Jawline acne caused by hormonal imbalances
The place hormonal acne likes to present itself best is along the jawline and chin. High levels of the male hormones testosterone and androgen are what causes these to appear. Some women can have an underlying condition of polycystic ovarian syndrome; which is also coupled with irregular periods, hair thinning and weight gain, which can be a cause of hormonal acne. Other factors can be if you’re taking any birth control, other medications etc. However, a leading problem is in diet and having diets with high consumptions of sugar, dairy and processed foods, which results in many people with hormonal imbalances within the body, leading that to be presented on the skin.
What’s caused on the inside is best treated from the inside
Hormonal acne stems from hormonal imbalances within our bodies. Topical treatments can only take you so far however the real cause of the problem remains inside. Therefore to best combat hormonal acne, the starting point should be to better adapt and balance out your hormones. This targets the core of the issue and will not just improve skin but has great effects on your wellbeing, lifestyle and overall health.
Research indicates that by supplementing your diet with certain vitamins, minerals and nutrients, these can better help keep hormonal acne under control. One main supplement that has been gaining popularity through research is vitamin D. A study with 80 people who suffered from acne and 80 people who didn’t, highlighted a vitamin D deficiency as a key difference between the two groups. It’s been linked to acne severity and follow-up studies have shown that increasing vitamin D through supplements improved the acne in under two months. An explanation for this is that vitamin D has key anti-inflammatory properties, which is great for acne inflammations on the skin.
- Omega-3/ fish oil can help to reduce inflammation which helps to fight acne and improve the appearance of discolouration.
- Collagen is what provides the elasticity in our skin, it can help to increase plumpness and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
- Zinc can help clear bacteria-causing acne from the skin’s surface and has many anti-inflammatory properties to help solve current acne breakouts.
- Vitamin A (Retinol) stimulates the production of new skin cells to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and shorten the healing time of damage to the skin from acne.
- Vitamin C can encourage new collagen in the skin to grow and is a natural component that you already have present.
Change up your diet to fight hormonal acne
The biggest causes of acne which go hand-in-hand with each other are stress and inflammation. Stress whether it be physical from the environment or your state of mental health can increase the production of the stress hormone CRH (corticotrophin-releasing hormone). This stimulates sebaceous glands in the surface of the skin to secrete sebum which leads to pimples. The most effective ways to keep levels of inflammation and stress under control is through lifestyle and diet.
Food sensitivities or intolerances can cause an activation of the adaptive and innate immune response, typically known as type I hypersensitivity reactions. Hypersensitivity reactions basically mean that your immune system is inappropriately over-responding to something, in this case, an allergen in food. The best mechanism your body has of its primary immune system is inflammation of the area. Cytokines are released which are pro-inflammatory mediators, resulting in inflammations on the skin or what is more commonly known as a pimple. Continuation of this is what leads to problematic acne.
Certain diets can also increase inflammation in the body. Something key to watch out for is a high glycemic diet. The glycemic load of food measures the impact it will have on your blood sugar levels. A high glycemic load means that after digesting the food, there is a rapid spike on your blood sugar levels which can put the body under stress. This is done by an increase in insulin levels to combat this increase in blood glucose which in turn can lead to an increase in inflammation within the body, resulting in more severe acne.
Why allergens can cause acne and what to look out for?
Can dairy cause acne?
Dairy has become a scapegoat in the health community for being a large contributor to acne in the diet. But is this true? Let’s unpack this.
A scientific study conducted shows that across all genders and ethnicities there is a general consensus that no matter what type of dairy you consume: semi-skim milk, full-fat milk, yoghurt, cheese etc… that there is a significant increase in the risk of developing acne between the ages of 7-30. To break that apart, if the results of a study are concluded as significant that means statistically we can say that there is some type of correlation between the two. Milk and dairy products are shown to increase the secretion of insulin in the body and also increase the production of hormones such as IGF-1. These are large aggravators of the skin and result in inflammation which leads to acne.
Can gluten cause acne?
More recently, studies have been done on gluten as a skin aggravator leading to acne. Gluten has been painted in the media as bad for the skin however from some extensive research I’ll conclude this claim as false. Unlike dairy, there are very little studies that show any correlation between the intake of gluten and acne severity. A very small proportion of people have gluten intolerances or sensitivities e.g. those with celiac disease, for those select few cutting gluten out of their diet would prove beneficial and may lead to improvements in their skin. In fact, foods which are whole grains are even beneficial to have in your diet to fight acne. What I will say is, I think the misconception comes from the presence of refined foods with a high glycemic index, that usually also contain gluten. Foods such as white bread or white rice have high glycemic indexes and it is this in the foods that are causing severe acne due to what I mentioned earlier, not the gluten which they contain.
Can sugar cause acne?
Any form of sugar has been shown to increase inflammation which we now know directly causes acne. It increases insulin levels within the body which is secreted to reduce blood glucose. Insulin increases sebum production of the skin which increases the amount and severity of acne. A study in 2011 shows also that sugar increases the production of CRP (C-Reactive protein) in the body. This is a direct link to inflammation which by now, we all know is not good news for acne.