Teenagers who are highly stressed have been discovered to have a more than 24% chance to develop severe acne.

The physical and psychosocial well-being of a person is significantly the cause of acne. Acne can affect ones confidence and social interaction skills. However, the focus here is on stress. What role does it play in causing acne breakouts?

It has been observed by physicians that acne causes emotional stress rather than stress causes acne, but stress is just one of the factors that can exacerbate acne conditions.

Stress may not be the only factor that can affect acne, but many believe that prolonged mental stress can make your acne worse. Managing stress or trying to control your stress is an effective acne treatment. And there are many ways to reduce stress and one is, performing a regular exercise. Another way is laughing, just like the popular adage says, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Other practices such as meditation and thinking positively, can also help reduce stress.

A study was conducted in Singapore on teenagers that confirm that stress increases acne breakouts as sebum level changes depending on the weather. Singapore was chosen because Singapore has a quite, consistent weather. The findings show that sebum level did not change much during the tests, but acne breakouts did increases with stress.

There is no cure for acne but it can be controlled and prevented. Proper choice of medications that is available over-the-counter could help but it would be better to consult your doctor in cases of severe acne breakouts to avoid worsening the condition. It usually takes time to clear acne and it usually flares up from time to time but following the right regimen can prevent exacerbation. Avoid squeezing the acne as it will just worsen the condition and cause scarring.