Best Way To Prevent Forehead Acne from Durags

Durags have been a staple in hair care and fashion for decades, offering both style and practical benefits like wave-setting, curl control, and scalp protection. However, as popular as they are, many people have experienced an unwanted side effect—forehead acne.

This often results from wearing durags that don’t provide proper breathability or absorb excess oils, especially when low-quality or “weak” durags are used. For this year, taking care of your skin while sporting a durag is more important than ever, as hair care and dermatology advancements continue to emerge. In this blog, we’ll explore why certain durags can cause acne, how to prevent forehead acne, and what to look for in a high-quality durag to keep your forehead clear and breakout-free.

How You Get Forehead Acne from Durags

Forehead acne from durags typically stems from two major factors: friction and trapped moisture. When a weak or poorly constructed durag is too tight or made from non-breathable material, it can cause irritation. Sweat and natural oils build up under the fabric, leading to clogged pores and acne. Additionally, synthetic materials can exacerbate irritation if they don’t allow the skin to breathe.

A common misconception is that forehead bumps only occur when using unnatural products. However, the reality is quite different. The bumps seen on my head in the video above, as mentioned in my How to Get 360 Waves with Sportin’ Waves Pomade video, were caused by using a natural product. Many people tend to believe that using natural products prevents skin irritation, but this isn’t always the case.

What I learned is that it’s not about whether the product is natural or unnatural, or whether it contains petroleum, shea butter, or any other ingredient you may think is bad for your skin. The skin cells on the scalp are different from those on the face. Products that work well for the scalp and hair may cause an allergic reaction when applied to the face, simply because the skin cells on your face are designed to breathe.

When a product coats the skin and prevents it from breathing, bumps can form underneath the skin. Wearing a durag too tightly can worsen this issue by pressing the product into the skin and trapping it, leading to irritation. It’s common to notice bumps along the hairline when removing a durag. These are the reasons for the bumps, and there are ways to avoid them.

Tips to Prevent Forehead Acne from Durags

1. Choose the Right Material: There’s a growing variety of materials for durags, with silk and satin still being top choices. Silk durags, in particular, are lightweight, breathable, and less likely to trap oils and sweat. Satin durags provide a smooth surface that reduces friction against the skin.
2. Maintain Good Hygiene: One of the simplest ways to prevent forehead acne is to ensure your durag is clean. Washing your durag regularly, especially after workouts or long periods of wear, will help reduce the buildup of dirt, oil, and bacteria. Using a mild detergent is recommended to avoid skin irritation from harsh chemicals.
3. Watch the Tightness: Tight durags can create unnecessary pressure on your forehead, contributing to acne and irritation. Opt for durags with adjustable straps or softer elastic bands to prevent tightness that can trap sweat or cause friction.
4. Moisturize Wisely: If you use moisturizers or oils in your hair, make sure they’re non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores). These products can seep onto your forehead underneath the durag, leading to acne. Look for lightweight, oil-free moisturizers to reduce the chance of clogging pores.
5. Take Durag Breaks: Wearing a durag for extended periods can suffocate the skin, leading to sweat buildup and breakouts. Give your forehead some breathing time throughout the day, especially if you live in a hot or humid climate.
6. Upgrade to a Better Durag: If your current durag is causing consistent breakouts, it might be time to upgrade. There are numerous high-quality options made from breathable, skin-friendly materials designed to prevent acne while still keeping your waves intact.

Of all these tips, the most important thing to remember when wearing a durag is to avoid tying it too tightly. Many people have the habit of tying their durag each time they put it on, but as I mentioned in a previous video, once you find the right snugness, it’s best to leave it tied. Retying it every time increases the chance of creating a durag line across your forehead, which can cause irritation or acne from durags.

Personally, because I have a variety of durags, I wear different ones depending on the stage of my wolfing process. For example, after a fresh cut, I use a specific durag that I’ve already tied to the perfect tightness, ensuring that it won’t be too tight when paired with my stocking cap. As my hair grows into the two- to four-week wolfing stage, I switch to another durag that is tied at the same level of tightness, but better suited for the thicker hair. Since I have different colored durags, it’s easy for me to remember which one to use depending on where I am in the wolfing process.

In short, finding the right snugness and sticking to it is key to avoiding the discomfort and skin issues that can come from over-tying your durag. By having a set routine and using durags suited to different stages of hair growth, you can prevent unnecessary pressure on your forehead.

RELATED: BEST DURAGS TO WEAR

Best Way to Tie Your Durag to Prevent Forehead Acne

In the above video, I go into detail about why I wear my durags the way that I do separate from how most people wear them, but I will also explain the steps to modify it so that you can wear them the normal way as well. Let me give you all an example of how I would tie my durag to prevent forehead acne.

So the first thing is you put your durag on where the seam is in the middle of your head as shown below:

Next, you want to make sure that you put a stocking cap or wave cap on top of it because many people tend to think that all you need is a durag. The reason why you pull your durag to the middle of your head is because once you put the stocking cap on, it will pull the durag down more.

Now you want to fold the durag up so that when you tie the durag, the band from the stocking cap or wave cap provides more cushion before you secure the durag.

Next, you are going to tie your strings on the durag, but like I always say, once you find the right tightness of your durag you don’t have to untie it and you can leave it tied to make this process faster by wrapping it around the back, wrap around the front, and then wrap it around to the back one more time.

Lastly, I always say you want to make sure that the flaps are spread wide, but one thing that I’ve noticed is even if the flaps are spread wide, but the Dora is still too tight, it will lead to you developing a line and putting those bumps in your forehead. In this step, you want to make sure that you do not tie the durag too tight.

So you wanna make sure you spread it out and everything like that. And that allows you to be able to rag up at different levels of your wolf and everything like that to help prevent those bumps from coming from the compression.

What to Do Before You Put on Your Durag to Prevent Forehead Acne

Before you rag up after you finish a brush session, there may be products that were brushed onto your forehead. When you are about to get your durag and everything or stocking cap or whatever, what you want to do is take a paper towel and fold it up into a square size shape by folding it in half twice. If you want the paper towel to be smaller, you can fold it even more, but I suggest 2 to 3 half folds.

Next, you simply want to run a side of the folded paper towel underneath warm to hot water. Do not use cold water because cold water will not have the effect of washing any products away. Once you have it wet, what you simply wanna do is make sure that you wipe away any excess products that may be on your forehead from brushing. And the reason why that may happen is if you have 360 waves and you brush into the front on all of your sides of your head and on the top and everything like that what tends to happen is the products will come to the front and then they will start going down.

Because of the above, this is why I only apply pomades or butter and things like that in my crown because by brushing forward it spreads the product out into my scalp prior to it being able to reach my forehead.

Once you have washed your forehead with warm or hot water, you can now put your durag on by following the steps above by wrapping the strings around the back, around the front, and around the back again. I must emphasize that you always want to make sure that the flaps are spread wide, but one thing that I’ve noticed is even if the flaps are spread wide, but the durag is still too tight, it will lead to you developing a line, and putting those bumps in your forehead.

So you wanna make sure that before you rag up, you, you wipe your forehead clean. As I said, there may be products that agree with your hair and your scalp, but once they get up to the cells or your face and everything like that, it may cause an allergic reaction.

Now, after you wipe your face, you can take another one that’s dry and simply rub it to ensure that there’s nothing on your forehead, and then you rag up just like I showed you guys.

Best Products to Use to Prevent Forehead Acne

Now the last thing is, after you have done those steps to prevent it, what do you do in the event that you wake up and you have bumps in your forehead? A product that I want to recommend that I have been using for a long time is Neutrogena’s Oil Free Acne Wash.

Now, this one right here helps fight breakouts in really fast and it fights to prevent them from surfacing again. I’ve been using this bottle right here just to help do that. So like I said, in my preventative steps, what you can do after you wipe your forehead cleaning, everything like that, you can take another paper towel, fold it up like I showed you guys before, and then take the Neutrogena and then simply put this onto the paper towel and then wipe your forehead.

And what you will notice is when you have bumps, it’ll have like a stinging or a tingling sensation on the bumps. And what it’s trying to do is remove the dirt in the ground that caused the inflammation on your skin and things like that. You know what I’m saying? Now, with this product, what you can do is you can use this one and three times a day. I recommend using this, starting off, using this product once a day when you first get it.

The reason why is that it can dry your skin out because that’s one of the things that it does to help fight those bumps from coming in and surfacing on your skin and things like that. Now, after you apply it to your face, the next thing you gotta do is simply rag up the way that I showed you guys, and that should help prevent you from getting these bumps as well as when they do surface to help you get rid of them as fast as possible.

Now, for me, these bumps surfaced on my forehead yesterday, and as you guys can see, they’re already starting to disappear and things like that, you know, So, but I don’t wanna draw this video out longer than it needs to be at this moment. What I wanna say is, I appreciate you guys for watching. If you’re new to my channel, make sure you subscribe. Why? Because I said so. The videos to the side are videos that I made to help you get better waves and everything like that, but it’s your boy Jay Lu. I hope you guys enjoyed this video. At the end of the day,

Final Thoughts

Forehead acne from durags is a common but preventable issue. By investing in a high-quality durag, practicing good hygiene, and taking steps to reduce skin irritation, you can rock your durag in style without the fear of breakouts. As we move into the year, prioritizing skin health alongside hair care is key to looking and feeling your best.

Stay tuned for more tips on skin and hair care, and let us know how these solutions work for you!

If you would like to watch this video, feel free to check it out below: