Why Women Are Getting More Acne Than Ever

August 16, 2022

Introduction

A lot of the people I’ve helped clear their acne so far have been women in their adulthood, and some experience it only in adulthood. So why are we seeing so much acne for women in their adulthood?

Factors

I think there are several factors involved here including stress, hormone fluctuations and our western environment. Let’s talk through each.

Stress

Firstly, stress. Women are under an incredible amount of stress in modern times due to increased working hours and more stressful positions, all while having to contend with beauty expectations and childcare etc. Unfortunately, in terms of acne, stress affects women more than it does men and women experience stress disorders around 50% more than men [1].

Hormones

Secondly, hormone fluctuations can exacerbate acne due to an increase in male androgens and a drop in oestrogen. Following ovulation of the menstrual cycle is when oestrogen drops, and this is the most likely breakout time. A lack of oestrogen can make women more vulnerable to stress also.

Western Environment

Thirdly, the western environment seems to cause a rise in acne. We seem to have around 80-90% acne prevalence in more industrialised populations but in less developed regions like the Eskimos, isolated south American Indians and pacific islanders almost have non-existent acne prevalence [2]. This is likely due to our diet which is high in dairy, sugar and other inflammatory foods.