end of the day, WASH YOUR FACE and get all that junk off of it, or you may break out.

[tbonesullivan]

That's some good advice up there! Make sure to read it fully.

As for me, I have had acne problems since my early teens. I am 41 now, and they have NEVER fully gone away. Now they are considering it "rosacea" but many of the treatments are the same. It was quite bad 2 years ago, but I got onto some topicals that really helped. Another thing to remember is that irritation can cause all kinds of problems, so finding a level of treatment that your sensitive facial skin can endure is key.

I have... VERY SENSITIVE SKIN. I can lightly scratch my arm with fingernails, and I'll have pink marks in 15 seconds.

[MikeW]

May just be barber's rash: mine went away when I stopped shaving.
When you shave real close, your hairs actualy get pulled up and then cut, so when they relax the cut end shrinks back below the skin, and has to grow up through it. If it meets resistance or friction as it re-emerges In this case from the mouthpiece), the hair is stiff enough to get driven back into the root like a nail, so the root gets damaged, resulting in an ingrowing hair which usually gets infected and turns into a small boil. If you can keep your bristles long enough, the hair shaft is flexible enough to sheild the root from damage.

For my face, "long enough" is about one eigth of an inch. The easiest solution is to just grow a beard, mustache, or a soul patch (depending on exactly where the problem shows up)

[MaryAnn]

That's some good advice up there! Make sure to read it fully.

As for me, I have had acne problems since my early teens. I am 41 now, and they have NEVER fully gone away. Now they are considering it "rosacea" but many of the treatments are the same. It was quite bad 2 years ago, but I got onto some topicals that really helped. Another thing to remember is that irritation can cause all kinds of problems, so finding a level of treatment that your sensitive facial skin can endure is key.

I have... VERY SENSITIVE SKIN. I can lightly scratch my arm with fingernails, and I'll have pink marks in 15 seconds.

You might want to research mast cell issues. It fits....I personally like mastcell360 dot com for the most and best free info out there.

[iiipopes]

What mouthpiece are you playing? Is the plating intact or wearing through? If silver plated and not wearing through, then I agree with the above it may be a contact allergy, although I am no doctor. The way to find out is to purchase a Kelly in the same size for $35 and play it for awhile to see if the same thing happens. If not, you can then make a further determination what to do next, whether keep playing the Kelly, get something like a blokepiece with a lexan rim, stainless steel, or go really high dollar with gold plating or titanium.