My skin suffered from a ‘boyfriend smell’, my problems disappeared when he left
AFTER fighting acne and rosacea, a woman decided to find out the cause of her skin care problems —and discovered that her love life was the culprit.
She noticed her face starting to clear up after her boyfriend was gone for five days.
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Reddit user Ladylazaroo explained the situation in a post on the social media platform.
“My skin cleared up really quickly when my boyfriend went on vacation,” she said.
“My acne healed, no new pimples appeared and my skin was visibly less red.”
However, when her boyfriend returned, they also started experiencing skin problems.
“I thought it was because of the little change I made in my routine, but I’m not sure anymore.”
At first she thought gluten or dairy products were the culprit.
“Could this be a case of the infamous ‘cronyism’?” she asked.
“Now that I think about it, I had bad skin too when I moved in with him.
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“He has a beard and he says he washes it with bar soap.”
THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
Several Redditors came up with their own theories about why her skin reacts around her boyfriend.
Many pointed out that his beard could be a possible trigger for her problems.
“When I first started dating my boyfriend I had an allergic reaction on my face,” one person wrote.
“[I] I went to a dermatologist and that’s pretty much what he said.
“[It] doesn’t mean it’s dirty, people apparently just have different types of microorganisms on their faces, and sometimes your skin reacts to that.”
What is “boyfriend air”?
‘Boyfriend air’ is a concept that is most famous on social media platforms like TikTok. It refers to the decline in a woman’s appearance after a while with her boyfriend.
Some attribute this to a change in self-care routines, such as speeding up skincare and makeup. New relationships can also cause women to be more stressed than usual or spend less time choosing an outfit to match their boyfriends’ (usually) shorter routines.
Another said it wasn’t the bacteria, but the hair itself.
“His beard irritates your skin,” they said.
“He can wash it three times a day, but it is probably the mechanical irritation, not the bacteria or germ, that is causing the skin problems.”
Others pointed out that her boyfriend’s stress was the cause of the outbursts.
“When he was gone, it was quiet and peaceful and everything was fine,” the original poster read.
“It was nice not having to worry about caring for another human being and not being overwhelmed.”
