Can shampoo cause acne?

Absolutely, there's no doubt about it: shampoo can lead to acne.

Not only does your shampoo come into contact with your scalp and hairline, as well as to a lesser extent other parts of your face, while you are washing your hair, but residue of shampoo can also constantly rub on your face afterwards. If you have started using a new hair spray or serum at the same time, I would examine those too.

Sodium sulfates are notorious for causing acne, and they are a very common ingredient in hair products. I would start by checking your ingredient list for those.

I am pretty sure I had this happen to me once. It was pretty much exactly as you describe it. I started using a new shampoo and conditioner line and started getting zits soon after, on my upper forehead and side of the face near the ears. After a while it dawned on me it must be the hair products. Believe me, I NEVER spontaneously break out for no reason so that stuff must have had some bad chemicals it it that made my skin react the way it did. I quit using those products and went back to what I was using before. The zits cleared up within about two weeks, completely, never to come back. So that confirmed it was the shampoo and conditioner then. It can happen.

Thanks for your replies. I've now discontinued the use of this shampoo and my face is still covered in pimples, but that's been for like one wash so far (I was my hair perhaps every two three days) so I'm hoping that I'll soon start seeing an improvement. Is there anything I could do to speed that up? Since I normally do not have this problem I don't have specialized acne products lying around the house. If you could recommend a cleanser, mask or spot treatment or something, that would be great.

Ugh. That sounds nasty. Yeah, if I were you I'd stop using that new shampoo along with anyone else I just started using pronto. If it causes acne, no matter how great it is for your hair or whatever, it obviously isn't working for your body! I've heard that shampoos cause acne in people sometimes, especially if they ain't quite rinsed out properly you know, but I wouldn't take my chances on extra-rinsing in the hope that it would stop the break outs. Just bin that b****r I say! Hate acne.

As for cleanser, Cetaphil is pretty much supposed to be the gold standard.

What a horrible experience to have! I have never had acne from shampoo before but got it from certain foundations and creams, so I know any cosmetic product your skin doesn't like but comes into contact with anyway can result in breakouts, so what you are saying isn't surprising me in the least. Once you know you are vulnerable to breakouts from cosmetics, then you know to stick with stuff that works for you and not to go product hopping too much. That sucks but it is what it is.

God yeah, I did get that! I got a terrible rash off of a cheap shampoo I bought at a discount shop. My head was itching and around the hairline I had lots of skin issues, breakouts. It almost looked as if I had burned my head. Of course, the shampoo when bye bye really fast. I didn't even want to use it on my dog! I soothed my sore scalp with chamomile tea, and I just tied my hair back so lots of air could get to the skin. It took more than a week to clear up! Never using that again!