Does caffeine cause acne breakouts?
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Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:53 pm

I am drinking more coffee these days and am breaking out a lot more. From what I have read online, food and drink should not cause acne breakouts but a derm told me it could. Anyone have any advice? Guess I could try giving up the coffee (though I don't want to)!

free skin care · Sun Oct 22, 2006 10:01 pm

Body chemistry differs so much (even though it certainly isn't that much, but tiny things make big differences in the function of our body as a whole) it certainly could be breaking you out, but it may not make most people break out. Try drinking less and see what happens, it's cheaper than investing in acne clearing products anyway Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Sun Oct 22, 2006 10:44 pm

Plasma,

Are you by any chance using an artificial creamer in your coffee?

hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils can lead to clogged pores when ingested... so check your creamer and if that is listed you may be able to switch to milk or half and half so that you can enjoy your coffee without the acne flare-up.

If you are using the artificial creamer for the flavor choices you can still get a nice flavor by using a flavored syrup. I like DaVinci sugar free syrups which are currently sold at my local Sam's Club and also online at http://netrition.com

Take care.
Bosoxy.

free skin care · Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:00 am

According to my Chinese doctor, these foods will increase the likelihood of getting pimples...

chocolate
coffee
anything deep fried
chips

even certain types of fruits
mango
lychee
plums, nectarines, peaches

free skin care · Mon Oct 23, 2006 7:11 am

Although some research claim that food is not a cause of acne, some other researches show that certain food increases the inflammation in the body. I used to have a cup of coffee a day and my skin had breakout and it was drier. Now I replace coffee with tea and I have no more breakout. Same thing happened with fried food.

Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:26 am

I don't use artificial creamer, I use half & half. But my morning coffee is a strong one...4 shots of espresso with a little hot water. I skipped it this morning and its not pretty...

free skin care · Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:11 am

Perhaps try Japanese green tea or Chinese Jasmine tea....?

Or slowly ween yourself off the shots in the morning.. 3 shots for a couple days, then 2..then 1.. then none!

Don't go cold turkey!

free skin care · Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:39 am

I do believe that coffee will cause breakout.

Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:18 pm

My understanding is that the relationship of food to acne is such that food in and of itself will not CAUSE acne, but if you are prone to acne (i.e. have the other necessary elements already present) food and caffeine can trigger breakouts.

I believe caffeine as well as sugar causes the body to release more androgens (typically male hormones) which put the hormone element in place for breakouts.

HTH!

free skin care · Tue Oct 24, 2006 1:40 am

plasmajam wrote:

I don't use artificial creamer, I use half & half. But my morning coffee is a strong one...4 shots of espresso with a little hot water. I skipped it this morning and its not pretty...

Are you drinking more coffee because you are under more stress these days?

I thought I would ask, as stress breakouts can be some of the worst!

I hope that cutting back coffee does help you!I remember when I cut coffee off cold turkey years ago and I had the worst headaches from withdrawal! Ugh! It was bad.... I can sympathize.

In the meantime, Ice Elements makes an acne serum that has no bp that you may want to try to help take care of the problem.

Good luck!
Bosoxy.

Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:30 am

I started drinking coffee a few months ago. Love the taste and love the buzz I get but have decided that I will quit for a month and see if it helps clear up my acne. Today is my second day without. Not too bad. The desire to have clear skin is overpowering the craving for coffee! I agree with a lot of you that coffee may not cause the acne, but sure could trigger it. If anyone else has had experience with this, please let me know. Thanks Smile

free skin care · Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:06 am

DIY Girl wrote:

I believe caffeine as well as sugar causes the body to release more androgens (typically male hormones) which put the hormone element in place for breakouts.

HTH!

I do recall reading that caffeine and sugar both have an influence on blood sugar level and insulin level. I also recall reading that there is a connection between insulin and testosterone. I would have to look this all up but maybe there is something to the coffee-acne connection afterall.

From personal experience I have been drinking several cups of coffee a day and have never really noticed a correlation between my coffee consumption and my acne. There have been times when I have been virtually acne free despite drinking a lot of coffee.

free skin care · Tue Oct 24, 2006 2:44 pm

Your body releases certain hormones in response to caffeine, so yes it can cause breakouts.
Coffee is also heavily sprayed with pesdicides and other chemicals... You body expels toxins through your skin.

free skin care · Tue Oct 24, 2006 2:53 pm

I read some where that its actually the steam from coffe that can cause breakouts, which to me doesnt make sense because women use steamers for facials...that leads me to believe that its up to personal body chemistry and possibly the type of coffee you drink, like how strong it is or if you add things to it. I think the sugar and cream that is usually added to coffee would have more of a negative effect on skin than caffine.

Tue Oct 24, 2006 6:46 pm

if its true that caffeine in coffee that causes acne... shouldn't tea cause breakouts too? I've read that everything in tea is beneficial except for the caffeine (but there is less of it compared to coffee).

free skin care · Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:52 pm

amaska wrote:

Perhaps try Japanese green tea or Chinese Jasmine tea....?

Or slowly ween yourself off the shots in the morning.. 3 shots for a couple days, then 2..then 1.. then none!

Don't go cold turkey!

i love Chinese jasmine tea!! love the smell....

Sat Oct 28, 2006 8:41 am

Hi all,

I wanted to give an update: I have not had any coffee or caffeine for 7 days now and my acne seems to be clearing up. No new breakouts! I think I was having a reaction to it, as I was getting huge cysts all the time. As far as the withdrawals, after 3 days it wasn't too bad and now I don't really think about it. I miss the taste but want clear skin more! Thanks you guys for all of your advice Smile

Sat Oct 28, 2006 5:46 pm

I used to be a heavy coffee drinker (always black, espresso) and had poor skin, especially lots of breakouts on my chin. When I stopped the coffee my skin cleared.

My Chinese doctor says the caffeine is very hard on the liver, and in TCM the chin area is associated with that organ. So easing back on the caffeine, sugar, alcohol and fried foods will help your liver which will give you clearer skin in time.

Now I drink all the organic decaf (still black) I want and have no problems with my skin at all. It's certainly worth a try, but my experience was that it took a few months to see amazing results.

free skin care · Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:01 am

It should not but if you thimkthat its causing it truy to avoid it and if it improves then the caffiene is the culprit

free skin care · Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:16 pm

I am glad that avoiding coffee is having a clearing effect to your skin!

I hope that it stays clear!

Take care.
Bosoxy.

free skin care · Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:34 am

You know, now that I think about it, my acne started to get a LOT worse around the time that I became addicted to coffee. This time last year it was nearly cleared up, but then in February I was introduced to coffee to help me get through midterms. And ever since March my face has had horrible flare-ups. Hmmmmm.

However, as a student it is very difficult to give up coffee and alcohol, although my mom's chinese herbalist has suggested I do to help clarify my liver.

Thanks for the tip, I'll start the caffeine free thing tmrw. Or maybe after this week, when it's a little less hectic.

Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:37 pm

ok, it has almost been two weeks and my skin has completly cleared up. It was the coffee! I have been using the Obagi Nu Derm system for 4 months and this is the first time my skin has looked great. I now know that for me... coffee is the devil!

free skin care · Wed Nov 08, 2006 4:09 pm

I read some research articles on this and came to this conclusion:

Caffeine--> stimulates the adrenal glands to produce increased levels of stress hormone "cortisol"---> cortisol increases sebum production and secretion---> increased sebum leads to follicle congestion.

Coffee indirectly contributes to acne.

HTH!

free skin care · Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:01 pm

I've reduced my intake to just one cup a day. I was breakingn out from too much caffeine. It also dehydrates. Moderation is the key.

free skin care · Fri Nov 24, 2006 11:48 pm

my grandma said that spicy food can cause breakouts, dont know if that's true Rolling Eyes

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