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Exercise Induced Acne?

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(@chanyb)

Posted : 07/25/2015 5:23 am

Wondering if anyone has ever experienced a larger than usual breakout (I'm talking like 10+ spots in the space of 2-3 days) after introducing quite an intense workout regime into their daily schedule. I've recently joined the gym and have been doing anywhere between 35 minutes to 1 hour of cardio 4/5 times per week. Not 'light' cardio either. Before then I was pretty much only lightly active at best.

 

I'm breaking out mainly around the lower portion of my face in little clusters --- jawline next to lymph nodes, sides of chin and around the mouth.

Purging phase? Hormonal imbalance caused by too much cardio? (is my system becoming stressed?)

 

After a couple days of spot treating with mud masks/aspirin/tea tree they have started to reduce slightly but I am now left with the dreaded red marks-- at least it's better than an active breakout though I guess

 

If anyone has any advice/tips/info it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

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(@mikkurs)

Posted : 07/25/2015 5:36 am

Are you using a protein drink, or have recently increased the amount of carbs you eat for your exercise? Both are potential reasons why you've started to breakout more, especially if your protein drink is whey.

It could also be that you're not washing your face after exercising, but since you mentioned your acne is on your jawline I'd guess something else first.

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(@chanyb)

Posted : 07/25/2015 5:59 am

I don't use any protein drinks/supplements nor have I upped the amoiunt of carbs that I'm eating.

 

Immediately after finishing my workout I will wipe my face with a cleansing wipe/makeup wipe and then as soon as I'm home (which usually takes about 20-30 minutes) I shower and cleanse properly-- not too keen on showering at the gym if I'm honest.

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(@mikkurs)

Posted : 07/25/2015 6:16 am

I don't use any protein drinks/supplements nor have I upped the amoiunt of carbs that I'm eating.

 

Immediately after finishing my workout I will wipe my face with a cleansing wipe/makeup wipe and then as soon as I'm home (which usually takes about 20-30 minutes) I shower and cleanse properly-- not too keen on showering at the gym if I'm honest.

Hmm... possibly it's being caused by adrenal stress then.

That's the only thing I can think of at the moment, sorry, I don't know too much about hormones.

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(@chanyb)

Posted : 07/25/2015 6:29 am

Hmm... Interesting.

 

I've had a quick read through this thread: and have noticed that I have quite a few of the mentioned symptoms.

 

I might cut back on the cardio a little and have a few more rest days in between workouts and see if there is any difference/improvement.

 

Maybe so much exercise straight off the bat is a shock to my system and I am overworking myself.

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(@mikkurs)

Posted : 07/25/2015 6:39 am

Hmm... Interesting.

 

I've had a quick read through this thread: and have noticed that I have quite a few of the mentioned symptoms.

 

I might cut back on the cardio a little and have a few more rest days in between workouts and see if there is any difference/improvement.

 

Maybe so much exercise straight off the bat is a shock to my system and I am overworking myself.

Maybe! It's probably best to rest for a day in between intensive work outs regardless.

Best of luck in clearing up : )

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(@glb2130)

Posted : 07/25/2015 8:58 am

Wondering if anyone has ever experienced a larger than usual breakout (I'm talking like 10+ spots in the space of 2-3 days) after introducing quite an intense workout regime into their daily schedule. I've recently joined the gym and have been doing anywhere between 35 minutes to 1 hour of cardio 4/5 times per week. Not 'light' cardio either. Before then I was pretty much only lightly active at best.

 

I'm breaking out mainly around the lower portion of my face in little clusters --- jawline next to lymph nodes, sides of chin and around the mouth.

Purging phase? Hormonal imbalance caused by too much cardio? (is my system becoming stressed?)

 

After a couple days of spot treating with mud masks/aspirin/tea tree they have started to reduce slightly but I am now left with the dreaded red marks-- at least it's better than an active breakout though I guess

 

If anyone has any advice/tips/info it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

YES. i used to do a lot of intense cardio and it definitely made me break out on chin/jawline. i quit it.. even now if i were to do intense cardio every day for like a week i definitely would breakout from it

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(@fvckacne)

Posted : 07/25/2015 10:04 am

That's because acne is driven primarily by oxidative stress. Intense exercise and acne do not go together well. The nature of intense stress on the body via exercise will increase the burden of oxidative stress and free radical production. Moreover, the lactic acid that forms in muscle tissue after a hard workout is highly inflammatory and itself promotes free radicals. If you end up throwing a whey protein on top of all that, which is dairy, you have a recipe for disaster.

Exercise-induced acne is real, but it's not because of sweat or not washing your face enough before/after or whatever the dermatologists are telling you.

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(@lucky987)

Posted : 07/25/2015 12:29 pm

I can sympathise with this, after intense cardio or weight training my skin flares up in red patches! it takes about 7-10hrs to get back to normal after a shower which is really annoying and I have no idea what the problem is. I would be the same as the poster, no protein drinks for me or increase in carbs as I'm trying to lose weight.

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(@chanyb)

Posted : 07/25/2015 9:24 pm

 

Wondering if anyone has ever experienced a larger than usual breakout (I'm talking like 10+ spots in the space of 2-3 days) after introducing quite an intense workout regime into their daily schedule. I've recently joined the gym and have been doing anywhere between 35 minutes to 1 hour of cardio 4/5 times per week. Not 'light' cardio either. Before then I was pretty much only lightly active at best.

 

I'm breaking out mainly around the lower portion of my face in little clusters --- jawline next to lymph nodes, sides of chin and around the mouth.

Purging phase? Hormonal imbalance caused by too much cardio? (is my system becoming stressed?)

 

After a couple days of spot treating with mud masks/aspirin/tea tree they have started to reduce slightly but I am now left with the dreaded red marks-- at least it's better than an active breakout though I guess

 

If anyone has any advice/tips/info it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

YES. i used to do a lot of intense cardio and it definitely made me break out on chin/jawline. i quit it.. even now if i were to do intense cardio every day for like a week i definitely would breakout from it

Wow, so I'm not the only one! Do you still do any cardio now? What would you recommend instead?

 

That's because acne is driven primarily by oxidative stress. Intense exercise and acne do not go together well. The nature of intense stress on the body via exercise will increase the burden of oxidative stress and free radical production. Moreover, the lactic acid that forms in muscle tissue after a hard workout is highly inflammatory and itself promotes free radicals. If you end up throwing a whey protein on top of all that, which is dairy, you have a recipe for disaster.

Exercise-induced acne is real, but it's not because of sweat or not washing your face enough before/after or whatever the dermatologists are telling you.

Better cut down on the high-intensity cardio then; which is a shame cause I do thoroughly enjoy it, but it's definitely not worth these ridiculous breakouts each time

 

I can sympathise with this, after intense cardio or weight training my skin flares up in red patches! it takes about 7-10hrs to get back to normal after a shower which is really annoying and I have no idea what the problem is. I would be the same as the poster, no protein drinks for me or increase in carbs as I'm trying to lose weight.

^ I also found that my skin was significantly more "red" than usual the next couple of days after my workout. I do suffer from uneven skin tone/quite a bit of hyperpigmentation but this was just simply out of the norm for me.

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(@glb2130)

Posted : 07/25/2015 9:26 pm

 

 

 

Wondering if anyone has ever experienced a larger than usual breakout (I'm talking like 10+ spots in the space of 2-3 days) after introducing quite an intense workout regime into their daily schedule. I've recently joined the gym and have been doing anywhere between 35 minutes to 1 hour of cardio 4/5 times per week. Not 'light' cardio either. Before then I was pretty much only lightly active at best.

I'm breaking out mainly around the lower portion of my face in little clusters --- jawline next to lymph nodes, sides of chin and around the mouth.

Purging phase? Hormonal imbalance caused by too much cardio? (is my system becoming stressed?)

After a couple days of spot treating with mud masks/aspirin/tea tree they have started to reduce slightly but I am now left with the dreaded red marks-- at least it's better than an active breakout though I guess

If anyone has any advice/tips/info it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

YES. i used to do a lot of intense cardio and it definitely made me break out on chin/jawline. i quit it.. even now if i were to do intense cardio every day for like a week i definitely would breakout from it

Wow, so I'm not the only one! Do you still do any cardio now? What would you recommend instead?

That's because acne is driven primarily by oxidative stress. Intense exercise and acne do not go together well. The nature of intense stress on the body via exercise will increase the burden of oxidative stress and free radical production. Moreover, the lactic acid that forms in muscle tissue after a hard workout is highly inflammatory and itself promotes free radicals. If you end up throwing a whey protein on top of all that, which is dairy, you have a recipe for disaster.

Exercise-induced acne is real, but it's not because of sweat or not washing your face enough before/after or whatever the dermatologists are telling you.

Better cut down on the high-intensity cardio then; which is a shame cause I do thoroughly enjoy it, but it's definitely not worth these ridiculous breakouts each time

YEAH it must be either oxidative stress or some sort of spike in testosterone after intense cardio. I don't do hard core cardio on machines anymore (eliptical or bike.) in fact I don't go to the gym at all anymore. I run in my neighborhood or I take ballet class . I used to do yoga and I love it, . But yeah! Running ballet and yoga are the only exercise I do now- no machines for me! The acne definitely is from the gym cardio!

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(@chanyb)

Posted : 07/25/2015 9:33 pm

YEAH it must be either oxidative stress or some sort of spike in testosterone after intense cardio. I don't do hard core cardio on machines anymore (eliptical or bike.) in fact I don't go to the gym at all anymore. I run in my neighborhood or I take ballet class . I used to do yoga and I love it, . But yeah! Running ballet and yoga are the only exercise I do now- no machines for me! The acne definitely is from the gym cardio!

That's interesting, cause I only ever walk on the treadmill on quite a steep incline or at a relatively moderate pace-- maybe it's just the duration of time I'm working out for? I would have thought that running would break you out the same as doing cardio such as bike/elliptical as your heart rate is still up?

I noticed the breakout was the worst after I'd been on the treadmill for an hour at a pace of around 6.0 and an incline of 9% (I am very petite/short so that's quite fast for my little legs to carry me haha!)

I will then afterward go on the rowing machine and row about 2km on the heaviest "setting" (I don't know what it's actually called :D )

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MemberMember
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(@glb2130)

Posted : 07/26/2015 12:32 pm

 

YEAH it must be either oxidative stress or some sort of spike in testosterone after intense cardio. I don't do hard core cardio on machines anymore (eliptical or bike.) in fact I don't go to the gym at all anymore. I run in my neighborhood or I take ballet class . I used to do yoga and I love it, . But yeah! Running ballet and yoga are the only exercise I do now- no machines for me! The acne definitely is from the gym cardio!

That's interesting, cause I only ever walk on the treadmill on quite a steep incline or at a relatively moderate pace-- maybe it's just the duration of time I'm working out for? I would have thought that running would break you out the same as doing cardio such as bike/elliptical as your heart rate is still up?

I noticed the breakout was the worst after I'd been on the treadmill for an hour at a pace of around 6.0 and an incline of 9% (I am very petite/short so that's quite fast for my little legs to carry me haha!)

I will then afterward go on the rowing machine and row about 2km on the heaviest "setting" (I don't know what it's actually called :D )

i just avoid the workout machines. i just let my body exercise "naturally" (running, dancing, etc) and i never break out that way. when i work out on machines i definitely burn off more and go faster/harder than i ever could without a machine so it def is a big difference on my body

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