Help! I have started riding again, its been about 6-9 months since I’ve ridden consistently. And my helmet is relatively new (a year or two old, no falls). But I have been breaking out across my entire forehead and down towards my ears, basically wherever my helmet touches my skin/face. I have been using face wash wipes after I ride, and in between rides if I am doing more than 1 horse.
Any other tips/suggestions?
I don’t know if it matters, it is a Charles Owen JR8. And I’m not in the hormonal teenage acne years, I’m 26…I just have a small head!! (I wear a youth large at the batting cages… But there are lots of brains in there! :lol:)
Is there a removable liner? If so, wash it, and make a plan to wash it as often as your skin needs it. It it’s removable, likely you can buy replacements to be able to wash one and ride with one.
If it’s not removable, a helmet liner pad or a baby wipe folded to fit the area in question may be your best bet.
It’s definitely from a sweaty/grungy helmet liner. I’m pretty sure the JR8 liner is not removable, so start off by cleaning it with the CO helmet cleaning spray. Then maintain by spraying the liner with rubbing alcohol after every ride. The alcohol will kill off the bacteria. As a bonus, your helmet won’t stink. I picked up this trick ages ago from a thread here on COTH and have been doing this for many years.
You might try cutting some pantiliners to fit and sticking them along the inside of the helmet where it touches your skin. You can change them out after each ride. (I would suggest the unscented ones, as the perfume might worsen the breakout.)
@Inclined and @jawa It doesn’t have a removable liner sadly. I haven’t done the helmet liner/pantyliner thing since I have a weird reaction to adhesives (like bandaids and tape) and it leaves a giant red mark on my skin, so I’d rather not have a giant red mark on my forehead if it slips or something.
@SolarFlare I didn’t know the helmet cleaner was for inside the helmet, I thought those were for the exterior. I will absolutely order some of that! For the rubbing alcohol do you dilute it at all or just put it right in a spray bottle?
@jump4it I have Cetaphil wipes that are the same as the actual wash that I have at home that was recommended by the derm. Isn’t witch hazel in vetrolyn or sore-no-more or am I totally making that up?
@SolarFlare I didn’t know the helmet cleaner was for inside the helmet, I thought those were for the exterior. I will absolutely order some of that! For the rubbing alcohol do you dilute it at all or just put it right in a spray bottle?
I buy the big jugs of 97% (I think that’s the percentage) and pour into a smaller spray bottle without diluting at all.
As a bonus, you can also use the alcohol to spray a sweaty horse for faster drying after a ride.
I have the same problem! I get blisters from band-aids and have to be really, really careful about all adhesives and fragrances, and I get helmet rash.
For me the urticaria is from sweat, and I started experiencing helmet rash in my early 20s. It’s not a matter of letting grimy, funky helmet grunge develop, it’s a reaction to the sweat from a single ride. What works for me is:
helmet liner (I have a OneK and a few spare liners for it now so I can swap them out frequently, but I used to use UnderArmor skull caps under a helmet with non-removable lining).
wipe down with Garnier fragrance-free micellar water after riding and rinse with cold water (I used to use facial cleansing wipes but my skin stopped tolerating them at some point, and water rinse seems to be non-optional for my stupid skin)
taking an antihistamine (cetirizine) if I know I'm in for a really sweaty ride (e.g. show or hard lesson on a hot day)
None of the helmet cleaning options I looked into with my prior helmet (helmet cleaner product, alcohol, various attempts at more thorough washing) had any impact on the rash problem, because it wasn't an acne breakout in response to bacteria in the liner, it was an allergic contact reaction. Hoping you find a solution that works for you!
I feel your pain about band-aids (literally). I get a perfect red rash, and often a raised whelp where the bandaid was stuck to my skin. Have to pay $$$ to get special hypoallergenic bandaids that have a special adhesive. :o
Anyhoo, about the helmet rash - do you remove all makeup, lotion, etc and put your helmet on with a squeaky clean face? I found this helped me. Straight alcohol and witch hazel irritates my skin, so I use Wet Ones Anti-bacterial Wipes (a brand of handy wipes). I’ve found them to be safe on my skin and on surfaces (especially synthetic ones) that will come in contact with my skin (like a helmet or big sound reducing headphones when I ride the tractor to bushhog).
I’ve always been hesitant about adding a liner/headband type thing/etc because is that going to alter the fit of the helmet? Like when you tuck your hair into your helmet that alters the fit, so is a liner also going to alter the fit?
I dont usually use much makeup, lotion, etc on my face… but I will try washing my face before and after I ride.
For my fellow bandaid/adhesive-sad people, I have found that the only bandaids that work for me are the Wegmans house brand, Top Care, sensitive skin bandaids. Not sure why/how they are different but NO giant red perfect bandaid shape marks!
@EquestrianRunner I fold a baby wipe to fit along my forehead inside the helmet to protect my forehead. I didn’t like using the panty liner/helmet liners as my hairs were getting caught in the adhesive.
My son gets terrible reactions to BandAid brand adhesive, but off brand are not an issue.
The skull caps I used to use as liners are really thin – one layer of spandex/lycra type material in the band area and mesh on top – and I never felt they impacted helmet fit.
There are other brands/styles out there that are made specifically to be helmet liners (e.g. coolmax motorcycle helmet liners and various liners marketed to sports like football). I don’t think anyone would be able to market these as helmet liners if there were any chance of them altering fit in a dangerous way.
Similar to the alcohol spray suggestion, I use a 50/50 mix of vodka and water and spray my helmet lining after every ride. (Trick from a costumer I know to get rid of funk.) I recently started adding a couple of drops of tea-tree oil to the sprayer too–mostly to remediate the smell of the vodka (it goes away when dry, but smells while still wet) so my fellow boarders don’t think I’m a lush.
That’s awesome! :lol: And multi-purpose! Like for those days where you finish a ride where nothing seemed to go right and you need to take the edge off; or it’s 20° out and you need a little something to get you on your horse for that 30 min hack he really needs; or as an antiseptic when you cut your finger for the umpteenth time on your clipper blades… there should be a book - 101 uses for Vodka for the Adult Equestrian. :winkgrin:
Not gonna lie…I had a really bad fall while out fox hunting a couple of years ago (horse reared, went over backwards on me, kicked me in the gut on his way back to his feet) and I totally self-medicated with my spray bottle from the trailer–which does not have the tea tree in it because we fox hunters always smell like alcohol anyway.
I will have to try some of these remedies next time I ride! I currently only ride on the weekends usually (riding friends horses), but I’ve also started getting break outs along the side of my ear/down around my ear where the helmet strap goes to attach under my chin…
