Does Exercise Help Acne?

Exercise Helps With Acne

There are tons of unwanted side effects of many acne medications, and so finding natural ways to help acne is the question on many people’s minds. Wouldn’t it be great if the answer to the question, “Does exercise help acne?” were “Yes?”

While there is no definitive yes or no answer to the question of whether exercise helps acne, it is definitely possible, and there is some research indicating that exercise could help with acne problems. Here’s the reasoning…

How Exercise Helps With Acne

The cool correlation is two-fold. First: Many folks falsely believe that sweating causes acne breakouts. This belief is just not true. The act of sweating itself does not clog pores (however, washing one’s face after sweating is important still to clean the skin). Rather, pores become clogged from oil secreted by our bodies.

The belief in answering the question Does exercise help acne is that the act of sweating actually helps to unclog pores that are plugged up with oil. So, if you are sweating while exercising, the theory is that it will help unclog oily pores.

The second correlation has to do with the hormonal causes behind acne. It is believed that the production of various hormones are acne culprits. These hormones are primarily androgen hormones. When we exercise, our bodies slow down the production of these hormones that cause acne breakouts.

Further, these hormones are related to stress and exercising reduces stress as well. Additionally, the body overall becomes healthier with exercise, so an overall healthier body is a place where there is less acne.

Overall Benefit

The great news about this acne prevention theory is that exercise is good for you regardless of whether it helps with your acne. Chances are that it can likely help you, but either way, the benefits of exercise for acne are outstanding for everyone.