It’s the big day, the moment has arrived. The crucial job presentation, the meeting, the exam, or that very special occasion. The date you’ve been looking forward to, or dreading, for weeks is finally here. Your nerves are on edge, and you wake up with butterflies in your stomach. And suddenly, there it is—the pimple with a capital P. Right in the middle of your face, at the worst possible moment.
Most people with acne-prone skin can probably relate to this scenario. But why does it happen? Why does that pesky pimple always seem to appear on the same day as that important exam, driver’s license photo, job interview, or wedding?
There is, of course, no “perfect” time to get pimples, ever, but acne seems to have an uncanny ability to show up at exactly the wrong moment. Right when you’re already at your most stressed or nervous, and really don’t need an extra worry, it appears. But why? What is it about stressful situations that often trigger acne breakouts?
The answer is, unfortunately, as simple as it is frustrating, because ironically, it’s the stress itself that causes the acne. And the more you worry about the breakout, the worse it gets. That’s why that stubborn pimple never seems to go away, no matter how much you wish it would. Unfortunately, this can easily turn into a vicious cycle where one thing continuously triggers the other.
Acne is often triggered by negative stress factors, such as workplace conflicts, financial insecurity, or family problems. However, a breakout can also result from “positive” stress, such as feeling nervous and excited before a party, an important meeting, or a major life event.
What happens in the body when you’re stressed is that the adrenal glands are stimulated to produce extra amounts of the sex hormone testosterone, which in turn increases sebum secretion in the sebaceous glands. If you already have acne-prone pores, this significantly raises the risk of a breakout.
The connection between stress and acne is generally more pronounced in women than in men. This is because women, under normal circumstances, have significantly lower levels of so-called androgens, male sex hormones, in their bodies. The sudden increase in testosterone therefore has a more noticeable effect on the skin. The most extreme example of stress-related acne in women is the condition Pyoderma Faciale, which causes severe and unexpected breakouts, primarily affecting individuals in their 20s and 30s.
Typically, women produce only one-tenth of the testosterone levels that men do, with the majority of it being generated in the adrenal glands. In men, however, daily androgen production primarily takes place in the testes. Because men always have a consistently high level of testosterone in their bodies, their sebaceous glands remain maximally stimulated at all times. As a result, they are not as affected by the increased hormone production in the adrenal glands during stress. This also explains why men with acne-prone skin generally experience more consistent breakouts, whereas women tend to have fluctuating flare-ups.
