Heat rash

For the last month or so, I've been breaking out in some sort of rash on my face. It even extends to my neck.

This has never in my life happened.

The first time it happened I thought it, I figured it was just a fluke. Allergic reaction to something? I didn't wear makeup and let it heal. It cleared up in a few days.

The second time it happened, I was a bit more concerned. I was about to go to the dermatologist, but couldn't find an in-network doctor with good reviews.

It could be a food allergy. I am allergic to everything. I thought it might be sunflower seeds in the new salad I was obsessed with. After all,  I'm mildly allergic to sunflower oil. It could have been the Rite-Aid brand face wash I bought instead of the Olay brand. My coworker who used to work at a dermatologist's office (and who has a teenage daughter) thought it might be heat rash. Did I wash my face after working out? Did I wear makeup while working out? I know I didn't have anything clogging my pores because I'm out of Clinique CC cream that I usually put on in the morning, but I didn't wash my face. I was running trails outside and there's not a convenient bathroom to splash water on my face.

It noticed the rash again Wednesday morning. And my coworker was right. It's heat rash. I didn't wash my face after a sweaty workout last night. I took a shower within an hour of getting home, but didn't remember to wash my face right away. I did wash my face after the same workout last week and was fine.

So mystery solved. It should clear up in a few days. No dermatologist needed. I just need to wash my face after I sweat.

Which is so weird. Because I'm 32 and this has never happened to me before.

Not when I ran cross country in high school—sweating in the Georgia heat. And not for the last two years of working out. I've done plenty of sweaty workouts. Do I always remember to wash my face?

I'm in my 30s. I haven't had breakouts in years. My skin is good so I don't remember to wash my face, but maybe I do if there's a sink around. This particular studio is between spaces and in a spot without a sink nearby and that has to be it. That and the one time I went for an outdoor run and didn't have a bathroom nearby.

The moral of this story is: wash your face after you sweat. And your skin can change at any time.