Guys, how do you think sex affects your skin?

Sex. If you're dealing with acne, it's one of those issues that might not leave you feeling so sexy. However, think again.  While it might seem unusual, there is a definite connection between sex and making your breakouts less prevailing and large, and with the right information, you can keep your skin clear and have a little fun in the process. Here is a look at just how sex (and sex hormones) can affect the quality of your skin.

The Skincare Benefits of Sex

Let's be honest-most men don't need any motivation to have sex outside of the act itself. However, getting intimate with your partner can have some unexpected benefits in your fight against breakouts:

• Sex increases levels of immunoglobulin in the body. This powerful protein and antibody strengthens a man's immune system and helps keep inflammation and disease-causing agents at bay. Bacterial infections that lead to acne breakouts can sometimes be drastically minimized when immunoglobulin is in play, so you can see why it's so important to keep your levels within a healthy range. Sure, there are other ways to receive the antibody (such as potentially painful injections), but none are quite as natural or fun as sex.


• Sex is a proven stress reliever, and for guys dealing with acne, this is a positive thing. There has long been an anecdotal link between stress and acne, and according to some recent studies, this link is indeed real and factual. When cortisol, a stress hormone, is released into the body, it has the potential to attach itself to skin cell receptors. If this occurs, the hormone can send signals to these cells to increase the production of sebum, or skin oil. As you might already know, excess sebum has a bad habit of clogging pores and creating a breeding ground for acne-causing bacteria. Thankfully, sex is a fun and effective way to keep your stress (and stress hormones) at bay.


• There's nothing like sex to get the blood pumping, and as your circulation increases, so does the amount of oxygen-rich blood that reaches your skin. This is essential for keeping it healthy, supple, and youthful. Additionally, sex boosts your production of collagen. This protein plays an integral role in ensuring that your body produces strong and resilient skin-so much so that many people refer to it as the building block of good skin.


• Working up a sweat during sex is a great way to open up your pores and rid them of impurities. However, it's important to shower off afterwards. Sweat is much more fluid than sebum (since it's about 99% water), and under most circumstances, it won't lead to clogged pores. However, as it begins to evaporate off of the skin, the 1% of impurities that make it up are left behind, and these can definitely cause problems with pore clogging. Taking a shower ensures that these substances are washed away, leaving your skin fresh and glowing.

Sex Hormones and Their Role in Acne

Men are no strangers to testosterone- it's the sex hormone that's responsible for things like the size of your muscles, the pitch of your voice, and the beard on your face. This particular hormone is part of the larger androgen class of hormones, which, interestingly, women possess as well-although men's bodies create it in larger quantities. And it's androgen that causes problems for guys suffering from acne.

When too much androgen is present in the blood stream, your body can begin to send signals to your skin's sebaceous glands to produce an excess of skin oil (also known as sebum). This excess oil clogs your pores and creates a breeding ground for acne-causing bacteria to begin a breakout. Androgen may not cause the actual acne itself, but it's responsible for getting the process started.

Because of acne's androgenic origins, men often find that their breakouts are more severe and harder to treat than women's. It may be possible to find products that can alter your hormone levels, but this can be dangerous and is seen by many experts as unnecessarily invasive.

Luckily, men do have other options when it comes to regulating hormonal acne. For example, products like AcnEase work, not by regulating your hormones, but by regulating their effect on your skin's sebaceous glands. This is a method that's safer and doesn't come with any unwanted side effects. However, it's still powerful enough to treat even the most persistent acne.

So what are you waiting for? There's no time like the present to start enjoying the skincare benefits of sex!

With a promise of clear skin,
Dr. A