Does Masturbation cause acne? What should you be more careful about?
- Dr.Oela Roy
- Jul 8, 2022
- 3 min read
Sexual health is just as important as physical health
It's extremely important for us to clear the stigma and misconceptions related to sexual wellness. So, we promote Sexual health and safety here every Friday. Keep up with us!
Starting off, first things first - The answer to the first question asked as today's topic is a nice big NO!
There are small concerns that you must take care of and we will talk about them later on this post (Scroll down for them). But mostly there is no direct causative link i.e. Masturbating will not cause you acne and stopping won't magically clear them.
I have linked the studies that I've scanned through below & you can read them too for detailed understanding.
I'll answer the Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs) I've found online & offline (from patients, friends or relatives). I hope you find what you are looking for among them. If not, feel free to ask me below.
Q. "Why does people say masturbating causes acne?"
A. Masturbating or other sexual habits often starts at an age that coincides with puberty, which in case of girls is 11-15 and for boys is 12-16 (more or less).That's also when the hormonal peaks happen. Acne due to rise of hormones in blood is just a coincidence.
(Hormonal Changes happen earlier in girls, however masturbation is more common in boys at an early age)
Q. "But I read Masturbation cause rise in Testosterone. May be that's why I have acne every time I masturbate?"
A. You read it right. Masturbation does cause rise in testosterone in the blood in both females and males. But the rise is not significant enough to effect skin or hair.
Q. "When I stop masturbating, my skin clears up. No acne and the marks also heal better. What to do?"
A. There could be a few correlations here. Even though theoretically, it's suppose to be coincidence, in reality this happens to a lot of people. One or more of the following could be the reason.
Masturbating too often or too many times causes stress in our body. Like we learnt from this post on anxiety, the stress hormone is 'Cortisol', which rises every time our body senses stress. Cortisol takes a toll on Skin & hair health!
Masturbating resulting in ejaculation causes loss of minerals like selenium or zinc , which are present in tiny amount in our body but are important for skin or general health.
Hygiene is so important in sexual wellness. Washing your hands or your living area/bed/towels is as important after masturbation as it is after sexual intercourse. Do not skip on this, no matter how tired you get.
Dehydration caused by strenuous activity due to multiple masturbation can cause over-compensating excess oil production leading to acne.
Q. "What can I do to prevent acne due to masturbation?"
A. Like I said before masturbation doesn't cause acne. So, feel free to masturbate safely and in moderation. Make sure you feel good about it physically and mentally, not guilty or too exhausted to hamper daily life.
As for the acne you have - if it's mild then taking care of some daily habits and some Over-the-Counter medication should be enough. You can read 10 practical advices that help prevent acne here.
If it's moderate-severe or using over-the-counter drugs hasn't helped, please see a dermatologist and get medication. It could be due to some underlying disease like Hormonal imbalance, PCOD, some deficiency in vitamin or minerals, anemia etc. Get that fixed.
That's all folks!
Have more questions?? Ask away!
Come back next Friday for more on Sexual Health & Wellness!
You can also read the following published articles and studies related to this topic.
Commenti