While stress alone isn't the cause of acne pimples — age, hormones, acne-producing bacteria and other factors are at play — it's evident that stress can trigger breakouts and make existing acne issues worse.
Stress won't give you acne if you're not already predisposed to it, but it can make acne worse by causing levels of certain hormones to temporarily increase. “When your fight-or-flight response is activated, the body releases stress hormones, such as cortisol and androgens,” Dr. Minni explained.
Given the increase in oil production, she says your skin will usually look greasier and slightly more inflamed. Zeichner adds that stress acne can also look like a combination of blackheads, whiteheads, red bumps, and pus pimples.
Can anxiety cause acne? Anxiety doesn't directly cause acne. The stress caused by behaving anxiously, however, can contribute to acne problems. Research has shown a direct correlation between periods of elevated stress and worsening acne.
Stress pimples will usually pop up in the oiliest areas of the face, like the forehead, nose and chin. Your T-zone might look greasier and more congested too. Doctors say that if you're getting clusters of pimples all at once, stress can be a factor—hormonal pimples happen one at a time.
Stress rashes or hives usually disappear within a few hours or days. It's important to avoid scratching your hives rash so that it heals and doesn't leave behind marks. Sometimes, stress rashes and hives can come back repeatedly for weeks or months. When hives last longer than 6 weeks, it is called chronic urticaria.
What do stress rashes look like? Stress rashes often appear as raised red bumps called hives. They can affect any part of the body, but often a stress rash is on the face, neck, chest or arms. Hives may range from tiny dots to large welts and may form in clusters.
What do anxiety hives look like? Hives from stress and anxiety can appear anywhere on your body. They often look like red, pink, or flesh-colored, raised, puffy, splotches. Sometimes, they may look like bug bites, or raised red bumps.
Acne is caused by your skin making too much sebum (oil), which, along with dead skin cells, clogs the pores — making them the perfect place for bacteria to grow. Hormones, family history and underlying health conditions can play a role in developing acne. It can also be a side effect of taking certain medications.
“Anxiety and depression can cause an inflammatory response, which weakens the skin's barrier function and more easily allows in irritants. Skin can also lose moisture and heal more slowly,” she says. Inflammatory conditions are triggered. Secondly, health behaviors change when anxious or depressed.
The Mind-Skin Connection
When you feel stressed, your sympathetic nervous system releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline into your body. Cortisol causes increased oil production in your skin glands, which can lead to clogged pores and acne breakouts.
Topical treatments may help to relieve symptoms and reduce a rash. Taking an antihistamine may help to control hives. Antihistamine medication works to block the histamine response in the body, which can help to prevent any new hives from forming.
Highly stressed medical students had higher prevalence of oily, waxy patches on scalp and/or flakey scalp (dandruff), dry/sore rash, itchy skin, itchy rash on their hands, and hair loss, warts, and acne.
Fluctuations of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone can cause zits and pimples to pop up. Typically, these fluctuations happen mostly during menstruation cycles, pregnancy and menopause. During these times of increased hormones, the body produces more sebum, an oily, waxy substance.
Once sweat gets in, pores can become clogged and prone to blackheads and breakouts. They'll also become more visible in the morning, said Dr.
The main causes of spots may include excess oil production, clogged pores, a build-up of bacteria and an excess of the hormone androgen. Emotional stress may not be a direct cause, but can certainly make it worse. The skin is one of the largest organs that your body has, which works to protect us from harmful elements.
Excess oil (sebum) production. Hair follicles clogged by oil and dead skin cells. Bacteria. Inflammation.
Keep an eye on spots that look different to others on your body, spots that have changed in size, shape, colour or texture, and sores that itch, bleed, or don't heal. If you notice any of these signs, see your doctor and seek their expert opinion.
Pillows & Bedding
Facial oils, skin cells, and hair products can accumulate on unwashed pillows. Combined with pressure on your sensitive skin, these can cause blockages and infections that lead to acne.
Dull Skin. Inadequate sleep raises your cortisol levels. This hormone triggers inflammation, which breaks down the proteins that keep your skin smooth and glowing. Inflammation can also make your skin more prone to acne and more sensitive to allergic reactions.
If you don't get good, restorative sleep, your body might not feel rested and could kick-start that cortisol surge, which could put you at risk for more acne. The fix is simple, but not always easy: Make sleep a priority to give your body the rest it needs and your acne a chance to heal.