How To Use Sperm On Pimples | Pros & Cons of Semen Facials

You may have heard from social media, or your boyfriend, that sperm is good for acne. And I was surprised to learn that they’re not wrong…. well not exactly wrong.  

There are some big… like HUGE.. problems with using sperm as an acne treatment. And they’ve got nothing to do with the walk of shame.  

Acne is caused by inflammation and clogged pores. Skin care products with antioxidants that are also anti-inflammatory, like zinc and vitamin C help reduce redness and swelling, heal pimples and blemishes, and prevent future breakouts. Exfoliation helps get rid of dead skin cells that can clog pores.   

The main acne-fighting ‘ingredients’ in sperm are spermidine, spermine, zinc, vitamin C, magnesium, and urea. They’re an all natural way to reduce inflammation and get vitamins that are good for skin health. But don’t go for the ‘money shot’ just yet. 

Find out what dermatologists and medical science says about using sperm for acne, not just social media and silly men. Plus, we’ll tell you how to get the same vitamins and nutrients for acne without messing up your hair. 

Sperm contains ingredients that are good for acne like spermine, spermidine, vitamin C, zinc, magnesium, and urea, but it does not have the appropriate dose for acne. The risks of contracting a sexually transmitted disease far outweigh any perceived benefit.

What Causes Acne?

Acne is really just a problem of inflammation and clogged pores. Our bodies react to foods, and other things, by creating inflammation. Eating a typical Western diet full of sugar, processed foods, milk, and meat, creates a massive hormone-induced inflammatory response. 

It ends up changing sebum from normal thin and watery stuff to thick and sticky. This means that your pores clog up and you get painful, red, inflamed acne. You need to level out your hormones from the inside out.

This is where food comes in. 

Using Food To Get Rid of Acne

A good anti-inflammatory acne diet is focused on preventing inflammation by keeping hormones steady and balancing your microbiome. Probiotics anyone?!? 

Using a topical acne treatment regimen that focuses on inflammation and balancing the microbiome is also important. 

Sperm has some ‘ingredients’ that reduce inflammation and it can be either ingested or applied topically. 

Sperm Has Spermine and Spermidine

Spermine and spermidine are polyamines found in semen and they’re also responsible for its smell… or scent, or odor… or whatever. 

There is evidence spermine and spermidine can help reduce inflammation, build tissue, reduce wrinkles, prevent cancer, and prevent chronic illnesses. But they have never been studied for acne.  

And while we’d love to jump on board with the idea that getting semen facials will improve your skin, there just isn’t enough research done specifically on acne. And the evidence we have for inflammation used a much higher ‘dose’ than there is in a man’s ejaculate. 

The average ejaculation is about 2-5 mL of semen and spermine and spermidine only make up 1-5% of it.

We crunched the numbers and that’s only 0.02 ml to 0.25 ml of spermine in one ejaculation… smaller than a raindrop! 

But wait, there’s good news. 

You can get spermidine in tons of yummy plant-based foods.

Green pepper, green tea, oranges, broccoli, peas, chickpeas, cauliflower, shiitake mushrooms, whole grain, corn, legumes, soy products, many cheeses, and grapefruits all have spermidine.

Semen Has Vitamins

Vitamins are an important part of keeping your skin healthy and acne-free.

Magnesium

Magnesium plays an important role in keeping hormones even and controlling blood sugars. This helps prevent blemishes and controls inflammation. 

The recommended daily dose is 350 mg per day taken by mouth, or 320mg per day topically. But semen only has a super tiny amount of magnesium in that 2-5ml dose. So you’ll never get enough magnesium to improve your skin.

Semen has just 17.2 mg in 100 mL, or 0.344 mg - 0.86 mg of magnesium.  

The best way to get enough magnesium to actually make a difference for acne is through foods rich in magnesium or a supplement. 

Zinc

Zinc is an important vitamin for acne. It helps protect your skin from damaging free radicals, reduces inflammation and redness, helps to fade acne scars, and reduces the amount of pimples you have.

Zinc is commonly recommended by dermatologists for the treatment of acne and other skin conditions. 

And while it would be awesome if you could save money on topical zinc or a supplement by replacing it with sperm, it’s not going to work.  

Semen only has about 3% of the recommended daily allowance of zinc. It’s nowhere near what you need to improve skin health. 

So you can either get a tube of it and apply topically, or eat foods loaded with zinc. Or both! But either way, make sure you’re getting enough zinc in your life.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a tried and true, research-based, powerful anti-inflammatory vitamin and antioxidant. It’s been proven by science to fade acne scars and dark spots, protect your skin from future blemishes, and clear up the pimples you have. Plus it helps reduce redness and inflammation. 

But semen contains only 206.7 to 678.2 µmol/l of vitamin C, which is tiny. Like really small. 

It won’t give you anywhere near the 10% concentration you can buy in a topical skin care product. And doesn’t come close to the 75mg you need in your diet. 

Eat foods like citrus, strawberries, bell peppers, tomatoes, and broccoli to get all natural vitamin C.

Semen Has Protein

Semen has loads of amino acids. Loads. 

L-Carnitine

There are more than 200 separate proteins in semen, with l-carnitine being the most common. And while l-carnitine does have sebum-reducing properties, the amount you’d need to apply topically is much more than sperm contains. 

Women need about 46 grams and men need 56 grams of protein a day. And even though labs have measured and found that semen has 5,400 mg in 100 mL of L-carnitine, he only ejaculates 2-5 mL at a time.

This means you’re getting only about ¼ gram of protein, or 0.108 - 0.270 grams in 2-5 ml of semen.

And if you’re thinking you’d rather smear it on your face instead… think again. Protein is too large of a molecule to absorb through the skin.  

Lysine

It doesn’t really matter, though, because lysine is the recommended protein for acne. It helps regulate hormones, like testosterone and estrogen.

When they start overproducing in response to inflammation or blood sugar spikes, you get thick, sticky sebum that clogs up pores and leads to pimples.  

Lysine helps regulate hormones, boost collagen and elastin, and control blood sugar. Keep your blood sugar as even as possible with low glycemic index foods, to prevent the hormone cascades. 

Semen Has Urea, a Natural Exfoliant

Semen contains urea, which is used synthetically in skincare products to exfoliate. It helps eliminate dead skin cells to make room for new healthy cells.  

But all natural urea is a little, well, disgusting, to put on your face. 

In the body, urea is a waste product that comes from broken-down proteins. It mostly exits the body through urine and gives urine its lovely yellow color. 

And urea is also found in semen. Yes, the main ingredient in urine is also in semen.

According to a study published in the Journal of Andrology, semen has 45 mg per 100 mL, or 0.09 - 2.25 mg.

The amount of urea in semen is very, very small…super tiny.

So even if you put it on your skin, it won’t give you even close to the benefit you can get when you buy it.   

A much less gross way to get urea is to trust science to make it for you, synthetically, and just buy it in a moisturizer.  

Semen is something you should never put on your face. The reality is that even though it has antioxidants, the amount has not been tested. Even though semen has protein, so does meat and I wouldn’t apply meat to my skin. And putting semen on your face puts you at risk for sexually transmitted diseases…. It is not something I would use as a beauty product. - Dr. Anthony Youn, Holistic Dermatologist

Semen Carries Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Semen carries nasty sexually transmitted infections (STIs), like gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia, HIV, COVID-19, and Ebola (um ya…). 

Ocular Herpes and Chlamydia Conjunctivitis

If you’re trying to get your semen facial on and end up getting it in your eye, you might get ocular herpes.

Ocular herpes, when left untreated, can cause blindness and cause serious medical problems. Chlamydia conjunctivitis will cause eye problems, too. It causes discharge and itchy, red eyes. Your partner may not even know he has these STDs, either.   

Semen Carries COVID-19

There is some evidence that COVID-19 is found in semen from people who have or are recovering from the virus.

And even worse, the Ebola virus has been detected in semen up to 6 months after someone recovers from the disease. 

Semen Can Cause Contact Dermatitis

But, even if you know for a fact (like you’re holding his test results in your hand!) that he’s not carrying a sexually transmitted infection, you can have an allergic reaction to semen.

Contact dermatitis is a red, itchy rash that requires a steroid cream. When you get this plus acne, your face is going to look angry and red. 

Small Dose of Ingredients

There is a big…like HUGE… problem with getting skin care benefits from sperm… the dose! 

The spermine, spermidine, vitamins, and protein are only a very, very small part of semen. It doesn’t matter if you slather it all over your skin or take a big gulp, you’re not going to get enough to be good for acne. 

Plus, the quality of his semen is definitely not regulated. The skin care ‘ingredients’ in semen can change based on how often he ejaculates, what he eats and drinks, and his prostate health. 

Eating an acne diet that is plant-based, high in spermidine, low in sugar, and has vitamin C, zinc, magnesium, and other acne-fighting vitamins will control your hormones and get pimples under control. 

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is that sperm just doesn’t give you enough of the spermidine, antioxidants, vitamins, or proteins people get all excited about and it’s very risky to try. 

But using natural solutions for acne is something we can all get excited about. 

The hormonal acne diet is real. And if you’re on an acne skincare routine but aren’t really getting the results you want, you should try it. 

Plus, it has all the information you need to understand how to eat for clear skin for good!