Whether or not stress has an effect on Acne has been a source of great debate in the medical community for some time now.
However, the results of several different studies, which have been completed in recent years, have enabled the majority of the medical community to agree that stress absolutely does have an impact on Acne.
For the most part, these studies were not conducted in an effort to find out if stress actually caused acne, but more to learn whether or not stress had an impact on people who already had acne.
That isn't to say that stress is not a cause of acne itself, although more study is required to determine this for sure.
Studies conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences have found that periods of extreme - or even slight - stress can cause or worsen an acne outbreak.
Stress may be attributed to final exams, problems at work, problems in one's personal life, other health issues, and of course, money worries.
What these studies also found was that during periods of stress, we change our diets, and this may also be a contributing factor to acne breakouts during stressful times.
We may eat more greasy or sugary foods during times of stress.
We may still be eating the right foods, but not in a balanced way.
Stress obviously affects many areas of our lives.
When you become stressed, your adrenal glands go into overdrive, producing larger amounts of cortisol.
Cortisol is a natural steroid, which has an impact on the sebaceous glands, causing them to produce more oil, which in turn causes the skin to be oilier, which of course brings on an acne breakout, or worsens an existing breakout.
Therefore, if you want to control your acne breakouts, or at the very least not make them worse than they currently are, you absolutely must take steps to avoid or reduce the stress in your life.
This can be done with a variety of techniques, such as breathing exercises and meditation.
Also, don't allow the acne to become stressful to you as well.