Punished for crafting

On my lvl 34 minions character I had a lvl 34 helm that have +2 minion skills, and I thought it would be a great idea to slam a few exalts into it. This, for whatever braindead and shortsighted reason bumped the required lvl of the helm to 37. Why the hell am I being locked out of my equipment because of crafting?!! I cannot even begin to explain the level of frustration I am feeling over this.