Does touching your face (or leaning your head on your hand) lead to acne?

There is a reason acne sufferers are cautioned not to touch their face too often, and that is that touching the face can make acne worse.

There are different ways in which "touching your face" can make acne worse.

Hands can have a lot of bacteria on them, and the less frequently one washes his hands, the more bacteria there will be. Touching your face with your hands can mean transferring nasty bacteria to your face. One contributor to acne is bacteria.

"Touching your face" can also mean "working away at" blemishes. Squeezing blemishes makes things worse, so this type of "touching your face" isn't good. Picking at blemishes in general is not good, an, again, there is the matter of introducing bacteria.

Another factor that can aggravate acne (or even cause breakouts in a generally acne-free person) is irritation. Using a rough facecloth to scrub the face can make acne worse. Cleansing cloths that are designed for the face are non-irritating. While using your hands to wash your face is ordinarily not irritating, someone with particularly rough hands could, of course, irritate their skin.