The Truth About Food, Diet and Acne | Lab Muffin Beauty Science

How strongly linked is food and acne? Can avoiding certain foods clear your skin? Here's a deep dive into the science, and some tips for *safely* changing your diet for dealing with acne.

In this video:
* How much can you trust the studies?
* Types of studies: Interventional vs observational
* What do the studies say about acne and diet?
* Tips for applying these results and changing your diet

Selected references:

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Lab Muffin Beauty Science is a channel by me, Michelle - I'm a chemistry PhD and beauty lover, here to explain how beauty products work, debunk myths, and help you make smarter decisions about your skincare, hair and makeup!

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[LabMuffinBeautyScience]

What's worked best for your acne, if you have any?

For me, it's been the combined oral contraceptive pill, salicylic acid, avoiding physical irritation, and a touch of witchcraft...

[valeriephd]

As a clinical psychologist who specializes in eating disorders, thank you for how careful and thoughtful you were in this video!

[sabeanie]

For years I tried managing my diet to prevent acne but instead I found my acne always increased. When I finally gave up and accepted that adult acne would be my life… my acne went away. Now I am way more mindful of my stress, meditation and tailoring my actives to how my skin feels has saved my skin.

[k]

This made me feel so much better about “not trying hard enough”. I never wanted to change my diet, especially for acne, so knowing there isn’t that much data to support it makes me feel a lot better.

[playagamelp]

TYSM for this nuanced video. I’m so sick of “experts” telling me to cut out dairy, gluten, sugar, soy, fat etc. etc,
People don’t realize how dangerous something like that can be. 4 years ago I tried to eat healthier and luckily noticed soon enough that food was starting to terrify me because I was scared of doing something wrong. I know not to let unsolicited advice get to me anymore but I feel sorry for those who develop terrible relationships with food as a result

[a.m.j]

I'm a medical student, I'm really glad you covered this topic. I think acne and other skin conditions are influenced by way more than just food, and most likely if you DO have acne, you are probably already doing WAY more than just eating better (like using skincare products, exercising often, drinking more water, etc) and so often it's impossible to know what helped and what didn't, because it wasn't all done in isolation, and everyone has different responses and pre-disposing factors. It can be very frustrating for both us to deal with and for professionals to explain because one size truly does not fit all. More research could definitely be done but it's amazing what we have so far. Don't give up, take care of yourselves!

[DoctorAnne]

That is a great video. I sometimes feel as if my acne gets worse when I eat a lot of junk and sugary foods, but as I am a stress eater these are also the periods when I am very stressed, don't sleep well and spend hours on working (and consecutively touching my face which is what I do when I concentrate), so... Better not worry too much about that extra bit of chocolate.

[sab]

Finally a good explanation, tik tok just "tells" ppl what to do/not to do and I'm so done with it. Acne is way more than diet. I am so careful with diet yet still break out whereas my friends smoke, drink and eat wtv they want and they have perfect skin and they are 35 yrs old. Low and behold, I started eating what I want and didn't notice an adverse effect so I'm sticking to that. Don't deprive yourself for false beauty claims coming from 15 yr olds on tik tok.

[asirbbrisa]

I don't have acne but have type 2 rosacea and everyone always says remove gluten, dairy, sugar, caffine. I was vegan for 8 years, then vegetarian, then paleo and any strict diet you could think of when this started. It is no help - I already ate insanely "healthy" to a point where I was unhealthy. I also experience OCD so the food obsession content that has been all over the internet really gets to me. I am so glad I found your channel. It has really helped me apply logic to my thinking when I get into those spirals and see fearmongering content. Thank you <3

[prairie]

I suffered with awful acne for decades. Mine most definitely was triggered by diet. However it turns out I have several food intolerances and celiac disease. When I’m exposed to gluten or any of my food intolerances (including caffeine and chocolate) it definitely triggers breakouts.
So I feel like if you have an issue with a type of food, such as dairy, and continue to eat it (as many people do, especially if they only have mild GI issues)I have no doubt it could trigger acne. But in someone with no kind of dairy intolerance or other issues with those foods I don’t think they’re going to have the same reaction. So a blanket statement like “dairy contributes to acne” really isn’t going to be true outside of food intolerances.
That being said, my journey of tracking down food intolerances does lead me to believe that there are many people out there with undiagnosed food intolerances, and in some cases, such as mine, acne could be the first sign. However tracking such issues down is best done with the guidance of a doctor, since just randomly cutting foods can be overwhelming and unproductive.
It seems to me that in diet triggered acne the triggers are extremely individualized, and really have nothing to do with eating “clean” or healthier; in my case it is a manifestation of a separate underlying condition.

[sebumpostmortem]

Nobody would dare to suggest that a person who developed diabetes or cancer probably did something wrong. But when it comes to acne there' s always been a shadow of suspiction and guiltiness over us (hygiene habits, eating junk food, lazyness, neglect...) *I WAS BORN WITH A GENETICAL PREDISPOSITION TO IT* Thanks, Michelle 🖤, thanks to my derm🙌🏻

[michellejun]

Speaking from my own personal experience, I was an individual that was convinced that my acne was a result of my diet. I had tried every diet out there to heal my acne: vegan, paleo, keto. I cut out dairy, grains, nuts, sugar, and even fruit. Even after cutting out all these foods, I still had acne! At this point I had essentially developed an ED. After I started taking oral medication for my acne, my acne has cleared up significantly. Now I'm a lot more lenient with my diet and the acne hasn't come back.

[MariyaMagija]

As someone with acne and a history of disordered eating, it was very important to me to explore the acne-food connection in a careful, non-triggering way. And I did, by very slowly and patiently watching my reaction to certain foods, and figuring how much of anything I can tolerate. That certainly helped my skin. But skincare, fixing a nutrient deficiency, and managing my emotional health are the other things that help me keep my acne under control.

[kisikisikisi]

What I find so frustrating about the theory about chocolate causing acne is how surface level it is. "Chocolate" is not just one thing. It's made up of different components and different kinds of chocolate have different compositions. I myself have put a tablespoon of cocoa (cacao?) powder in my smoothie almost every morning for like two years. Not once have I noticed it affecting my skin. Now this is of course anecdotal evidence, but I have a pretty strong feeling that the cacao itself is not the culprit. It's probably the sugar and butter, but even then, let people live. If you need chocolate when you're on your period, go for it. What fun is clear skin if you can't enjoy food in peace?

[juliapellegrinelli]

I'm so thankful that my mom took me to a derm when I was 13 to see my acne, instead of following some random diet on the internet

[etoya]

Finally a video on this topic that mentions the connection between diet changes and eating disorders!

[marln]

I hate these simple charts of „bad … for acne“ that spiral everywhere these days. Thank you, Michelle, for using your expertise and putting it into such an entertaining format, like always! 🧡 And special thanks for dealing with the topic of ED’s in such a sensible way. That video made me feel a kind of calmness, that I don’t usually get with topics like these, since I have suffered from ED‘s for quite some time.

[eafafeayd]

BEST VIDEO OUT THERE regarding acne and diet! i can’t thank you enough as a fellow scientist. i hope one day people learn not to BULLY people with acne over food.

[darkydoom]

Milk is the only thing I have found to link to my acne/pimple breakouts. Also upsets the stomach sometimes, SO that's the one thing I've axed from my diet. The biggest contributors for me is DEFINITELY stress, and hormones, both mostly uncontrollable.

[BananahLlamah]

My brother used to tell me that I should stop eating junk food and maybe my acne will get better. Jokes on him because my diet is even worse than before and my skin is a thousand times better. Thank you Yaz and Benzoyl Peroxide 🥰