The relationship between drinking coffee and acne breakouts

Coffee has a reputation for causing acne. In this Amaka’s Note, we’ll tackle what coffee actually does to your body, and how to prevent coffee from causing acne.

The Gist

There is no direct link between coffee and acne.

However, several factors regarding how you drink your coffee can actually lead to acne.  Depending on how you drink coffee, your body can lose sleep, be more under stress, and even acquire fungi, and these symptoms are what cause acne, not drinking coffee itself.

The Science

The relationship between drinking coffee and acne

Almost anything can be linked to acne.

As much as it would be easier to have a straightforward acne breakout trigger and solution, that’s just not how it works. Acne has a multitude of factors: from your genetics to your lifestyle, which includes your diet. 

Some foods have already been linked to acne, but is coffee and acne actually related?

The problem with labelling coffee as a cause for acne is that it has too many variables. Fortunately for coffee lovers, Ramya Garlapati, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist reveals that there is no direct evidence to support the relation between drinking coffee and acne breakouts. However, she adds that there are some pieces of evidence that how you drink coffee may cause acne.

Drinking coffee causes stress, which can cause breakouts and other symptoms

We all know that coffee, or caffeine in general, releases adrenaline when consumed. Adrenaline causes people to feel restless and shaky. Caffeine is also known to provoke the body to produce cortisol, the infamous stress hormone. A good thing to note down is people who regularly consume coffee will experience less significant increases in cortisol compared to only drinking it every now and then.

High amounts of cortisol in your body triggers a chain reaction, one of which is the activation of the sebocytes. The cheeky sebocyte is an epithelial cell that produces a familiar substance called sebum. Sebum is that oily substance that covers your skin. However, too much sebum is known to cause acne.

Jaimie Glick, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist, brings up a study which discovered that coffee slows down the healing properties of your body, which could worsen acne and scars.

If you are already experiencing a lot of stress, you may want to consider holding off on caffeine. 

The thing is, as said before, drinking coffee does not cause acne, but how you drink it and how often you drink it may influence breakouts. One cup of coffee won’t do anything, but if you’re somebody who is prone to stress, it is more than likely to affect you. Your caffeine limit typically depends on different factors, which includes your metabolism.

The daily limit for caffeine is usually 400mg, which is about 4 cups. However, if your metabolism is a bit slower than the average person, you should try to pump your caffeine down to just 2, or even a cup a day.

Drinking coffee can mess up your sleep and energy levels, which can cause acne

Coffee’s main point is it disrupts your sleep. It does a set of chemical reactions to make your body think you have more energy than you do. A study revealed that consuming caffeine up to 6 hours prior to your bedtime can disrupt your sleep.

Lack of sleep causes your cortisol levels to rise up, which, as we’ve mentioned before, causes acne and breakout. Even those of you who don’t usually get acne are much more prone to get acne when you are running on little sleep.

The important thing to remember is that if you really have to drink coffee, make sure it’s 6 hours before your bedtime.

Coffee Causes Dehydration

One of the effects of caffeine is it activates certain processes that cause your body to lose fluid. 

Although small or medium doses of caffeine won’t really dehydrate you, you are still more likely to skip water if you have something else to drink. The bad thing about this is dehydration leads to dry skin, which triggers, you guessed it, acne. Drinking coffee causes acne in a way where it affects your skin’s moisture, and a dry skin produces more sebum to compensate.

To prevent acne from taking over your skin and ruining it, your best bet is to make sure to drink more cups of water than coffee.

Adding sugar to coffee can cause breakouts

A study conducted by the American Academy of Dermatology reveals that a diet consisting of food with a low glycemic index leads to fewer pimples. In another study with 2258 participants with the same procedure found that 87% of the patients reported less acne, and 91% of the participants pointed out the less need for acne treatment.

In short, food high on sugar, such as sugar itself, increases the likelihood of getting breakouts. When your blood sugar spikes, inflammatory enzymes rush throughout your body, which also signals your body to create more sebum.

Make sure to keep the sugar and creamer at a minimum when drinking your coffee to reduce acne.

Certain kinds of milk are linked to acne

Garlapti mentions that the usual milk added to coffee, such as low-fat or skim milk, is linked to acne much less compared to whole milk, or adding no milk at all.

The American Academy of Dermatology also links milk hormones to causing inflammation in your body, which, as mentioned, induces acne breakouts. Drinking milk was also found to be related to an increase in what’s called IGF-1 levels. An increase in these levels were shown to produce more sebum. 

Your best bet is to drink less animal milk and more plant-based milk when drinking your coffee to keep your skin healthy and free from acne.

Does coffee have properties that can actually lessen acne?

As a matter of fact, coffee has been proven to have several benefits, one of which is its antioxidants. Antioxidants are known to be great for your skin, which can influence your skin to heal quicker. Research also shows that antioxidants found in coffee can reduce the risk of skin cancer.

We also can’t forget the positivity that coffee brings into your life. It sparks joy, creativity, and energy to help you get through your day. Your best bet is to just keep your caffeine levels at a minimum, and keep your coffee away from unhealthy ingredients, too.

The Takeaway

There’s no direct link between drinking coffee and acne.

However, how you drink your coffee, and how much of it you consume can cause acne breakouts. If you’re looking for different ways to clear your skin, it’s not just the coffee. You should also eat healthy and find an amazing skin-care routine that will work best for you. 

The main thing you need to remember is just consume more healthily, and you’ll be fine.