5 Reasons Alcohol Causes Acne | And How To Overcome Them!

If you’re even asking this question… you already know the answer. Alcohol causes acne, but we don’t want to hear it!

Acne is caused by clogged pores, but alcohol plays a huge role in making them clogged. It happens for a few reasons, like inflammation, dehydration, and decreased immunity. Plus a little bugger called mTORC.

We’ll explain what’s going on so you can decide what you need to do to prevent acne… and maybe keep on drinking alcohol. The best way to keep the drinks coming without breaking out is by eating an acne diet.

Does Alcohol Cause Acne?

The easy answer is, yes. There is good scientific and anecdotal evidence that connects alcohol with acne. And now doctor’s understand why. 

Alcohol causes acne by triggering the release of the mTORC enzyme which signals oil-producing hormones. This leads to clogged pores, inflammation, and an overgrowth of P. acnes bacteria. Vasodilation, decreased immune response, and dehydration also play a large role.  

5 Reasons Alcohol Causes Acne

There are 5 reasons alcohol causes acne.

1. Inflammation

More and more studies are showing that where there is gut inflammation, there will be skin inflammation," says wellness and gut expert Carla Oates, creator of The Beauty Chef. 

“The gut is where 70 percent of our immune system lies," she explains. "It’s where we make nutrients, metabolize hormones and detoxifying enzymes, neutralize pathogens and make neurotransmitters—so it’s super important to get your digestive health in check in order to feel well and of course, experience clear, glowing skin."

This is mostly because your skin and gut are richly perfused with immunoregulators and microbiota. This is called the gut-brain-skin connection and it’s how your gut communicates with your brain and skin.

Neurotransmitters that are produced by intestinal microbiota enter the bloodstream and trigger systemic effects in your whole body, including your skin.

How Inflammation Causes Acne

The process goes like this.

Alcohol causes inflammation in the gut which triggers an enzyme called mTORC to overproduce signals to the body to make more hormones. These hormones, mainly testosterone and estrogen, increase oil production in your skin.

Under normal conditions, mTORC does this at a healthy rate, so your oil, or sebum, is thin and easily moves out of pores to keep them clean and clear. But inflammation changes sebum from thin and watery to thick and sticky. 

Thick and sticky sebum can’t move out of pores easily. So you get clogged pores and acne. 

Then a bacteria that lives on your skin called Propionibacterium acnes, or P. acnes, starts feasting on all this yummy sebum. With all this food around, P. acnes starts growing and growing and growing.

Bacteria grows so much that it makes your skin red and you get infected acne lesions which leads to more breakouts.  

The good news is, if you can stop the inflammation, you can break the cycle!

Other Reasons For Inflammation

Alcohol causes inflammation in the gut. But there are a few other reasons you have inflammation, too.

• High glycemic foods, including sugary mixers and sodas

• Typical Western Diet, full of processed foods, sugar, and red meat

• Yeast, from beer 

• Autoimmune diseases

• Stress

2. High Blood Sugar Leads To Clogged Pores

After eating or drinking anything that is high in sugar, your pancreas has to produce a hormone called insulin to bring blood sugar down. This sends a signal to mTORC. So when there are a lot of spikes in blood sugar, mTORC sends more and more signals which causes the skin to produce more oil than it should.

To balance out this rise in insulin, your liver kicks into gear. 

Your liver is responsible for releasing enough glycogen into your bloodstream to keep blood sugar levels from dropping too low after the insulin release. But when you drink alcohol, it’s hard on the liver and affects how well the liver does its job. 

But it’s not just the alcohol and mixers that cause a blood sugar spike. It’s that our sober-selves can’t be trusted around a bag of Oreos. 

Since alcohol lowers inhibitions, even when our sober-selves are trying to stay on our healthy plant-based, anti-inflammatory acne diet, our not-so-sober selves don’t feel a whole lot of restraint about eating junk food.  

3. Alcohol Causes Vasodilation

Vasodilation is a process your body does all the time as a way to expand your blood vessels. It helps lower blood pressure, pushes oxygen to muscles, and cools you off when you’re hot.  

But alcohol causes vasodilation, too.

This doesn’t cause a breakout, but it does make existing breakouts and acne look worse. It’s also why alcohol makes us look red and flushed.  

4. Alcohol Decreases Your Immune System

Having a healthy immune system is one of the best things you can do for acne. Your immune system keeps your skin’s microbiome healthy and it’s full of normal flora and good bacteria.

This is called your gut’s microbiota.

The good bacteria keep everything in balance which helps keep P. acnes under control.

Alcohol disrupts the gut’s microbiome by destroying the colonies of good bacteria that live there. 

And these microbiota keep our immune system working properly, not only for our skin, but for our entire body. 

5. Alcohol Makes You Dehydrated

Alcohol is a natural diuretic. This means that it signals the kidneys to get rid of water (along with electrolytes and vitamins!) instead of keeping it for your skin and body.

This is why we get so severely dehydrated when we drink alcohol. It’s also half the reason you get a hangover… the other half is acute alcohol withdrawal. Um. Ya.  

Dehydration clogs pores because your body doesn’t have the fluids it needs to keep sebum thin and moving out of pores. It also makes you look old and wrinkly. 

Ways To Prevent Acne While Drinking Alcohol

Of course, the best way to have clear skin is to limit or eliminate alcohol. But, let’s be real. Going out for drinks with friends or after work is hard to give up. 

Eating an acne diet will keep inflammation low (when you're not drinking) and can help offset the inflammation you cause with alcohol.

Here are some practical tips to drink alcohol and have clear-er skin. 

• Avoid sugary mixers like Coke, fruit juices, and margarita mix

• Don’t drink wine or beer

• Stick to low-carb distilled alcohols, like whiskey and vodka

• Mix drinks with sparkling water or sugar-free tonic water

• Alternate 1 drink for 1 glass of water to stay hydrated

• Try not to drink heavily: Max 2 drinks for a woman and 3 drinks for man

• Hydrate before and after drinking with coconut water, which is high in potassium and sodium

• Don’t pig out on sugary junk food… Taco Bell is probably OK

• Remember to wash your face before bed 

• Take probiotics regularly and definitely before and after drinking alcohol

You can reduce inflammation in your body and help get rid of acne by avoiding high GI foods. Good quality studies have shown that when people eat a diet with a low GI index, acne has a significant improvement. 

Final Thoughts

Alcohol causes acne by triggering inflammation and a rise in blood sugar levels. This leads to hormone imbalance and clogged pores.

You can eat a healthier diet, like the acne diet, which helps reduce inflammation and keeps blood sugar levels steady.

Drinking lots of water when you go out drinking, washing your face before bed, and trying not to overdrink helps reduce the risks of acne while drinking alcohol.