According to a recent study in the Journal of Health Psychology, patients with severe acne reported being less likely to engage in sports or exercise, due to reported decreased self-esteem levels.  Yet, this could be one of the worst things that a patient with acne could do, as exercise may actually help to alleviate acne.  According to dermatologist Dr. Richard Fried, M.D. in this month’s Women’s Health magazine, “[Exercise] can save your skin…Exercise reduces levels of insulin and stress hormones, which when elevated, can trigger the production of breakout-boosting sebum.”  

Still not motivated to exercise?  One of my favorite ways to motivate myself to exercise on “blah” days is with time or money I would not otherwise use on myself — that is, time for a fun lunch out with friends, say, or money for something I can afford that I wouldn’t otherwise have (a pretty bar of soap or a new lipstick is always a fun option).  Another great way is through FitDay.com.  I absolutely love their nutrition and exercise tracker, and it’s graphs let me know if I’m on track to meet my fitness goals for the holiday season!    (And no, I am not sponsored by the site, I just found it one day and have been using it avidly ever since.  I hope some of my readers find it helpful too.    )

Come back tomorrow for a review of L’Oréal’s new cleansers!

About Author

Founder and CEO Nicki Zevola started FutureDerm as a medical (M.D.) student studying to be a dermatologist. She is an award-winning scientific researcher and writer. She currently is concentrating on FutureDerm and developing FutureDerm's one-of-a-kind products. She can be found on Google+ and Twitter.

View all Nicki Zevola posts.

1. 

   AubreyM

   November 8, 2008 at 1:02 am

   T totally agree stress = breakouts; relaxed = great skin ( holiday pics as proof).

   I also am a fan of FitDay, introduced to me by my health conscious and future Judo Olympian (x fingers) BF. Great tool to help anyone wanting to lose weight etc.

2. 

   Elena

   November 9, 2008 at 10:40 pm

   I’m with you on that.
   My skin looks OODLES better when I get to the gym

   However I find that stressing out about not being able to get to the gym every other day (I have two jobs, babysitting, running my blog and well….my beauty routine) makes me break out more, like these past two weeks.

   The key is relaaaaxation.

3. 

   ichigobunnie

   November 14, 2008 at 1:16 am

   man oh man. i better get started on working out then. my skin is atrocious!!

4. 

   skipdill

   December 22, 2008 at 4:07 am

   According to USA Today, cold laser therapy has been found to be very successful in acne management, and can be done in as little as 5-10 minute increments.

5. 

   Shiho

   February 16, 2009 at 9:01 pm

   Agreed! I’ve noticed that, too. It also helps that is usually when I’m drinking the most water as well.

6. Pingback: Can Exercising Help with Acne Breakouts? : Beauty Grail

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