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Why Does Vodka Help My Acne?

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(@fsas)

Posted : 09/02/2012 4:36 am

I'm quite frustrated,

I have been avoiding alcohol for 2 years (only on occasion and only vodka)

I drank enough 2009-2010 I think.

 

The past two days I've had vodka 2 nights in a row and simultaneously my two worst nights this year emotionally I was just waiting for my face to go insane due to the stress and then due to the vodka

turned out my face cleared up completely for both nights in a row (at a time my acne is usually the worst).

I didnt have alcohol today. clogged pores and blackhead and bumps are all back with 2 bigger pimples.

 

really confused, someone told me once that vodka can have positive affects on acne due to doing something in favor testosterone/androgen wise.. I dont remember but I'm just curious why vodka clears me? And I mean literal clear 100% for the first time in two years.

 

of course my acne is back now im sober (the harsh reality ha) it's hard knowing how bad alcohol is for you..then having it clear your acne makes no sense

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(@dejaclairevoyant)

Posted : 09/02/2012 12:20 pm

This used to happen to me when I was a drunk. It definitely WILL not help in the long run! I would drink all night and chain smoke and in the morning my skin would actually look. Okay, but then as time went on (the day, the evening, the next morning) my skin would get very, very bad again. I have no idea why it happens (all I can think is your body is so poisoned it sort of gives up on expelling everything through your skin) but it definitely is not a long-term cure.

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173
(@green-gables)

Posted : 09/02/2012 12:57 pm

I'm quite frustrated,

I have been avoiding alcohol for 2 years (only on occasion and only vodka)

I drank enough 2009-2010 I think.

The past two days I've had vodka 2 nights in a row and simultaneously my two worst nights this year emotionally I was just waiting for my face to go insane due to the stress and then due to the vodka

turned out my face cleared up completely for both nights in a row (at a time my acne is usually the worst).

I didnt have alcohol today. clogged pores and blackhead and bumps are all back with 2 bigger pimples.

really confused, someone told me once that vodka can have positive affects on acne due to doing something in favor testosterone/androgen wise.. I dont remember but I'm just curious why vodka clears me? And I mean literal clear 100% for the first time in two years.

of course my acne is back now im sober (the harsh reality ha) it's hard knowing how bad alcohol is for you..then having it clear your acne makes no sense

 

Acne takes one to two weeks to form, so it's not really accurate to say because the same nights that you had vodka your face was clear that vodka helped your acne.

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(@dejaclairevoyant)

Posted : 09/02/2012 1:39 pm

It doesn't take two weeks to form for everyone. Sorry but I have to strongly disagree with that. I get severe cysts within MINUTES of eating something I am allergic to. One may argue that my skin condition isn't actually "acne," and that is the catch. But, many many people over the years on this forum have testified to skin eruptions forming immediately, or near immediately, after eating or touching something that isn't good for them.

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(@righthandman)

Posted : 09/02/2012 3:38 pm

when i drink hard alcohol, i can assure that I will get tons of cysts and white heads the next day

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(@fsas)

Posted : 09/02/2012 6:11 pm

This used to happen to me when I was a drunk. It definitely WILL not help in the long run! I would drink all night and chain smoke and in the morning my skin would actually look. Okay, but then as time went on (the day, the evening, the next morning) my skin would get very, very bad again. I have no idea why it happens (all I can think is your body is so poisoned it sort of gives up on expelling everything through your skin) but it definitely is not a long-term cure.

 

I definitely realize its not a cure, the negatives affects of alcohol arent worth it haha.

wish there was an explanation. it only really seems to be vodka that does it. at first i honestly thought stress relief maybe Im just more stressed than I know but on any given day (aside the last few ) im honestly the most stress free person so worries. in fact im quite privileged and lucky and my skin doesnt get me down as much as it used to, i guess coz im so used to it now and have tried for 2 years and gotten no where so no point wasting all my life having a cry over it >.<

somehow however once mentioned hormones and said alcohol like vodka lowers testosterone or something, not sure if thats moderately true

I'm quite frustrated,

I have been avoiding alcohol for 2 years (only on occasion and only vodka)

I drank enough 2009-2010 I think.

The past two days I've had vodka 2 nights in a row and simultaneously my two worst nights this year emotionally I was just waiting for my face to go insane due to the stress and then due to the vodka

turned out my face cleared up completely for both nights in a row (at a time my acne is usually the worst).

I didnt have alcohol today. clogged pores and blackhead and bumps are all back with 2 bigger pimples.

really confused, someone told me once that vodka can have positive affects on acne due to doing something in favor testosterone/androgen wise.. I dont remember but I'm just curious why vodka clears me? And I mean literal clear 100% for the first time in two years.

of course my acne is back now im sober (the harsh reality ha) it's hard knowing how bad alcohol is for you..then having it clear your acne makes no sense

 

Acne takes one to two weeks to form, so it's not really accurate to say because the same nights that you had vodka your face was clear that vodka helped your acne.

 

my acne definitely cleared up 100% the past two days due to the alcohol, I've had a bumpy, clogged face for quite a while and it gets incredibly worse around my period. 2 days ago it was due to get its worse as I've noted for the past 24 months and it just went away. Considering all ive done and tried its really frustrating for alcohol to be the thing that helped :0 as mentioned I drank again the next day and it was still so clear, first time I havent had to worry about my skin. the next day I was sober and broke out again so i guess as long as im drunk I can be clear but somewhat wish I knew how that reaction can happen and so fast. I'm certainly not lying, I'd never bother with stuff like that its why I wanted to know if anyone else experienced the same haha.

In the past (birthday/christmas) when I drank my face did the same - all clear. so not sure whats going on there :0

whats also weird is I'm tall and I guess 'skinny' and would be considered a lightweight but I could easily drink half a bottle of straight vodka and not even feel half drunk, its super weird (unless I added like mixed drinks) but yeah, always found that odd. *i definitely do not drink that much however! I only drink on occasion as mentioned

when i drink hard alcohol, i can assure that I will get tons of cysts and white heads the next day

 

what alcohol do you drink specifically?

I only like vodka so I dont drink anything else but its always be the 'nicest to my face' so will always be my first choice if I am drinking.

What type of acne do you have..did diet/lifestyle or topicals help you? It's interesting maybe to note that nothing for 2 years has even changed my acne slightly except for spiro so I know I have an issue with androgens (sucks my diet and lifestyle isn't changing that) but I could be on 25 mg of spiro and be clear so maybe the vodka does affect androgens like someone once mentioned to me and its just strong enough to clear me so fast.

my acne has been cysts etc in the past but these days its mainly just 100s of forehead bumps, around my jaw and neck and sometimes larger ones that hurt a bit just arent red or a bump just sore and i have lots of black heads and clogged pore which I can 'get stuff out of' if i tried but i try not to. And then a few pimples randomly. when i say my acne was clear I honestly mean every last bump on my face (hundreds) vanished for the first time in 2 years so I didnt have a massive cyst and then all of a sudden it cleared up and healed haha I mean more all the bumps, tiny pimples just went away.

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(@whoartthou1)

Posted : 09/02/2012 7:00 pm

It doesn't take two weeks to form for everyone. Sorry but I have to strongly disagree with that. I get severe cysts within MINUTES of eating something I am allergic to. One may argue that my skin condition isn't actually "acne," and that is the catch. But, many many people over the years on this forum have testified to skin eruptions forming immediately, or near immediately, after eating or touching something that isn't good for them.

 

dood... skin eruptions IS NOT the same as acne. I hate it when people think they have acne when in reality they probably just have some hives type bumps..

This used to happen to me when I was a drunk. It definitely WILL not help in the long run! I would drink all night and chain smoke and in the morning my skin would actually look. Okay, but then as time went on (the day, the evening, the next morning) my skin would get very, very bad again. I have no idea why it happens (all I can think is your body is so poisoned it sort of gives up on expelling everything through your skin) but it definitely is not a long-term cure.

 

I definitely realize its not a cure, the negatives affects of alcohol arent worth it haha.

wish there was an explanation. it only really seems to be vodka that does it. at first i honestly thought stress relief maybe Im just more stressed than I know but on any given day (aside the last few ) im honestly the most stress free person so worries. in fact im quite privileged and lucky and my skin doesnt get me down as much as it used to, i guess coz im so used to it now and have tried for 2 years and gotten no where so no point wasting all my life having a cry over it >.<

somehow however once mentioned hormones and said alcohol like vodka lowers testosterone or something, not sure if thats moderately true

I'm quite frustrated,

I have been avoiding alcohol for 2 years (only on occasion and only vodka)

I drank enough 2009-2010 I think.

The past two days I've had vodka 2 nights in a row and simultaneously my two worst nights this year emotionally I was just waiting for my face to go insane due to the stress and then due to the vodka

turned out my face cleared up completely for both nights in a row (at a time my acne is usually the worst).

I didnt have alcohol today. clogged pores and blackhead and bumps are all back with 2 bigger pimples.

really confused, someone told me once that vodka can have positive affects on acne due to doing something in favor testosterone/androgen wise.. I dont remember but I'm just curious why vodka clears me? And I mean literal clear 100% for the first time in two years.

of course my acne is back now im sober (the harsh reality ha) it's hard knowing how bad alcohol is for you..then having it clear your acne makes no sense

 

Acne takes one to two weeks to form, so it's not really accurate to say because the same nights that you had vodka your face was clear that vodka helped your acne.

 

my acne definitely cleared up 100% the past two days due to the alcohol, I've had a bumpy, clogged face for quite a while and it gets incredibly worse around my period. 2 days ago it was due to get its worse as I've noted for the past 24 months and it just went away. Considering all ive done and tried its really frustrating for alcohol to be the thing that helped :0 as mentioned I drank again the next day and it was still so clear, first time I havent had to worry about my skin. the next day I was sober and broke out again so i guess as long as im drunk I can be clear but somewhat wish I knew how that reaction can happen and so fast. I'm certainly not lying, I'd never bother with stuff like that its why I wanted to know if anyone else experienced the same haha.

In the past (birthday/christmas) when I drank my face did the same - all clear. so not sure whats going on there :0

whats also weird is I'm tall and I guess 'skinny' and would be considered a lightweight but I could easily drink half a bottle of straight vodka and not even feel half drunk, its super weird (unless I added like mixed drinks) but yeah, always found that odd. *i definitely do not drink that much however! I only drink on occasion as mentioned

when i drink hard alcohol, i can assure that I will get tons of cysts and white heads the next day

 

what alcohol do you drink specifically?

I only like vodka so I dont drink anything else but its always be the 'nicest to my face' so will always be my first choice if I am drinking.

What type of acne do you have..did diet/lifestyle or topicals help you? It's interesting maybe to note that nothing for 2 years has even changed my acne slightly except for spiro so I know I have an issue with androgens (sucks my diet and lifestyle isn't changing that) but I could be on 25 mg of spiro and be clear so maybe the vodka does affect androgens like someone once mentioned to me and its just strong enough to clear me so fast.

my acne has been cysts etc in the past but these days its mainly just 100s of forehead bumps, around my jaw and neck and sometimes larger ones that hurt a bit just arent red or a bump just sore and i have lots of black heads and clogged pore which I can 'get stuff out of' if i tried but i try not to. And then a few pimples randomly. when i say my acne was clear I honestly mean every last bump on my face (hundreds) vanished for the first time in 2 years so I didnt have a massive cyst and then all of a sudden it cleared up and healed haha I mean more all the bumps, tiny pimples just went away.

 

Is alcohol anti-androgen? If it is, then too much testosterone is the reason you get acne i thinik

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(@dejaclairevoyant)

Posted : 09/02/2012 7:18 pm

I'm here because no doctor, dermatologist or anyone else has ever been able to give me a diagnosis as something other than acne. I imagine many people here have something other than "acne" but the science hasn't caught up enough to tell us a new name for it. It's definitely not hives. I know because I also suffered with hives for a all of my childhood. These are massive cystic acne bumps on my face that slowly have a ton of pus rise to the surface, and multiple clusters of pus that have to pop and drain before it eventually heals. They are terrible and very very painful, I would say severely painful, especially in the beginning when they are first popping up.

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(@binga)

Posted : 09/02/2012 7:50 pm

alcohol stresses the liver and swells the face. Thats why you don't see side effects straight away.

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(@peony7)

Posted : 09/20/2012 3:21 am

Hey FSAS,

 

I think alcohol improves estrogen and aromatase. So, possibly you should ask your Dr about low estrogen/issues with aromatase/SHBG. Also, it might not be that you are low in these, just that the ratio of them to androgens is slightly off.

 

Maybe look at eating things that would improve the function of the female hormones? Also, a small glass of red wine every now and then would be ok if it is helping you. Just don't go overboard eusa_angel.gif

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(@alexisc)

Posted : 09/21/2012 12:45 am

I can attest to alcohol at first seeming like it helped your skin and then suffering CRAZY breakouts in the few days following. I hadn't actually drank alcohol in a year until a week ago. I woke up the next morning with a clear face and thought I could drink again. I was so wrong! Two days after drinking I developed 20 (and I counted) pimples all over my face. Clear to 20 pimples in a few days - it was pretty devestating. They were the type that were very inflamed and hurt. I believe in chinese medicine and face mapping and the spots were all over the areas of my face correlating to the liver and colon. My stomach has been going crazy and I had to do a raw cleanse and load up on antifungals just to even myself out again because I continued to break out everyday. If you have candida issues DO NOT DRINK.

 

Also, most alcohol has corn added into it after it has been distilled so if you are allergic to corn you can guarentee a breakout.

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(@greenlu)

Posted : 09/21/2012 8:48 pm

i have the same reaction to alcohol... i get compliments on my skin after i go on drinking binges... lol. i think it has to do with stress levels.

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(@k3tchup)

Posted : 09/21/2012 10:57 pm

lol i had a similar effect when i drank malibu and UV red (not mixed together). I never understood why. I stopped as self medicating is not a long term answer for anything.

 

Strange though..

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(@fplix)

Posted : 09/22/2012 3:51 am

Lol I drank a lot of Smirnoff vodka today. Got pretty drunk. Usually makes my face quite red but alcohol usually doesn't positively or negatively affect my acne unless I drink sugary alcohol drinks like four loko or start mixing and drinking multiple hard liquors like brandy and vodka.

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(@jc08)

Posted : 11/20/2012 5:46 am

This thread is similiar to my situation. I've been going to a few parties these last few weeks and to my regret have been drinking heavily. Vodka seems to have stopped my oil production on my face and for some reason the puss-filled acne and cysts have been disappearing. This isn't new to me. Back in high school where i would go a few zits here and there, i would party on weekends and drink alcohol (preferably vodka). All my zits would disappear the next few days after. I'm going to research on this matter more.

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(@gman89)

Posted : 11/20/2012 7:11 am

I do as well, but I'm fairly confident that overall it is not going to help.

 

I'm no doctor, but a personal theory is that it might just trigger an immune response as your body goes "oh crap, I have to do stuff so I don't die from this" and in the process of clearing the alcohol it clears other stuff. Again, just a half arsed theory....

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(@lola111)

Posted : 11/20/2012 9:13 am

Alcohol, especially beer, can promote estrogen, which means that your levels of testosterone can lower when you drink this. Another reason could be that: since vodka is almost pure alcohol, it can actually kill a lot of bacteria and yeast. Do you suspect a bacterial overgrowth problem due to taking antibiotics for long periods of time?

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(@fsas)

Posted : 11/20/2012 4:53 pm

Alcohol, especially beer, can promote estrogen, which means that your levels of testosterone can lower when you drink this. Another reason could be that: since vodka is almost pure alcohol, it can actually kill a lot of bacteria and yeast. Do you suspect a bacterial overgrowth problem due to taking antibiotics for long periods of time?

 

I was thinking it had something to do with that however I'm already on such a high estrogen bcp that's worrying to know I might ever more and more estrogen just to get clear that doesn't seem balanced at all :/

I've never been on antibiotics ever I don't even take pain killers haha. I don't particularly have signs of bacterial overgrowth hm...

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(@enjoy-2)

Posted : 11/20/2012 11:15 pm

the more logical theory would be that because it is the liver that deals with processing excess hormonal compounds, and also alcohol, maybe the heavy drinking is bumpstarting the liver into overdrive for a little while and that's helping it get rid of the surplus acne causing androgens resulting in temporary clearness until the cycle starts over?

 

 

i dunno

 

but becoming an alcoholic is certainly not a practical option for most lol

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(@lola111)

Posted : 11/22/2012 1:39 am

the more logical theory would be that because it is the liver that deals with processing excess hormonal compounds, and also alcohol, maybe the heavy drinking is bumpstarting the liver into overdrive for a little while and that's helping it get rid of the surplus acne causing androgens resulting in temporary clearness until the cycle starts over?

i dunno

but becoming an alcoholic is certainly not a practical option for most lol

 

I seriously doubt that, but vodka can have a stimulating effect overall. I hardly think that drinking two nights in a row is considered heavy drinking anyway.

OP, it can be that your acne cleared up due to other factors, such as having fun and not worrying about your skin for 2 nights? Being happy has a positive effect on the skin also:)

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(@baladii)

Posted : 11/24/2012 3:58 am

Maybe it just looked better because you were still partially drunk 😉 I'm totally kidding! I have experienced this also in the past primarily after a night of drinking specifically red wine and it has confused the hell out of me to say the least.

 

The only conclusion that I could reach, completely unscientific and lacking evidence is the fact that maybe it temporarily cleansed and detoxed me? The cons of copious alcohol consumption outweigh drinking heavily, but there are a bunch of anti oxidants in red wine...who knows?

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(@elsewhere)

Posted : 11/24/2012 8:26 am

Alcohol dehydrates you - it's possible that it temporarily dried out skin and reduced oil production. Wouldn't recommend it for a long-term solution, though.

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