Understanding the link between acne and stress

The skin problem of acne troubles a large number of teenagers. Acne also causes a lot of stress to the sufferers. Their social communication and self confidence gets highly affected due to the ugly looking acne. It has indeed been found that an increase in level of stress raise the overall acne breakouts as well.

Not surprising enough, stress is featured with a starring role in ongoing acne scenario. It has also been noticed that almost ninety percent of people complain about the ill effects of stress on their skin. it was argued that how can this stress, which is a truly emotional anxiety caused due to numerous problems of life show up directly on the face. This connection is really chemical in nature. When one becomes stressed or tensed, the adrenal glands flood the blood flow with hormone cortisol. And this in turn triggers the glands in the face thereby producing more of oil. When the sebaceous glands go in the high gear, there is the high possibility that the excessive oil will get mixed with the dead skin cells and in turn result in clogging the pores and trapping the bacteria inside. What are then faced are more acne and that too primarily the inflamed papules than whiteheads or blackheads.


The internal stressors such as fear, depression, low self esteem and anxiety can trigger the chemical reactions going inside the body that can then result in those unwanted acne scars, skin irritations and flare ups. You can carefully minimize the acne damage by leading a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Also, at least 7 to 8 hours of sound sleep is highly necessary to keep stress at bay. Reducing and trying to control one’s anger and stress helps a lot in reducing acne. It is also better to use proper medication for acne to not make it even worse. In case you are suffering from severe acne, it is wise to consult the medical professional and take proper treatment. it is to be remembered that acne does not go away in just a night or some days. Popping acne can only worsen the situation and may even cause scars on the skin.


So, it can be said that acne and stress are in some way or the other related to each other. More the level of stress, higher will be the time taken to treat acne and vice versa. Taking care of the external factors can also help a lot to reduce acne in a safe manner. The objective of acne prevention can be to keep the skin power clear and clear from any clogging and becoming irritated and infected thereby resulting in inflammation and blemishes. So, it is important to look at the external environment like oils, sun and grease. Too much of grease, oil or sun on the skin will clog the pores and result in triggering of acne with some other skin disorders.