Dairy Products And Acne

Many of us have heard that regular milk can cause acne. While that is heavily debated, there is some merit that dairy can affect people with acne-prone skin. But, does almond milk cause acne? All milks aren’t created equal, so it’s worth investigating its effect on the skin.

Read on to learn a dietitian’s take on whether almond milk and acne are actually related. Plus, learn which plant-based milks are best for acne-prone skin.

If you are experiencing acne, consider what you’re eating as a possible cause. While not all foods contribute to acne, some can trigger breakouts

Top 10 Foods That Can Cause Acne & What To Eat For Clear Skin

In some regard, almond milk could be viewed as healthier than regular milk. After all, almond milk has less calories, sugar, and fat compared to whole cow’s milk.

Regular milk contains two main proteins: whey and casein. When the body digests these proteins, a hormone called IGF-1 is released. This hormone can trigger breakouts by interacting with the body’s hormones and confusing the endocrine system.

First, it’s important to keep in mind that there is virtually no evidence that directly links almond milk to acne. However, for a select few, almond milk may indirectly have negative effects on the skin.

What Causes Acne. Acne Causing Food. Horizontal Poster Stock Vector

For instance, almond milk is made from almonds, a nut that has a relatively high omega-6 fatty acid ratio. Research shows that eating a diet high in omega-6 fatty acids is linked with acne and high levels of inflammation.

As a result, it can be inferred that individuals who consume large amounts of omega-6 fatty acids, from almond milk and other dietary sources, can experience acne.

The good news is that almond milk is unlikely to cause acne in individuals following a diet with a good omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio.

Does Dairy Cause Acne? Can Milk Give Me Pimples?

If you suspect that almond milk is negatively impacting your skin, swap it out for a different type of milk. Fortunately, there are plenty of skin-friendly milk choices available.

Dietary changes can help support healthy skin considering that the main connection between almond milk and acne is a diet high in omega-6’s.

First, focus on improving your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. You can do so by prioritizing foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids include:

Does Eating Dairy Really Cause Cystic, Hormonal Breakouts?

Additionally, it can be helpful to take a closer look at other foods that you’re consuming other than almond milk. Ask yourself, are there other foods that may be triggering my skin? Many everyday foods can take a toll on the skin when eaten in excess.

Last but not least, how’s your gut health? The skin reflects the health of the gut. If you’re digestion feels off or you feel like your gut health is lacking, consider these methods:

To summarize, almond milk can’t directly cause acne. But, it may contribute to breakouts – in people consuming high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids.

Top 5 Foods That Cause Acne

Nevertheless, if you are looking to improve breakouts, try eating foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids. You can also consider skin-friendly milk alternatives and focus on gut health.

Gaby Vaca-Flores is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist based in Santa Monica, CA. In merging her passions for nutrition and skin, Gaby created Glow+Greens to provide her readers with science-backed education + digestible wellness tips.When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site.

Amanda Montell has worked as a beauty editor in Los Angeles for over three years covering hair, skin, and more. She previously served as the features editor for and currently freelances for Time Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and more.

Is It The Sugar, The Milk, Or The Cocoa In Chocolate Causing Acne?

When I told my friends and family I'd be going on vacation to Italy in January, one of their first questions was consistently this: You're not going to be vegan, there, right? Indeed, as a well-documented follower of plant-based living, news of my plans to enter the land of burrata, mascarpone, and pecorino for a month pushed my diet to the forefront of everyone's minds—including my own. If my trip had arrived at any other point in my life, I probably would have tried to stay plant-based while in Italy (I've been vegan in Europe before—dirty looks aside, it can be done), but having just gone through a breakup and experiencing a newfound thirst for rebellion, I decided, screw it: For the first time in two years, I'm going to eat all the pizza, gooey pasta, and frothy cappuccinos I desire. And for a month, that's exactly what I did. It was delicious and decadent, and I have no regrets… well, except for what proceeded to happen to my skin.

Skin health experts agree that what you eat shows up on your face, and in the case of dairy, it's rarely good. Dairy is mucous-forming and difficult to digest (thus, why so many people are lactose intolerant). Sometimes, a side effect of that blow to the digestive system can arrive in the form of cystic acne or hard, painful bumps under the skin. The hypothesis is that since the majority of milk in the U.S. comes from pregnant cows (and some cows are given growth hormones), the hormone levels in milk may play a role in excess sebum production, which promotes acne, explains Renée Rouleau, 's go-to esthetician to the stars. The ideas is that when the hormones in milk react with your own body's cocktail of testosterone and hormones, your sebum production skyrockets. As Rachel Nazarian, MD, says, The process, along with increasing inflammation, worsens or flares acne pimples. So if you're already breaking out (say, due to stress or travel or your period), dairy could make it worse.

Rachel Nazarian, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist who currently works out of Schweiger Dermatology in New York City. She is a faculty member at Mount Sinai Medical Center's Department of Dermatology.

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My dairy-induced breakouts, which cropped up in the final days of my cheese-soaked trip, could be found along my chin and jawline. Nazarian says that the lower face and outer areas of the face are anecdotally where dairy breakouts most often occur, though there is technically no empirical support for this. Either way, that's definitely where mine decided to show up.

Luckily, I had a pretty good idea of why these big, sore pimples were happening, so I didn't flip out. I just surrendered to the notion that they were the sacrifice I made for a lot of delicious pizza and calmly decided to do everything I could to treat them. And two weeks later, they were almost completely gone. Here's what I did to go from broken-out to clear-skinned after a major dairy bender.

A high-quality spot treatment is like a solid best friend, but for deep hormonal breakouts, I pretty much want to marry Renée Rouleau's cult favorite Anti Cyst Treatment. By Rouleau's instruction, I applied this purifying treatment at the first sight of a cyst. Rouleau says the product can dramatically flatten the visible appearance of the bump by about 50% more quickly than when using nothing at all and has been a miracle-worker for thousands of her customers since she created it three decades ago.

Does Drinking Milk Cause Acne?

Don't have this exact treatment handy? No worries: Nazarian says treating your breakout with a topical anti-inflammatory or over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid–based product will help. Try Neutrogena's On-the-Spot Acne Treatment ($9) or Murad's Rapid Relief Acne Spot Treatment ($25).

This one might sound obvious, but no matter how many topical products you pile on your blemishes, the most effective cure comes from the inside out (at least it did for me). Try cutting out your dairy completely for two weeks and see if that improves the condition, Rouleau suggests, adding that in her 30 years as an esthetician, she has cured dozens of her clients' cystic acne simply by recommending that they go dairy-free (or at least scale back). Don't know how to live without milk and cheese? We put together a whole list of advice for how to cut out dairy.

Hydration is key, too. Sounds counterintuitive, but all that air travel I was doing on my return from Italy to the United States seriously parched my skin—and dehydration, according to Nazarian, can make the skin look even more inflamed and cause cysts to appear redder. Stay hydrated, drinking lots of water and fluids. Recommended six to eight glasses a day, she says. You might also try swapping out your exfoliating toner for a hydrating one, like Etude House's SoonJung pH 5.5 Relief Toner ($20).

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I don't make a habit of failing to remove my makeup at night, but sometimes when I'm traveling, I get lax about it. This does