Caffeine is such a normal thing for most of us that we don’t even think about it as something that could impact our lifestyle. We find it in coffee, tea, energy drinks, pre-workout drinks, and even some skincare products. The truth is that coffee can impact some skin care treatments like electrolysis hair removal as well as acne treatments.
In this post we will discuss about how caffeine can influence your acne treatment and if it’s a positive or negative impact. This all depends on how you consume it, how much, and your individual hormonal profile. Let’s get into it.
What Is Caffeine and How Does It Work in the Body?
Let’s start with what caffeine does with your body. When you drink a coffee or any other caffeinated beverage, caffeine will affect your central nervous system by blocking adenosine, a neurotransmitter that’s responsible for relaxation and sleepiness. It will make you feel like you have a little more energy than usual because it increases blood sugar and insulin levels. It can also increase your anxiety and alertness.
How Caffeine Can Worsen Acne
- Increased Cortisol and Stress Response
Caffeine stimulates cortisol production. Elevated cortisol levels are associated with:
When you consume caffeine, it will increase your cortisol production. When the cortisol levels are high it will increase oil production, it will make your inflammatory acne worse and will delay the skin healing process.
For patients already prone to hormonal or stress-related acne, excessive caffeine can amplify breakouts.
- Blood Sugar and Insulin Spikes
Another effect caffeine with sugar has over your body is to increase insulin and blood sugar level. A high insulin level will increase androgen activity, and it can also stimulate sebaceous glands. All this can result in clogged pores which is not a good sign for your acne treatment.
- Sleep Disruption
Another thing that people don’t know about is that your acne can get worse if you don’t get enough sleep. People don’t get enough sleep most of the time because of too much coffee or that they consume caffeinated beverages too late in the day. According to the estheticians at LESAN Esthetics, caffeine will increase inflammation and will slow the skin healing and regeneration process.
Even if you fall asleep, fragmented or shallow sleep can negatively affect your acne treatment results.
- Dehydration and Skin Barrier Stress
Dehydration is another aspect to watch out for when you consume caffeine. It has mild diuretic effects. Make sure you drink plenty of water.
- Caffeine dehydrates the skin
- Caffeine weakens the skin barrier
- Caffeine increases irritation and sensitivity during your acne treatments
This is important if you are using retinoids, chemical peels, or prescription acne medications.
Can Caffeine Ever Help Acne?
Yes, under certain conditions.
- Anti-Inflammatory Properties (Topical Use)
Caffeine applied topically in skincare products may help:
- Reduce redness and puffiness
- Calm inflamed skin
- Constrict blood vessels temporarily
However, topical caffeine is supportive at best and not a primary acne treatment.
- Antioxidant Effects
Caffeine has antioxidant properties that can help protect skin from environmental stressors. This may support overall skin health but does not directly treat acne lesions.
Caffeine in Skincare vs. Caffeine in Diet
Dietary Caffeine (More Impact on Acne)
- Coffee
- Energy drinks
- Pre-workout supplements
- Soda
- Sweetened teas
These forms influence hormones, stress levels, and inflammation—making them more likely to affect acne.
Topical Caffeine (Limited Impact)
- Eye creams
- Serums
- Anti-redness products
These are generally safe for acne-prone skin and unlikely to worsen breakouts.
How Much Caffeine Is Too Much for Acne-Prone Skin?
Most of the estheticians recommend to not drink more than 200 mg per day, that’s approximately 1-2 small cups of coffee. It’s also important to avoid caffeine in the afternoon and to totally eliminate energy drinks while you are going through your acne removal treatments.
Of course, every patient is different, but those with hormonal acne will notice improvements when caffeine intake is reduced or eliminated during their treatments.
Should You Stop Caffeine During Acne Treatment?
Not always but you can definitely benefit from stopping it at all or at least reduce it. This especially important if you have any hormonal or cystic acne, if you have breakouts due to stress, if your body doesn’t respond well to treatments or if you have trouble sleeping well during the night.
For some patients, even small reductions lead to noticeable skin improvements within a few weeks.
Practical Tips for Acne Patients Who Consume Caffeine
After reading this post, if you still feel like you can’t stop the caffeine intake, here are a few tips that could help you a little bit:
If you still feel like you can’t stop caffeine intake, make sure that you at least go for black coffee instead of sugary drinks, and creamers. Don’t drink coffee on an empty stomach and when you do, drink plenty of water with your caffeinated beverage. Keep an eye on your sleep schedule and don’t consume any caffeine 8 hours before your bedtime.
The Final Ideas
Professionally speaking, if we look at the majority of the skin care specialists, we will see that all of them recommend to avoid caffeine. Not only for acne treatments, but for laser hair removal, electrolysis hair removal, or even waxing. Caffeine will increase your anxiety and sensitivity, and all this will make your treatments feel more painful, and in our acne treatments case, there is a whole tail of negative effects that caffeine can cause. Too much caffeine will disrupt your sleep and by not getting enough sleep your body can’t fight your acne, this also slows your healing process. So, if you want to be sure that caffeine isn’t affecting your treatments, avoiding it totally for the period of your treatments would be the best decision to go about.
