Coffee can make acne worse.

Question

This article claims that coffee can make your acne worse. Some articles that was cited

https://ovidsp.dc2.ovid.com/ovid-new-a/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&PAGE=fulltext&D=ovft&AN=00006842-199005000-00006&NEWS=N&CSC=Y&CHANNEL=PubMed

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/caffeine-side-effects#insomnia

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0190962204021589?via%3Dihub

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4391699/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3470941/

Some other articles include https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/does-coffee-cause-acne#coffee-and-hormones

https://www.psdermgroup.com/2023/12/04/the-top-ten-foods-that-cause-acne-according-to-phoenix-surgical-dermatology-group/

Answer 1

Caffeine itself can make acne worse by increasing one's bodily stress response and interfering with the body's hormones. In addition, certain caffeinated beverages like coffee can exacerbate the effects of acne. This, however, is likely due more to the acidity of coffee itself rather than the caffeine found within it:

https://www.healthline.com/health/does-coffee-cause-acne

https://www.rebeccafitzgeraldmd.com/blog/how-your-morning-coffee-damages-your-skin/#:~:text=The%20high%20acidity%20of%20coffee,cause%20skin%20redness%20or%20inflammation.

Comments

I appreciate the thoroughness of your answer, though your linked sites do not link research or evidence; I will concede that a dermatologist does carry greater weight, though she also does not explain how coffee may increase acne beyond the acidity affecting hormonal balance. The dairy and dehydration linked to redness is unexplained. The first site you link (also the article the original ask links to) states "There haven’t been any studies done to conclusively say whether or not drinking coffee makes acne worse" even if some side effects of caffeine are tangentially related to increased acne.

Answer 2

Hi there, I read through the articles you provided and I can safely assert that caffeine itself does not cause or make acne worse. Although it can be a contributing factor to overstressing a person through heightened Cortisol production, it does not necessarily cause acne when consumed in normal amounts. Many of the articles you linked suggested that various forms of Milk are more prone to cause breakouts than the caffeine in the average latte. It isn't the caffeine itself, but instead, the sugars and milk added in that make a coffee.

I would suggest checking out this article as well as rereading some of the articles you linked:
https://www.healthline.com/health/does-coffee-cause-acne#What-does-the-research-say

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/does-coffee-cause-acne

Comments

I often think of correlation vs causation in articles like these. Your answer is amazing because it touches on what parts are the correlation and what parts are the causation. It is clear here that coffee can be correlated with acne breakouts but does not cause them Meanwhile, the real cause of it is the sugar and milk in the coffee. Therefore, it is not coffee itself, but what people tend to put in their coffee.

Answer 3

I think the headline is definitely misleading. There is no real substance to support this claim that coffee can make acne worse. Could you be more specific about which parts of the coffee cause more acne growth?

Answer 4

In the article "Does Coffee Cause Acne", published by Healthline.com, author Jacquelyn Cafasso claims that regular consumption of coffee can make acne worse. This article details how coffee can raise stress levels in the body due to its caffeine content, and high levels of stress can cause acne. On first glance, this article appeared to be accurate, as it had been medically reviewed by a registered dietician. However, I dug a bit deeper, and found an article published by the National Library of Medicine, in which they conducted a study that found a positive relationship between caffeine intake and stress level. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2257922/#S10) So far so good, but I also wanted to know if drinking coffee in particular leads to acne. To figure this out, I found another study by the National Library of Medicine. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5395543/) In this study, scientists tried to specifically establish a link between caffeine consumption, stress, and acne. They found that while caffeine causes stress, and stress can make preexisting acne worse, no evidence was found that it can cause new acne to be formed. Therefore, the original article from Healthline is a bit misleading. While coffee may make acne worse, it most likely will not create acne for someone that has clear skin.