As far as drinking's affects on acne, I really can't say..... I used to drink more when I was in my twenties, but since my baby was born 6 yrs ago, I don't drink hardly at all anymore - - and no change in my cystic acne. I smoke about 3-4 cigarettes a day - but when I first started having bad skin, I didn't smoke! (prolly started back up again when my skin turned to sh*t.....stressed out..!?)

So, who knows? And as far as marijuana goes, can't say - - I'm a nurse, so I haven't had any of that in a LONG time.... sorry!

I'm sure you'll get some other opinions on this board, tho..... good luck! P.

I am a social drinker. I drink about once a week, and I get buzzed at times but rarely get drunk. When my acne was bad, I noticed that it made it worse. I'd go out to a club Friday and on Saturday or Sunday I'd have a bunch of new pimples. Now that I'm clear and have it under control, it doesn't make a difference.

I notice the same thing as well. If I go out and drink alot, the next 2-3 days I start getting a few pimples. I haven't had a drink in over 2 weeks, and my forehead is clear as a bell. I am starting to take milk thistle again to see if it helps with the after effects. I think my liver gets flooded with hormones and when I add alcohol, it makes things worse. Your liver plays a huge role in getting rid of toxins, and when your liver is overloaded wth them, the only way out is through the largest organ in the body, the skin. But then again, everybody's body reacts differently to these things. It's good you keep your liver healthy as it is.

I used to smoke quite heavily and I had problems with skin. I stopped smoking and my skin has been pretty bad since, at the moment its worse than ever. I'm not suggesting that stopping smoking makes your skin worse - its probably other factors, I'm working more hours for instance BUT although stopping smoking is a wondeful thing It won't clear your acne. Sorry.

drinking does make acne worse because all the alcohol comes out of your pores after. thats how your body gets rid of it. ever notice why your face might be really oily the next day after drinking?

I've definitely noticed a correlation between the two, both in myself and in other people -- in high school, I started to notice that I could usually tell when someone had started the party lifestyle because their skin would start to look bad and often they'd get acne. It was funny how often it happened -- when someone who had had a clear face previously developed a face full of acne, almost always they had recently started smoking pot or doing drugs on a regular basis.

BUT, correlation doesn't mean causation, so I can't say that drinking/smoking cause acne. There are so many other factors going along with alcohol/pot that can also cause acne -- tendency to come home late and go to bed without doing full skincare routines, falling asleep at someone else's place without washing your face or being able to do your treatments, dancing or standing in a crowded club and sweating in your going out makeup, eating junk food or not eating at all, a lazier less active lifestyle, dehydration, sleep deprivation (either because of staying out, staying up late, or drugs interfering with your sleep cycle), caring less about keeping up with your appearance, etc. Any of these factors could cause acne without the actual alcohol or THC doing so. And mentioning people from my high school, I have to say that there were a lot of other drugs (rx pills, coke, mostly) people were doing as well that could have contributed. I don't abstain from alcohol totally but I do avoid drinking it on a regular basis.

Oh, and if you have rosacea, alcohol can cause it to flare or just cause facial redness.

Drinking and smokingdehydrate you. Nicotine acts as a diuretic. Cigarettes further dry yourskin, making it wrinkled and ashen, while upping your risk ofskincancer. For every decade yousmoke, yourskinages fourteen years, and not just on yourface, but over your whole body.