Weight loss causing more oil/acne?

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FatPixiee
FatPixiee Posts: 59 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Sorry this is a little bit gross, but is it normal for the body to produce more oil or acne, especially while sleeping when one is losing a lot of weight? I kind of remember hearing this somewhere, like the body just has to get rid of bad stuff with all the fat. Is anyone else experiencing this?
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  • MorganMoreaux
    MorganMoreaux Posts: 691 Member
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    I would hear the responses to this as well. I've never been prone to acne, but I lost 35 pounds in month without trying (lifestyle change), and now have been plagued by back acne. I don't know if it was the lifestyle change, or hormones changing with age (going on 38), but it's difficult to manage. I refuse to take pills for it, and have found glycolic acid keeps it at bay but would love to know the cause, so pinning this thread for later.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,779 Member
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    MorganMoreaux wrote: »
    I would hear the responses to this as well. I've never been prone to acne, but I lost 35 pounds in month without trying (lifestyle change), and now have been plagued by back acne. I don't know if it was the lifestyle change, or hormones changing with age (going on 38), but it's difficult to manage. I refuse to take pills for it, and have found glycolic acid keeps it at bay but would love to know the cause, so pinning this thread for later.

    I find bar soap (nothing fancy, I think I'm using peach-scented Dial right now) and a new washcloth daily cured mine--those shower poofs harbor so much grossness.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    FatPixiee wrote: »
    Sorry this is a little bit gross, but is it normal for the body to produce more oil or acne, especially while sleeping when one is losing a lot of weight? I kind of remember hearing this somewhere, like the body just has to get rid of bad stuff with all the fat. Is anyone else experiencing this?

    I would say my skin actually seems the same or clearer since I started losing weight.
  • jezahb
    jezahb Posts: 73 Member
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    I am also struggling with this, losing weight has caused my perfect complexion to become that of a teenage boy. Zits on my chin, forehead and beside my nose. Ugh. Even had a huge zit IN MY CLEAVAGE. I have never dealt with this before, only thing that changed was losing weight. So odd
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Interesting...my skin has been better. Have you added exercise along with weight loss? Are you sweating more? If so and you are not wiping your makeup off first, that could be a cause.
  • maroonmango211
    maroonmango211 Posts: 908 Member
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    I too started getting pretty bad acne and oily skin when I started losing weight, two things I never dealt with as a teen, if any thing I had sensitive dry skin. I found making sure I was using a clean cloth and a cleanser instead of soap on my face and using a moisturizing bar (I use dove beauty bar) on my body really helped most of the time. It still gets bad around "that time of the month" but that may be another whole shebang with weight loss and exercise really messing with my hormones. Upping my water daily has helped too as well as splashing cold water on my face and drying with clean towel instead of a sweat rag while working out has really made a difference with the acne.
  • FatPixiee
    FatPixiee Posts: 59 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Interesting...my skin has been better. Have you added exercise along with weight loss? Are you sweating more? If so and you are not wiping your makeup off first, that could be a cause.

    Yeah, it could be sweat plus all the sunscreen I have to use now that I'm outside a lot. I was thinking of words like "detox" as any bad stuff I'd put in my body like even old medications could be surfacing, getting pushed out.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    FatPixiee wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Interesting...my skin has been better. Have you added exercise along with weight loss? Are you sweating more? If so and you are not wiping your makeup off first, that could be a cause.

    Yeah, it could be sweat plus all the sunscreen I have to use now that I'm outside a lot. I was thinking of words like "detox" as any bad stuff I'd put in my body like even old medications could be surfacing, getting pushed out.

    Most likely your sunblock/sweat.
  • dizzieblondeuk
    dizzieblondeuk Posts: 286 Member
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    My skin has never looked better! I've seen a huge improvement after years and years of acne-prone skin. I've put it down to my increased water consumption and, even though people will debate it, my sugar / chocolate intake being reduced.

    I have also found a great cleanser, with glycolic acid and salicyclic acid - the two active ingredients I've discovered make a big difference to my skin.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I seem to recall someone mentioning that losing weight can throw hormones out of whack and those can contribute to acne issues.

    It's probably a combination of things overall, but I think @arditarose is right and you might want to try different sunscreen and make sure you wash your face after you've sweat a lot.

    Staying hydrated has helped me keep my skin clearer; I've also completely changed my skin care routine and that is helping also.

    Sugar intake can contribute and I think mine is lower now that I try to keep treats as a once per day thing. I'm still getting sugar from other foods but my chocolate consumption is less so my overall sugar intake has decreased.

    ~Lyssa
  • MorganMoreaux
    MorganMoreaux Posts: 691 Member
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    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    MorganMoreaux wrote: »
    I would hear the responses to this as well. I've never been prone to acne, but I lost 35 pounds in month without trying (lifestyle change), and now have been plagued by back acne. I don't know if it was the lifestyle change, or hormones changing with age (going on 38), but it's difficult to manage. I refuse to take pills for it, and have found glycolic acid keeps it at bay but would love to know the cause, so pinning this thread for later.

    I find bar soap (nothing fancy, I think I'm using peach-scented Dial right now) and a new washcloth daily cured mine--those shower poofs harbor so much grossness.

    Thanks for the suggestion! OMG - gross, I never thought about the bacterial content on the poof lol. I don't think I'll be able to use one agian.
  • eatgoodeat
    eatgoodeat Posts: 180 Member
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    I found this article to be interesting, doesn't necessarily pertain to losing weight but I take vitamins and am pretty acne prone http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/too-much-vitamin-b12-could-lead-acne
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Both my grown kids have experienced increased acne when they increase their dairy products. If you are eating a lot of dairy to get protein, you might want to back off. Also, deficiencies in zinc and Vitamin C can also increase skin infections; taking a multivitamin might help. Finally, if you are wearing a lot of synthetics when you work out, sweat trapped in clothes can lead to increased skin staph infections, as can using gym equipment that's not sanitized. My son has picked up skin staph infections from the gym. Often, painful acne is caused by infection, rather than not being clean enough.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Mine actually got better, but mine was adult onset, so I'm thinking more exercise, less stress.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,779 Member
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    MorganMoreaux wrote: »
    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    MorganMoreaux wrote: »
    I would hear the responses to this as well. I've never been prone to acne, but I lost 35 pounds in month without trying (lifestyle change), and now have been plagued by back acne. I don't know if it was the lifestyle change, or hormones changing with age (going on 38), but it's difficult to manage. I refuse to take pills for it, and have found glycolic acid keeps it at bay but would love to know the cause, so pinning this thread for later.

    I find bar soap (nothing fancy, I think I'm using peach-scented Dial right now) and a new washcloth daily cured mine--those shower poofs harbor so much grossness.

    Thanks for the suggestion! OMG - gross, I never thought about the bacterial content on the poof lol. I don't think I'll be able to use one agian.

    Even throwing mine in with the laundry all the time, I still instantly cleared up my backne when I gave it up completely. Bars are also a lot cheaper when you factor in how long they last vs. a bottle.
  • jonrenly
    jonrenly Posts: 116 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I've had severe acne every day since I hit puberty and the only time in my life when I ever had nearly completely clear skin was when I was at my lowest BMI. I gained some back, nearly to my starting weight, and my acne came back again. Its nowhere near as bad as it used to be when I was a teenager but its also not quite as clear as it was when I was about 15lbs lighter. Dont know why that is.

    Actually now that I think about it, I also gave up dairy around the time when I lost all of that weight so that probably had a lot to do with it.
  • jamahsan
    jamahsan Posts: 6 Member
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    MorganMoreaux wrote: »
    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    MorganMoreaux wrote: »
    I would hear the responses to this as well. I've never been prone to acne, but I lost 35 pounds in month without trying (lifestyle change), and now have been plagued by back acne. I don't know if it was the lifestyle change, or hormones changing with age (going on 38), but it's difficult to manage. I refuse to take pills for it, and have found glycolic acid keeps it at bay but would love to know the cause, so pinning this thread for later.

    I find bar soap (nothing fancy, I think I'm using peach-scented Dial right now) and a new washcloth daily cured mine--those shower poofs harbor so much grossness.

    Thanks for the suggestion! OMG - gross, I never thought about the bacterial content on the poof lol. I don't think I'll be able to use one agian.

    I read that you can microwave your shower poof and it will disinfect it. I also throw mine in the dishwasher.
  • jamahsan
    jamahsan Posts: 6 Member
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    eatgoodeat wrote: »
    I found this article to be interesting, doesn't necessarily pertain to losing weight but I take vitamins and am pretty acne prone http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/too-much-vitamin-b12-could-lead-acne

    I am on a plant based diet, and started taking more b12. I also started breaking out, a lot of it on my back, and big deep ones on my forehead, which is so frustrating! I need to figure out exactly how much I can take, without breaking out.
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
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    I used to break out like crazy when I drank protein shakes with whey.

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