This is a multi-dimensional problem. One, your face lies on your pillowcase for hours at a time, and if it’s not clean you’re basically pressing a bunch of dead skin and bacteria onto your skin (lovely). Same deal with your towel — your skin might be fresh from the shower, but if the towel isn’t clean you’re just wiping germs onto your face.

King suggests changing your pillowcase once or twice a week and using a fresh towel daily. However, that’s only one part of the problem. If you use fabric softeners and dryer sheets they could also be causing breakouts. Turns out, the stuff that makes your clothes soft is tallow, which is — wait for it — animal fat. Ew. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that on my face. Plus, detergents and fabric softeners with lots of fragrance can cause irritation as well.