Does Coffee Cause Acne?

Coffee may exacerbate existing acne, but small adjustments to your coffee habits could lower that risk.

If you’re among the 59 percent of Americans who drink coffee daily and also one of the over 17 million people in the U.S. who experience acne, you may have encountered talk about a potential connection between the two.

If a colleague insists that quitting coffee cleared their skin, try not to jump to conclusions. Personal stories are interesting but don’t replace scientific studies.

The link between coffee and acne is somewhat nuanced.

To be clear — coffee doesn’t create acne, but it can aggravate it. The impact depends on what you put in your coffee, how much you consume, and several other variables.

What does the research show?

The connection between diet and acne is still debated. Surveys asking people what they believe worsens their acne have pointed to coffee as a potential trigger.

No studies have definitively proven that coffee worsens acne, but there are several important elements to think about.

Caffeine

As you likely know, coffee is rich in caffeine. Caffeine boosts alertness but also amplifies the body’s stress response. In fact, a large cup of coffee can more than double your stress reaction.

Stress doesn’t directly cause acne, but it can worsen preexisting acne. Stress hormones like cortisol may raise oil production from your sebaceous glands.

Additionally, consuming large amounts of coffee or drinking it late can disrupt sleep. Poor sleep increases stress, which can in turn aggravate acne.

How caffeine affects sleep differs by individual. If you’re sensitive to it, try stopping caffeine intake by early afternoon to avoid sleep problems.

Milk

If your morning ritual includes a latte or café con leche, be aware that there’s substantial evidence linking milk with acne.

One large study examined milk consumption and acne in more than 47,000 nurses who reported having acne as teenagers. It found that nurses with the highest milk intake reported acne more often than those with the lowest intake.

Researchers suspect hormones in milk may help trigger acne. One limitation of this study is that it relied on adult nurses recalling their teenage diets.

Follow-up studies in adolescent boys and girls produced similar findings. Skim (nonfat) milk appeared worse than whole or low-fat varieties.

Girls who consumed two or more servings of nonfat milk daily were 22 percent more likely to have severe acne and 44 percent more likely to develop cystic or nodular acne compared with those who drank one glass per day.

These studies don’t prove milk definitively causes acne, but there’s enough evidence to suspect dairy milk contributes to the problem.

Sugar

How much sugar do you add to your coffee? If you often order popular lattes, you may be getting far more sugar than you expect. For instance, a grande pumpkin spice latte contains 50 grams of sugar — twice the recommended daily maximum!

Research has already linked high sugar intake to acne. Diets high in sugar boost insulin secretion.

Following insulin release, levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) rise. IGF-1 is a hormone known to play a role in acne development.

Combining a sugary latte with a pastry amplifies this effect. Diets high in high-glycemic carbohydrates show the same impact on IGF-1.

Antioxidants

Complicating matters, antioxidants in coffee have been shown to benefit skin. Coffee is the largest dietary source of antioxidants globally.

A 2006 study compared blood antioxidant levels (vitamins A and E) in 100 people with acne and 100 without. Those with acne had significantly lower blood levels of these antioxidants than the control group.

Further research is needed to determine how coffee-derived antioxidants affect acne severity.

Should you give up your morning latte?

Coffee doesn’t cause acne outright, but heavy consumption—especially drinks loaded with milk and sugar—can aggravate it.

If you’re concerned coffee may be contributing to breakouts, there’s no need to stop immediately. Before you eliminate your daily cup, try these steps:

• Avoid refined sugar or sugary syrups, or switch to a sweetener such as stevia.
• Try nondairy alternatives like almond or coconut milk instead of cow’s milk.
• Avoid coffee and other caffeinated drinks in the afternoon or before bedtime to protect your sleep.
• Consider switching to decaffeinated coffee.
• Skip the pastries and donuts that often accompany a coffee run.

Individual responses to coffee and caffeine vary. For a clearer answer, try abstaining from coffee for a few weeks to see if your skin improves, then gradually reintroduce it to observe any changes.

If acne persists after trying these adjustments, consult a dermatologist. It may take some experimentation or a combination of treatments, but modern acne therapies can address nearly every form of acne.

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