Acne and Exercise
Sometimes when I’m browsing acne message boards, I hear the popular sentiment that acne can be cured by “total body health,” which usually means a balanced diet and plenty of exercise. Now, while “total body health” no doubt sounds like a good thing, judging from my personal experience and research, acne generally has very little to do with what kind of shape you’re in, or what you eat for that matter. And anyways, achieving “perfect health” is going to be a LOT more difficult than simply stopping acne (good luck….).
I’m actually a fairly good case study for this premise, as I’ve been a health and exercise nut since grade school. I’ve been involved in sports since I started school, and have always been in great shape (and I’m really modest!). Starting in high school, I would get at least an hour of rigorous exercise just about every day - lifting weights and running. I’ve always eaten healthy, I basically only eat at meal times (my family never stocked much in the way of snacks), and I drink almost exclusively water all day (sometimes OJ or milk in the morning, I very seldom drink cola). In all honestly, there were very few other kids in school who were in better shape than me - And all I can say is that it made absolutely no difference! I still got bad acne, even though I was very healthy otherwise. In contrast, I’ve known many friends who had great skin despite their fast food diets and lack of exercise.
Now, I’m not saying that exercising can’t help your acne, but chances are it’s not really the exercise that’s helping (at least not directly). There’s a decent amount of evidence linking acne with stress (some people appear to be more susceptible to stress-related acne than others), and it’s well known that exercise is a great means of stress relief. Therefore, if you suffer primarily from stress-related acne, there’s a good chance that a regular exercise routine may help you out. Exercise is certainly an excellent way to counter the negative effects of stress. Best of all, the effects of B5 in lowering stress levels has been documented (well before the use of B5 for acne, actually), so it can also help if your acne is related to stress.
A few tips to avoid making your acne worse if you exercise:
1) Wash up right afterwards. Sweat can help bacteria build up, and you don’t want that.
2) Watch out if combining lotions or makeup with exercise. As you sweat, these products can seep into and clog your pores. Make sure products you use are noncomedogenic and only apply them lightly.
3) If you have trouble with body acne, make sure to wear workout clothes that let your skin breath and do not trap sweat against your body (tight nylon is really not the best). Try to change out of your sweaty clothes soon afterward.
