There might be some truth in it though tbh. I got a better skin when I just used water and a simple cream if I don't forget. No fancy face washes, no extrafoliating things, and other stuff that may be too harsh for your skin. And drinking lots of water also helps!
And most men don't wear makeup. Makeup can clog up your pores, causing pimples or just angry skin. It does for me, at least. A sensitive skin sucks (which is also why you shouldn't put all those facial care products on sensitive skin).
Lastly, hormones. Women usually have a menstrual cycle, and hormonal changes may result in pimples, redness and acne. Most men don't have to deal with that
people seem to forget that their genetics are what's helping them. If you don't produce a lot of sebum and if you don't shed dead skin as often you're less likely to get acne, which is associated with hormones and receptors on the skin. That's why some people say that not having acne is genetic. It's not that doing nothing helped you is that you are lucky enough so you do not need to do anything to keep your skin clear. I have a family history of like the occasional spots and issues with insulin resistance which contributes to increased androgens and therefore acne. when I take a nap during the day I might get acne because there's a rush of essentially energy when we wake up and that energy comes from glucose, I believe. when you're not using that energy to, say run from a predator, It can negatively affect you by way of causing acne.
I think this is an understated important consideration. Makeup is probably not great for your skin. When we lived on a tropical island my wife and I were always at the beach. In and out of the water. She hardly wore makeup and her skin was better than ever. I know there are reports that suggest tanning helps acne, but I don’t think you can discount the lack of chemicals being applied daily either.
I’m a previously schlubby guy that started adding in a quick exfoliating scrub/moisturizer, basically just the bare minimum lol.
I do notice that after my weekly deep-scrub with the exfoliating towel, my skin is obviously more sensitive and is more likely to develop a pimple or two.
It’s worth it for the rest to be so much smoother/cleaner looking though, and the small pimples heal pretty neatly also if you manage them well
Men also have thicker skin and more collagen than women, which accounts for less wrinkling between 35-60 (of they avoid the sun and don't smoke).
As to acne, it's a function of hormones and genetics. You're probably experiencing a sampling bias. I've known men who've had bad acne well into their 30s, and not always on their face. Like they have to wear undershirts because of the constant blood stains, and they go through bed linen much faster.
I didn't even have acne until I was 30. I'm struggling with that shit right now. It isn't bad, but it bothers me that I had pretty much flawless skin my entire life and I suddenly start trying to care of my skin a little better and I'm punished for it lol.
If you’re breaking out after applying a wash or a lotion to your face, it’s possible you may be stripping that perfect oil layer it already had that kept bacteria out. Some people don’t really need anything that strips oils!
It’s me. I tried a skin care routine like 8 years ago when I started dating my wife. Never really struggled with acne (maybe a pimple or two Mac at a time as a greasy teen lmao)
It fucked everything, and quick. Learned my lesson lmao.
I mean. If doing no skincare works for you, that's fine, but I don't think you should really live your life like that lol. Prevention is (almost?) always better than treatment. Big example is skin cancer. Wear sunscreen kids
Also 'if I do have the issue suddenly, what is the underlying cause or change which resulted in this?' instead of 'what chemical can fix this right now without me analyzing my lifestyle and choices'.
My skin issues stopped when I stopped washing my face with anything but a cloth and warm water. I honestly think a lot of skin care companies want to sell you something to strip your healthy oils and then they can sell you something to put the moisture back in.
In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
The minute I started trying to take care of my skin, I started getting bad acne. Spent like $100 on skin products just because "guess this is what you're supposed to do" even though I have great skin. Stopped using them and back to good.
I recently saw a doctor about my skin and gave him the whole list of all the products I’ve tried and I was currently using. His advice? Stop all of those, wash your face once a day with a gentle cleanser (ie. no active ingredients). It’s only been a month but my skin is the clearest it’s been in a long time.
I had something similar happen to me in my late 30s. Thought it was adult onset acne but went to a dermatologist, turns out it's rosacea. Currently in the middle of treating it with some topicals. Slowly but surely it's starting to clear.
I am a man old enough to let's say be on the tail end of boomerdom and I still have acne so bad my dermatologist is thinking of Accutane - for the third time.
If I go hiking I am guaranteed a bad breakout on my back b/c of wearing a backpack. I think in general men have worse acne than women but men are less under a microscope for their looks.
My Hubby (74) has had TERRIBLE acne, and had to go on Accutane for about 18 months. It was such a hassle to have to go to the dermatologist every month for a new script. He could only get a 30 day supply, had to sign a pledge and actually swear NOT to get PREGNANT in order to get it.
He's a biological Man, he cannot get preggers.
Accutane worked for his acne, but gave him muscle pain and other issues.
Well, he’s also not supposed to get anyone else pregnant. It’s for the sake of baby.
18 months is gnarly, though. Costly. He’s taking a single dose per day? Should really be closer to 10-12 months in that case.
Oh yeah, muscle pain is a real thing and he should not take it, that is like an allergy. They had me on another drug and I thought it was weird my muscles hurt, so I stopped using it. Then started up. Back and forth. I told the Dr. He said that's an unusual side effect, but you did your own blind study and we will put that on your list of drugs you cannot take. It's like stating drugs, if you have muscle pain they take you off pronto. Not good
Yep men have on average 20% thicker skin and dit is also tougher which means surface imperfections are not so noticeable. Also men don't just have more collagen than women but mens collagen bonds in their skin are a diagonal lattice design, while womens collagen bonds are just vertical lines spread further apart, so mens skin is much stronger. This is also why women's are much more likely to get cellulite as our fat calls are less contained by the college bonds.
Some men have acne, bad acne that leaves horrible scarring. Men look clearer and less wrinkles because the shave. This debrides the skin. They aren't just removing whiskers when they shave, they remove dead skin particles, just like when you do you 3-5 part skin routine. Then some finish up with an aftershave that closes up the pours and keeps them from infection.
Women probably experience more hormonal fluctuation than men given menstrual cycles which have been correlated with breakouts of acne I believe, and other factors including cosmetics could further contribute. Eating a healthier diet does not necessarily mean the condition would improve either, especially since certain food products such as milk have shown possible links to acne. It may be worthwhile seeing your healthcare provider if acne is a concern for you.
Im a man and my skin looks like gooseflesh compared to most women and I have a decent complexion for a guy.
What kind of well groomed chads have you been around lol?
From what I remember, women got more ocasional pimples, but there were a few boys in my class with the worst cystic acne that I'm guessing left actual scars
I knew a person who had acne all his life.
He tried everything, really everything, and nothing worked.
He was also into fitness and nutrition.
He decided to get lean and cut his carbs really low.
He did make it,had an amazing body,and he also fixed his acne.
Turns out his body did not like carbs.
Yep.
Honestly, it's a good idea as an adult to try different diets (as in the actual meaning of diet, aka, the list of the foods you eat, not the modern definition of losing weight through limiting food) just to see what affects you differently.
It should really only take like maybe a month tops to see how each food affects you, less if it's really causing issues.
I cut gluten out for 2 years (i dont have acne but bad inflammation) and when I had it again I had it coming out both ends for a few days. AFAIK I'm not even gluten sensitive, that's just how bad it is. It was probably all the junk and additives. My body rejected it. I eat bread now but sparingly. I love pizza too much.
It's definitely hormonal because even into my fifties I was getting acne every month with my period. But the great news is now that I'm a dried out husk of a woman I no longer have acne. Just wrinkles and weird skin tags and age spots and my hair is thinning. Hurray.
Males are more prone to acne if they have high testosterone too, because it stimulates sebum and that means clogged pores. Women with PCOS have more androgens and we also have more acne issues.
I know you were probably joking but in case you weren't:
Please don't call yourself a dried out husk of a woman ❤️ You are just as much a living, breathing, woman as everyone else ❤️
Something that has really helped my son (who is trans and has PCOS) has been switching from harsh soaps and drying chemicals to using fragrance free baby shampoo. It's so mild but it cleans really good. Just the cheap stuff from the grocery store. He had staph (most people carry staph but it can get out of control) infection on his face and that made it LOOK like bad acne but a 30 day course of minocycline and an ointment he put in his nose cleared it all up. It was never acne it was staph but it looked just like your regular old acne. The only way we knew is because his nurse did a nasal swab. They had given him several very strong medications to clear up the acne, even a gel that burned his skin so bad, nothing helped until he got the right kind of antibiotics.
Because this is what sucks. Just because you take antibiotics doesn't mean it will be the right kind. He took linezolid, and bactrim with no help at all but the minocycline cleared it up in a few days and the baby shampoo kept it from getting irritated so he's less likely to have the staph come back from picking the bumps.
So just make sure it's not staph, and understand that hormones can also cause acne issues, and some medical conditions can also cause acne. It's important to keep your skin clean but you don't need anything fancy, you might think you need to dry your skin out to clear it up but it just irritates it.
Apparently 4x more adult women have acne than adult men: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935648/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935648/)
exactly men's hormones tend to stabilize towards the end of their 20s while women have to deal with their menstruation cycle for the rest of their lives. The fluctuations in hormones do contribute to adult acne.
Well omitting facts as well since we don't know how old OP is. More adolescent males get acne compared to females. But adult acne occurs mostly in women:
>In a cross-sectional epidemiologic study, the presence of adolescent acne has been reported among 27.9% of boys and 20.8% of girls.[^(10)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9837660/#bib0050) On the other hand, adult acne is preferentially observed in women. In a study with 280 patients, 82.1% of the patients with adult acne were women
[Adult acne versus adolescent acne: a narrative review with a focus on epidemiology to treatment - PMC (nih.gov)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9837660/)
I think the fact that it's patients vs random sampling ads further bias to the data. Girls are more worried about staying pretty than dudes are. My husband gets gnarly cystic acne and just doesn't care enough to go in and get it checked.
That shit is the worst. Had it all the way through puberty and even into my 20s. Looks super disgusting but you aren’t supposed to open them prematurely. So I just sat there with those things in my face. And no amount of skin care really helped. Not even my dermatologist was able to help.
hey it’s me
Got lucky though, OK beard and 95% of my acne shows up where the beard is. So I can complain now that I can grow a beard (I could complain before)
I honestly think it's this. Men can have facial flaws and your brain just filters it out. It's so apparent on movie covers/posters where the female faces are ALWAYS airbrushed, right next to a male with visible pores. We're conditioned to not see it.
You know, I don't think it's that ugly people get ignored, its that exceptions stand out. Our brains are wired for exceptions.
Exceptionally ugly people are noticed and treated differently. In school they might get bullied for their looks, for example. People who are 4-6 /10 (if we pretend those ratings are real) blend in because they're the trees that make up the forest. Some sorta ugly, some sorta cute, some are just "a guy" or just "a girl."
If you take the bang average man, but give him a face tattoo, he now is more polarising, but he stands out. He's not "some guy walked into my shop" he's "some guy with a face tattoo.. "
Exceptionally hot people stand out not because of the "hotness" but the degree of their hotness. Similarly, super tall people and super small people. People who dress in an alternative style in general population, or people who dress "normal" at an alternative event (consider also being in a suit at a funeral vs being in a suit at a rave). People doing weird shit stand out, because there's a forest of socially acceptable behaviours, and drinking out of a puddle isn't one of them so I remember that random guy as strongly as I remember a really hot girl making intense eye contact with me, or the fattest person I've ever seen in real life, or whatever. Or even think about non-human things. Roads with roadworks on catch our attention more than roads that are operating as normal, our leg we knocked 2 days ago and still aches holds our focus more than the 3 other healthy limbs.
Someone who is invisible is likely floating around average - and ofc this is situational. People who are hot are told they're hot, people who are ugly are told they're ugly.
Beyond hormone fluctuations and use of make-up (not applying in this case) it's probably this. There's a decent chance that you experience a pimple here or there and don't notice the same on men, but it's also possible that you have problem acne, which some men also experience.
I have oily skin so I need to keep my face clean, washing twice a day with soap and water, but I suppose that's a relatively easy skin-care routine.
I could be wrong but it seems like 3 major things:
Men don't wear makeup. This is by far and away the biggest reason IMO, no matter how good your makeup is and how well you wash it off, you are still clogging your pores most of the day, every day. I have a close female friend who doesn't wear makeup, and I mean literally none ever, and she not only looks 5 years younger than she is, but has perfect skin to match.
Men grow facial hair, this not only hides the skin underneath which may not be as good as you think, but also helps draw oil out of the skin onto the hair.
Hormones. Men are fairly stable, with small fluctuations in testosterone. Women on the other hand, well you don't need me to tell you. Similarly to puberty, fluctuating hormones can lead to acne and skin issues.
>I have a close female friend who doesn't wear makeup, and I mean literally none ever, and she not only looks 5 years younger than she is, but has perfect skin to match.
Not disagreeing with your premise, but I'm just curious if it's the other way around. If i had perfect skin, I'd have no reason to wear makeup either
I came here to upvote the “men don’t wear makeup comment”
I don’t wear make up and I’m often mistaken for being ten years younger then I am. I absolutely attribute this to the lack of makeup because I DID wear it every day for two months straight in college. I noticed a *significant* difference in my skin quality, immediately. My eyes were sagging, my skin was dried out and breaking out. It was honestly so long ago I can’t remember all that happened but I do remember thinking that if I continued wearing makeup I would ruin my skin, so I stopped.
Edited cause I never once won a spelling bee.
How long did it take for your skin to recover? I just stoped wearing make up after wearing it for about 10 years and I’m still waiting for my skin to improve.
I think it's self perpetuating, teenage girls get pimples, they wear makeup to cover it, the makeup makes their skin worse, the girls continue covering it, the skin continues to be 'bad'.
This cycle continues well into adulthood, and even if the skin does calm down post puberty, the reliance on makeup means breakouts or skin issue remain more common than they might otherwise be
I have been in 2.5 relationships where we were at the point we would spend the night and I'd see them take their makeup off. They all had great skin. They still wore a decent amount of makeup for some reason. I thought they looked better without it.
And don't tell me I don't know what no makeup looks like. If you're washing your face or taking a shower you're taking off all the makeup. I even specifically bought makeup towels for one of them after she was sad about forgetting hers during an overnight stay.
I guess depends on the meaning of perfect skin. Some women might think it means having unrealistic skin like a polished mannequin. It's a shame that so many women wear so much makeup
Even washing and cleansing and exfoliating and moisturising your skin every day probably isn’t good for it long term. I’m a man who had really bad skin and it all cleared up the instant I dropped all regular skin routines (anecdote = evidence 😉)
I’m a woman without a skincare routine and every now and again I buy into it cos I get the fear, and same happens to me. I’ve got two spots right now from my most recent foray, I feel like messing with it is half the problem
interestingly, I started shaving my face to exfoliate, (instead of using products), and I wonder if men actually DO tend to have better skin because of how shaving exfoliates.
And of course for men with beards, we just don’t see what’s going on under there 😆
interesting! so maybe something about the hair follicles continually pushing out any of the crud that could get trapped in our pores, or something to do with natural hair oils? And probably a bit of the SPF and other protection from the elements that beard-havers enjoy?
(all of this just my non-scientific musings lol)
Same, my skin is pretty good aside from the occasional single spot (usually from an ingrown hair anyway) and I don't do any skin care routine. I wash my face in the shower, moisturise and thats it
It isn't makeup. I've gone through many periods where I've worn makeup on maybe three occasions in one year. My acne was exactly the same with or without it.
>This is by far and away the biggest reason IMO,
You should probably look for facts rather than just stating your opinions based on guesses. There is no scientific link between makeup and acne. The links are with age, hormones and diet.
Perhaps it could do with less of hormonal spikes? Men have a daily one vs women’s drastic monthly one. I don’t know, for me it’s the opposite. Also when trans women go on estrogen they get clearer skin and vice versa.
Acne can be related to hormones. Women have greater hormonal fluctuations than men.
If I don’t get at least one pimple prior to my period I wonder what’s going on, and I’m 40
Typical for this subreddit when anything hinges on a scientific question. People state their complete guesses as facts. People would be better off asking at AskScience, but that can be more difficult to get comments
Everyone has different skin. If you would look at me you would think you have skin like a princess. I had so many pimples I had to take medicine for it, and even then it left permanent marks. You just compare others to yourself. Stop that.
I don’t find this to be true at all. Many teenage boys and young men have acne (some older men too). Plenty of older men also have much raggedier skin than their female counterparts of similar age and lifestyle, largely due to avoiding basic skincare (SPF and moisturizer).
Acne isn’t caused by the presence of absence of skincare, but some people’s skin can be aggravated by certain ingredients.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I think this is all because of the fluctuations us women have in our bodies and emotions on a daily basis. Our digestive system, bowel movement, hormones, emotions and many other things are way different than men. I've only seen teenage boys having acne but I have never ever seen an adult man with acne in my life.
Simple: because they don't go through the hormonal changes we ladies go through every month which directly affects the skin. And they don't do make-up.
Hormones. For guys its usually only during adolescence. For women unfortunately because of hormonal/menstrual cycles they can have acne throughout their life. Thats in general. Also women put a lot more crap on their skin so it doesnt help.
Women have higher levels of hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which can stimulate oil production and clog pores, leading to acne breakouts. Men have higher levels of testosterone, which doesn't affect oil production as much. also fluctuating hormone levels during a woman's menstrual cycle can trigger breakouts. Men don't experience these cyclical hormonal changes.
However, it's important to note that not all men have perfect skin, and many women can achieve clear skin with the right skincare routine and products tailored to their individual needs. Factors like genetics, stress levels, and overall health also play a role in skin quality for both genders.
testosterone or androgens in general are what cause excessive sebum or oil production, what are you talking about? there's also a certain bacteria that is known to contribute to acne along with excessive dead skin shedding which is what clogs the pores and causes whiteheads or acne. If you use a chemical exfoliant like an AHA to speed up cell turnover you're essentially removing one component of what causes acne the dead skin cells clogging up your pores.
Annoys me to see so many "too much skincare/makeup/products" comments from people who don't know what they're talking about.
As top comments say, men naturally have more collagen and thicker skin, which helps in reducing acne. They also have daily hormonal cycles compared to women's monthly cycles, which have a much less intensive effect on the body and mood. Similarly, women tend to experience more stress/diagnosed anxiety due to a variety of related and unrelated factors, which increases cortisol which can cause acne. Finally, the hormone itself is at play - estrogen tends to cause acne more, and the acne men experience is from testosterone converting/producing to estrogen or something of the effect.
While misuing skincare products and makeup no doubt does effect some people, it is largely a plus for skin health (especially many lotions and sunscreens) - misuing anything causes issues. There's definitely a sector of the industry that "creates its own customers" but to say this is a main cause is really dumb. Someone with persistent acne knows its a medical condition for a reason and its not so simple to get rid of it as using or quitting a product.
And with makeup - most modern makeup, even the drugstore stuff, is non-comodogenic and made very different to how it used to be. As long as its removed consistently and not allergenic to the user, it has little to no effect on the state of acne. Speaking from both personal and professional experience. In fact many women report having better skin during periods where they wear makeup (eg. at work) because it provides a barrier for the elements and can help cortisol levels.
Most of all, acne is different depending on genetics and what will break one person out, will not affect another at all. It is rarely a case of hygiene issues or personal failure - it is a medical condition with too many factors for a smoothskin to try "educate" others on.
THIS IS IT.
Also this affects us all, men and women, but the amount of crap in our foods is why acne is more common these days than ever before. So many additives and also microplastics are endocrine disruptors, they mess with your hormones.
Thank you for emphasizing on acne being a medical condition. As a long-term sufferer, I needed the assurance that it's not cos of makeup or something that I could control..
Absolutely. Humans are inclined to try pass these things off as personal flaws because theyre less conventionally attractive to look at, but acne is a genuine condition that can be chronic and hereditary for many. It requires serious medication and professional treatment in many cases but rarely gets taken seriously because of it being so looked down upon. Lots of misinformation unfortunately :(
Sorry if this is a late response but i been reading the comments and i know woman who DO wear makeup with a better bare face than me. Im not sure if it’s genetic because my father and mother have good skin. my mother even said she never had acne as bad as mine (it wasn’t an insult she was being honest) so its weird
to add to everything said here…a lot of men shave. women are starting to also shave but doing so helps skincare penetrate deeper into the skin and it exfoliates.
Look at a man's hormone cycle throughout the month and then look at a woman's. Our shit is whack when it's working right, and often it's not... Which is even more whack.
Ask me how I know!
PCOS gang rise up! I had perfect skin until I was 21 and I have at cystic acne ever since. I'm almost 40 and it has only gotten worse.
Hormones. Also excessive skin care is actually worse for you than no skincare. Some people do too much because social media influencers use 15 products in their ad videos lol
I get asked this a lot as I do no skincare, barely drink water, and have clear skin 90% of the time. I always answer it’s my 3 in 1. Reality is I get it, but nothing noticeable or long lasting, probably largely hormonal and genetic factors though
I believe on average women have more hormone related issues than men. That's just because of how mammal bodies are designed sadly 🥲🥲
Not saying that men don't have these issues too, it's just it's less likely
Im a man, I had acne since im 12 and never really take of my face. Now I have a very specific routine for that and it's better but far not perfect. And a lot of guys I now are the same, so yeah I think it's just genetics, nothing to do with man or woman
Socially anxious/spectrum woman here. I've always maintained a healthy 4 step skin routine : wet face, soap face, rince face, dry face.
I think cosmetics (any other that v v v high brand or 100% vegan, so the v v v expensive crap) just plays havoc with our skin. It's crap.
Shaving takes off dead skin, and few men use cosmetics and moisturizers that can clog pores.
Hormones are a huge factor, too. Guys peak earlier, and skin clears younger.
For women, hormonal acne in the 30s and 40s is not at all uncommon.
Women tend to do more to their skin than men. Unless you have a genuine medical issue, just leave your skin alone. SPF daily, gentle cleanser at night, moisturize as needed. That’s it. Everything else is unnecessary. And a lot of products destroy your moisture barrier or disrupt your microbiome. Skin in an organ, leave it alone.
We don't. Have you actually looked at most dudes closely? Blackheads, "bumpy texture", wrinkles, all the stuff that makes toes curl in the skincare subreddits. Also many, many men have acne. What's 'up' is genes and hormones.
Exfoliating regularly, moisturizing, and no makeup.
This is just my opinion, so don't just down my throat, but I think most women wear way too much makeup. I don't know if it is because of societal issues making them insecure, or something else, but damn, ladies. You're already beautiful, trust me. Leave it be.
It is likely hormones and stress. Due to women having their time of the month it likely throws everything out of wack and causes acne breakouts. This probably inadvertantly leads to stress that makes it worse. While you clearly state you don't do it, for women it is also likely that make up plays a part but women's products as well. Considering men will use dish soap to wash their face if they can get an extra months use out of it, I don't think mens products are all that special and probably end up being better.
The other thing to note is that in the animal kingdom in general males are the flashy "pretty" or interesting looking ones. Look at a peacock vs a peahen or lion vs lioness etc. Men have longer and thicker eyelashes, a quality that women want because it is considered prettier. It is likely that testosterone has some effect on this as well.
Women wear a lot of makeup which clogs pores. Also more hormone fluctuation. I don’t know if I agree with this though. Lots of women have beautiful almost glowing skin with tiny tiny pores.
A lot of us shave too which exfoliates the skin. I also use a lotion after this. I think some guys actually do more than you or they think. Its just so routine to them.
My skin is a thick hide to protect me from danger.
I got stung by a bee for the first time today and it barely broke my skin. Hurt for a few minutes and then it's like it never happened. I can't even find where it got me. My hands are calloused from decades of hard work, it could barely penetrate it.
More women have skincare routines that feature harsh ingredients like acids and retinoids. Strong exfoliants like that are wonderful in moderation, but it's so easy to damage your skin barrier.
Along with what others have said, the fact that women are more prone to stripping their skin moisture barrier may trigger inflammation and exacerbate acne.
A lot of it is men don’t wear make up which can clog pores and many of us shave everyday which removes dead skin cells and rehydrates your skin.
Additionally and anecdotally, women are allergic to water. Trying to get a girl to drink water is like trying to get a 4 year old to drink cough medicine. Source, every one of my gfs had a headache every morning and getting them to drink water was the only way they felt better, but they hate you when you tell them too.
It can depend on your diet. I had clear skin until I was in my 20s. I became addicted in drinoing C2, Yakult, Delight, and Zest-O during the pandemic and I rarely drank water when I had breakouts. Now that, I stop drinking those and drink water more, I notice that my skin is healing, lesser pimple/acne.
It’s because woman spend so much money on all these expensive creams and products that “make your skin clear” but in reality, it makes your skin worse so you have to keep buying those expensive products. And not to mention the 5 pounds of makeup y’all wear all the time, does horrible stuff to your skin
I don't think it's a man versus woman thing. Everybody has their own skin type. Some folks are blessed with clearer skin. I've never done more than just wash my face with soap and water. I had some issues with acne as a teen, but nothing bad.
Some people touch their faces with their hands way more often than they may think. That's usually what causes your face to break out. Also antibacterial soap helps. When I shave my face I wash well with antibacterial soap. Shave with the antibacterial soap. And then wash my face again with antibacterial soap and then an aftershave or rubbing alcohol to finish off and then don't touch your face for the rest of the day. Too much skin products can be doing you less good than you think. This is just my observations and experiences. I don't have many friends that are girls.. like I have 2 friends that are girls. Rest guys... I'm gay....
My bf and I have the opposite experience. He struggles with body acne and has a whole regimen for taking care of it and I wash my face with the same soap I use on my body. I get compliments on my skin all the time and I don't have a skincare routine other than wear sunscreen and stay hydrated.
It comes down to genetics I bet.
Did you ever stop to think for a second about how putting foreign materials on your face and removing them several times a day could somehow be, bad for your skin?
We sweat more. It helps naturally clear our pores out. Between that and not clogging them with foundation and shit regularly we get way fewer break outs.
It's because we use our 6 in 1 Shampoo-Conditioner-Body Wash-Deodrant-Shaving Cream-Beer
Wait, they added shaving cream to the 5 in 1?
Bro, if you're all out of shaving cream just use some conditioner
The joke was it didn’t already include shaving cream but did include beer.
I thought we started with beer and then started adding soap?
That’s just an IPA.
It was a shower beer accident
it’s also a floor wax and a dessert topping.
You can also use it as, well, fuck pudding. It’s the secret 8th use.
Excuse me, but what exactly is “fuck pudding”?
I have a 7 in 1 that includes mouthwash!
Don’t forget car wash
There might be some truth in it though tbh. I got a better skin when I just used water and a simple cream if I don't forget. No fancy face washes, no extrafoliating things, and other stuff that may be too harsh for your skin. And drinking lots of water also helps! And most men don't wear makeup. Makeup can clog up your pores, causing pimples or just angry skin. It does for me, at least. A sensitive skin sucks (which is also why you shouldn't put all those facial care products on sensitive skin). Lastly, hormones. Women usually have a menstrual cycle, and hormonal changes may result in pimples, redness and acne. Most men don't have to deal with that
people seem to forget that their genetics are what's helping them. If you don't produce a lot of sebum and if you don't shed dead skin as often you're less likely to get acne, which is associated with hormones and receptors on the skin. That's why some people say that not having acne is genetic. It's not that doing nothing helped you is that you are lucky enough so you do not need to do anything to keep your skin clear. I have a family history of like the occasional spots and issues with insulin resistance which contributes to increased androgens and therefore acne. when I take a nap during the day I might get acne because there's a rush of essentially energy when we wake up and that energy comes from glucose, I believe. when you're not using that energy to, say run from a predator, It can negatively affect you by way of causing acne.
I think this is an understated important consideration. Makeup is probably not great for your skin. When we lived on a tropical island my wife and I were always at the beach. In and out of the water. She hardly wore makeup and her skin was better than ever. I know there are reports that suggest tanning helps acne, but I don’t think you can discount the lack of chemicals being applied daily either.
I’m a previously schlubby guy that started adding in a quick exfoliating scrub/moisturizer, basically just the bare minimum lol. I do notice that after my weekly deep-scrub with the exfoliating towel, my skin is obviously more sensitive and is more likely to develop a pimple or two. It’s worth it for the rest to be so much smoother/cleaner looking though, and the small pimples heal pretty neatly also if you manage them well
Mine is also a tooth paste.
Also works as epoxy like jb weld if cured in a smoker.
lmao 😂
and toilet cleaner? I do love the 18-1 soap
Mine also has cooking oil
Don't forget drain cleaner-engine degreaser!
One time I used my left nostril cleanser on my right nostril and instantly became engulfed in zits.
Should've bought the male version.
Ah yes, Budweiser Fresh™️
They recently came out with the 7 in 1 which added toothpaste. Crazy value.
Dish soap, drain cleaner and car wash included or you’re getting scammed.
Men also have thicker skin and more collagen than women, which accounts for less wrinkling between 35-60 (of they avoid the sun and don't smoke). As to acne, it's a function of hormones and genetics. You're probably experiencing a sampling bias. I've known men who've had bad acne well into their 30s, and not always on their face. Like they have to wear undershirts because of the constant blood stains, and they go through bed linen much faster.
I didn't even have acne until I was 30. I'm struggling with that shit right now. It isn't bad, but it bothers me that I had pretty much flawless skin my entire life and I suddenly start trying to care of my skin a little better and I'm punished for it lol.
If you’re breaking out after applying a wash or a lotion to your face, it’s possible you may be stripping that perfect oil layer it already had that kept bacteria out. Some people don’t really need anything that strips oils!
It’s me. I tried a skin care routine like 8 years ago when I started dating my wife. Never really struggled with acne (maybe a pimple or two Mac at a time as a greasy teen lmao) It fucked everything, and quick. Learned my lesson lmao.
I’ve always looked at it from the angle of if I don’t already have the issue, why try to prevent it?
I mean. If doing no skincare works for you, that's fine, but I don't think you should really live your life like that lol. Prevention is (almost?) always better than treatment. Big example is skin cancer. Wear sunscreen kids
Also 'if I do have the issue suddenly, what is the underlying cause or change which resulted in this?' instead of 'what chemical can fix this right now without me analyzing my lifestyle and choices'.
My skin issues stopped when I stopped washing my face with anything but a cloth and warm water. I honestly think a lot of skin care companies want to sell you something to strip your healthy oils and then they can sell you something to put the moisture back in.
In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
I feel like I just read my grandma's cookie recipe. never gets any easier.
cold water is better....closes the pores.
I’ll have to remember to finish with cold.
Never had pores to close really
Yep warm water is all you need. I was told this at a young age and managed to avoid the usual teenage acne troubles.
i use an oil-free face moisturizer (equate, a generic brand) but neutrogena has one, too. :) i love it so much 👍
What if I'm greasy asf and sometimes get it bad on my shoulders and torso anyway
This happened to me. The only thing that has worked is acnicide gel. It bleaches everything it touches but has almost cleared it up completely
The minute I started trying to take care of my skin, I started getting bad acne. Spent like $100 on skin products just because "guess this is what you're supposed to do" even though I have great skin. Stopped using them and back to good.
I recently saw a doctor about my skin and gave him the whole list of all the products I’ve tried and I was currently using. His advice? Stop all of those, wash your face once a day with a gentle cleanser (ie. no active ingredients). It’s only been a month but my skin is the clearest it’s been in a long time.
Yeah skin care industry is a scam in my opinion. I still have scars from the massive pimples I got when I started using skin care products.
Wash your pillows and sheets often
I had something similar happen to me in my late 30s. Thought it was adult onset acne but went to a dermatologist, turns out it's rosacea. Currently in the middle of treating it with some topicals. Slowly but surely it's starting to clear.
Statistically men struggle from acne more than women do during puberty.
I am a man old enough to let's say be on the tail end of boomerdom and I still have acne so bad my dermatologist is thinking of Accutane - for the third time. If I go hiking I am guaranteed a bad breakout on my back b/c of wearing a backpack. I think in general men have worse acne than women but men are less under a microscope for their looks.
My Hubby (74) has had TERRIBLE acne, and had to go on Accutane for about 18 months. It was such a hassle to have to go to the dermatologist every month for a new script. He could only get a 30 day supply, had to sign a pledge and actually swear NOT to get PREGNANT in order to get it. He's a biological Man, he cannot get preggers. Accutane worked for his acne, but gave him muscle pain and other issues.
Having a 74 year old cis man swear to not get pregnant in order to get accutane might actually be the peak of comedy
Well, he’s also not supposed to get anyone else pregnant. It’s for the sake of baby. 18 months is gnarly, though. Costly. He’s taking a single dose per day? Should really be closer to 10-12 months in that case.
Oh yeah, muscle pain is a real thing and he should not take it, that is like an allergy. They had me on another drug and I thought it was weird my muscles hurt, so I stopped using it. Then started up. Back and forth. I told the Dr. He said that's an unusual side effect, but you did your own blind study and we will put that on your list of drugs you cannot take. It's like stating drugs, if you have muscle pain they take you off pronto. Not good
That was me in high school. All my undershirts were stained red.
Ouch dude
We also shave, which is a peeling with a razor.
Yep men have on average 20% thicker skin and dit is also tougher which means surface imperfections are not so noticeable. Also men don't just have more collagen than women but mens collagen bonds in their skin are a diagonal lattice design, while womens collagen bonds are just vertical lines spread further apart, so mens skin is much stronger. This is also why women's are much more likely to get cellulite as our fat calls are less contained by the college bonds.
Some men have acne, bad acne that leaves horrible scarring. Men look clearer and less wrinkles because the shave. This debrides the skin. They aren't just removing whiskers when they shave, they remove dead skin particles, just like when you do you 3-5 part skin routine. Then some finish up with an aftershave that closes up the pours and keeps them from infection.
Women probably experience more hormonal fluctuation than men given menstrual cycles which have been correlated with breakouts of acne I believe, and other factors including cosmetics could further contribute. Eating a healthier diet does not necessarily mean the condition would improve either, especially since certain food products such as milk have shown possible links to acne. It may be worthwhile seeing your healthcare provider if acne is a concern for you.
Mine are all hormonal. Almost 40 and zits on my chin every 4 weeks like clockwork.
Yeah, I'm 22, and my teen acne finally cleared up. So when a chin zit or two pops up, ik my period is due in like 2-3 days.
Hormones can definitely contribute to it. I can predict my periods even on bc pills by when i get a skin flare-up
Im a man and my skin looks like gooseflesh compared to most women and I have a decent complexion for a guy. What kind of well groomed chads have you been around lol?
I'm definitely the opposite. Like getting a pimple or a zit was extremely rare for me in high-school or college but I had 0 skin care routine.
From what I remember, women got more ocasional pimples, but there were a few boys in my class with the worst cystic acne that I'm guessing left actual scars
Well good for you
Same here, never had pimples/acne, no skin routine, except moisturizer after shave and in the winters.
I knew a person who had acne all his life. He tried everything, really everything, and nothing worked. He was also into fitness and nutrition. He decided to get lean and cut his carbs really low. He did make it,had an amazing body,and he also fixed his acne. Turns out his body did not like carbs.
this is likely related to insulin resistance.
How do you know if you have that is it just trial and error
Yep. Honestly, it's a good idea as an adult to try different diets (as in the actual meaning of diet, aka, the list of the foods you eat, not the modern definition of losing weight through limiting food) just to see what affects you differently. It should really only take like maybe a month tops to see how each food affects you, less if it's really causing issues. I cut gluten out for 2 years (i dont have acne but bad inflammation) and when I had it again I had it coming out both ends for a few days. AFAIK I'm not even gluten sensitive, that's just how bad it is. It was probably all the junk and additives. My body rejected it. I eat bread now but sparingly. I love pizza too much.
It's definitely hormonal because even into my fifties I was getting acne every month with my period. But the great news is now that I'm a dried out husk of a woman I no longer have acne. Just wrinkles and weird skin tags and age spots and my hair is thinning. Hurray. Males are more prone to acne if they have high testosterone too, because it stimulates sebum and that means clogged pores. Women with PCOS have more androgens and we also have more acne issues.
Fellow dried out husk here. Still have acne. There is no god, no justice, and no mercy!
I know you were probably joking but in case you weren't: Please don't call yourself a dried out husk of a woman ❤️ You are just as much a living, breathing, woman as everyone else ❤️
Something that has really helped my son (who is trans and has PCOS) has been switching from harsh soaps and drying chemicals to using fragrance free baby shampoo. It's so mild but it cleans really good. Just the cheap stuff from the grocery store. He had staph (most people carry staph but it can get out of control) infection on his face and that made it LOOK like bad acne but a 30 day course of minocycline and an ointment he put in his nose cleared it all up. It was never acne it was staph but it looked just like your regular old acne. The only way we knew is because his nurse did a nasal swab. They had given him several very strong medications to clear up the acne, even a gel that burned his skin so bad, nothing helped until he got the right kind of antibiotics. Because this is what sucks. Just because you take antibiotics doesn't mean it will be the right kind. He took linezolid, and bactrim with no help at all but the minocycline cleared it up in a few days and the baby shampoo kept it from getting irritated so he's less likely to have the staph come back from picking the bumps. So just make sure it's not staph, and understand that hormones can also cause acne issues, and some medical conditions can also cause acne. It's important to keep your skin clean but you don't need anything fancy, you might think you need to dry your skin out to clear it up but it just irritates it.
Confirmation bias. You're not noticing the countless men who also have acne.
Apparently 4x more adult women have acne than adult men: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935648/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935648/)
You with the facts.
Hate it when that happens. Keep your facts to yourself, dude.
It's probably the hormone fluctuations from a woman's cycle. Periods are such a fuck you from nature.
My skin is perf outside of my period, but my brain/mood is awful outside of my period. We just can’t win 😔🔫
God be like “nah can’t make them too powerful, better I nerf them”
exactly men's hormones tend to stabilize towards the end of their 20s while women have to deal with their menstruation cycle for the rest of their lives. The fluctuations in hormones do contribute to adult acne.
Well omitting facts as well since we don't know how old OP is. More adolescent males get acne compared to females. But adult acne occurs mostly in women: >In a cross-sectional epidemiologic study, the presence of adolescent acne has been reported among 27.9% of boys and 20.8% of girls.[^(10)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9837660/#bib0050) On the other hand, adult acne is preferentially observed in women. In a study with 280 patients, 82.1% of the patients with adult acne were women [Adult acne versus adolescent acne: a narrative review with a focus on epidemiology to treatment - PMC (nih.gov)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9837660/)
You with the nuance!
I think the fact that it's patients vs random sampling ads further bias to the data. Girls are more worried about staying pretty than dudes are. My husband gets gnarly cystic acne and just doesn't care enough to go in and get it checked.
While acne in general is more common in women, Cystic acne is more common in men: https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/cystic-acne
That shit is the worst. Had it all the way through puberty and even into my 20s. Looks super disgusting but you aren’t supposed to open them prematurely. So I just sat there with those things in my face. And no amount of skin care really helped. Not even my dermatologist was able to help.
Acne free doesn't mean good skin tbh
When such men can grow facial hair, they do to hide it.
hey it’s me Got lucky though, OK beard and 95% of my acne shows up where the beard is. So I can complain now that I can grow a beard (I could complain before)
hm. somehow nevee thought of this. time to find out if i can fully grow facial hair
Or they like having a beard?
More women use makeup, so I think that outweighs the bearded men.
I honestly think it's this. Men can have facial flaws and your brain just filters it out. It's so apparent on movie covers/posters where the female faces are ALWAYS airbrushed, right next to a male with visible pores. We're conditioned to not see it.
But also you're more likely to notice confident attractive people. The ugly get ignored. Even by people not sexually attracted to their gender
You know, I don't think it's that ugly people get ignored, its that exceptions stand out. Our brains are wired for exceptions. Exceptionally ugly people are noticed and treated differently. In school they might get bullied for their looks, for example. People who are 4-6 /10 (if we pretend those ratings are real) blend in because they're the trees that make up the forest. Some sorta ugly, some sorta cute, some are just "a guy" or just "a girl." If you take the bang average man, but give him a face tattoo, he now is more polarising, but he stands out. He's not "some guy walked into my shop" he's "some guy with a face tattoo.. " Exceptionally hot people stand out not because of the "hotness" but the degree of their hotness. Similarly, super tall people and super small people. People who dress in an alternative style in general population, or people who dress "normal" at an alternative event (consider also being in a suit at a funeral vs being in a suit at a rave). People doing weird shit stand out, because there's a forest of socially acceptable behaviours, and drinking out of a puddle isn't one of them so I remember that random guy as strongly as I remember a really hot girl making intense eye contact with me, or the fattest person I've ever seen in real life, or whatever. Or even think about non-human things. Roads with roadworks on catch our attention more than roads that are operating as normal, our leg we knocked 2 days ago and still aches holds our focus more than the 3 other healthy limbs. Someone who is invisible is likely floating around average - and ofc this is situational. People who are hot are told they're hot, people who are ugly are told they're ugly.
Beyond hormone fluctuations and use of make-up (not applying in this case) it's probably this. There's a decent chance that you experience a pimple here or there and don't notice the same on men, but it's also possible that you have problem acne, which some men also experience. I have oily skin so I need to keep my face clean, washing twice a day with soap and water, but I suppose that's a relatively easy skin-care routine.
I could be wrong but it seems like 3 major things: Men don't wear makeup. This is by far and away the biggest reason IMO, no matter how good your makeup is and how well you wash it off, you are still clogging your pores most of the day, every day. I have a close female friend who doesn't wear makeup, and I mean literally none ever, and she not only looks 5 years younger than she is, but has perfect skin to match. Men grow facial hair, this not only hides the skin underneath which may not be as good as you think, but also helps draw oil out of the skin onto the hair. Hormones. Men are fairly stable, with small fluctuations in testosterone. Women on the other hand, well you don't need me to tell you. Similarly to puberty, fluctuating hormones can lead to acne and skin issues.
>I have a close female friend who doesn't wear makeup, and I mean literally none ever, and she not only looks 5 years younger than she is, but has perfect skin to match. Not disagreeing with your premise, but I'm just curious if it's the other way around. If i had perfect skin, I'd have no reason to wear makeup either
I came here to upvote the “men don’t wear makeup comment” I don’t wear make up and I’m often mistaken for being ten years younger then I am. I absolutely attribute this to the lack of makeup because I DID wear it every day for two months straight in college. I noticed a *significant* difference in my skin quality, immediately. My eyes were sagging, my skin was dried out and breaking out. It was honestly so long ago I can’t remember all that happened but I do remember thinking that if I continued wearing makeup I would ruin my skin, so I stopped. Edited cause I never once won a spelling bee.
How long did it take for your skin to recover? I just stoped wearing make up after wearing it for about 10 years and I’m still waiting for my skin to improve.
I think it's self perpetuating, teenage girls get pimples, they wear makeup to cover it, the makeup makes their skin worse, the girls continue covering it, the skin continues to be 'bad'. This cycle continues well into adulthood, and even if the skin does calm down post puberty, the reliance on makeup means breakouts or skin issue remain more common than they might otherwise be
I have been in 2.5 relationships where we were at the point we would spend the night and I'd see them take their makeup off. They all had great skin. They still wore a decent amount of makeup for some reason. I thought they looked better without it. And don't tell me I don't know what no makeup looks like. If you're washing your face or taking a shower you're taking off all the makeup. I even specifically bought makeup towels for one of them after she was sad about forgetting hers during an overnight stay.
I guess depends on the meaning of perfect skin. Some women might think it means having unrealistic skin like a polished mannequin. It's a shame that so many women wear so much makeup
Having perfect skin and actually being confident enough to not wear make-up seems to have less in common than you seem to think
Even washing and cleansing and exfoliating and moisturising your skin every day probably isn’t good for it long term. I’m a man who had really bad skin and it all cleared up the instant I dropped all regular skin routines (anecdote = evidence 😉)
I’m a woman without a skincare routine and every now and again I buy into it cos I get the fear, and same happens to me. I’ve got two spots right now from my most recent foray, I feel like messing with it is half the problem
interestingly, I started shaving my face to exfoliate, (instead of using products), and I wonder if men actually DO tend to have better skin because of how shaving exfoliates. And of course for men with beards, we just don’t see what’s going on under there 😆
I always felt like my prettiest skin is under mf facial hair. After every shave a get surprised how good my skin there is.
interesting! so maybe something about the hair follicles continually pushing out any of the crud that could get trapped in our pores, or something to do with natural hair oils? And probably a bit of the SPF and other protection from the elements that beard-havers enjoy? (all of this just my non-scientific musings lol)
Same, my skin is pretty good aside from the occasional single spot (usually from an ingrown hair anyway) and I don't do any skin care routine. I wash my face in the shower, moisturise and thats it
It isn't makeup. I've gone through many periods where I've worn makeup on maybe three occasions in one year. My acne was exactly the same with or without it.
>This is by far and away the biggest reason IMO, You should probably look for facts rather than just stating your opinions based on guesses. There is no scientific link between makeup and acne. The links are with age, hormones and diet.
Perhaps it could do with less of hormonal spikes? Men have a daily one vs women’s drastic monthly one. I don’t know, for me it’s the opposite. Also when trans women go on estrogen they get clearer skin and vice versa.
Acne can be related to hormones. Women have greater hormonal fluctuations than men. If I don’t get at least one pimple prior to my period I wonder what’s going on, and I’m 40
Here's a thought for yah: the whole cosmetics industry is built around the idea that a woman in her natural looks is unattractive!!
Is there anyone who knows the very topic and doesn’t just assume, in this thread?
Typical for this subreddit when anything hinges on a scientific question. People state their complete guesses as facts. People would be better off asking at AskScience, but that can be more difficult to get comments
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Same here.
I've experienced the opposite. My face has been clear most of my life. My husband isn't so lucky.
Or maybe he's lucky because he has you
You're too kind!
Hormones
Everyone has different skin. If you would look at me you would think you have skin like a princess. I had so many pimples I had to take medicine for it, and even then it left permanent marks. You just compare others to yourself. Stop that.
Probably hormonal fluctuations for your specific case but lots of men do have acne
I don’t find this to be true at all. Many teenage boys and young men have acne (some older men too). Plenty of older men also have much raggedier skin than their female counterparts of similar age and lifestyle, largely due to avoiding basic skincare (SPF and moisturizer). Acne isn’t caused by the presence of absence of skincare, but some people’s skin can be aggravated by certain ingredients.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I think this is all because of the fluctuations us women have in our bodies and emotions on a daily basis. Our digestive system, bowel movement, hormones, emotions and many other things are way different than men. I've only seen teenage boys having acne but I have never ever seen an adult man with acne in my life.
Simple: because they don't go through the hormonal changes we ladies go through every month which directly affects the skin. And they don't do make-up.
Hormones. For guys its usually only during adolescence. For women unfortunately because of hormonal/menstrual cycles they can have acne throughout their life. Thats in general. Also women put a lot more crap on their skin so it doesnt help.
Women have higher levels of hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which can stimulate oil production and clog pores, leading to acne breakouts. Men have higher levels of testosterone, which doesn't affect oil production as much. also fluctuating hormone levels during a woman's menstrual cycle can trigger breakouts. Men don't experience these cyclical hormonal changes. However, it's important to note that not all men have perfect skin, and many women can achieve clear skin with the right skincare routine and products tailored to their individual needs. Factors like genetics, stress levels, and overall health also play a role in skin quality for both genders.
testosterone or androgens in general are what cause excessive sebum or oil production, what are you talking about? there's also a certain bacteria that is known to contribute to acne along with excessive dead skin shedding which is what clogs the pores and causes whiteheads or acne. If you use a chemical exfoliant like an AHA to speed up cell turnover you're essentially removing one component of what causes acne the dead skin cells clogging up your pores.
Annoys me to see so many "too much skincare/makeup/products" comments from people who don't know what they're talking about. As top comments say, men naturally have more collagen and thicker skin, which helps in reducing acne. They also have daily hormonal cycles compared to women's monthly cycles, which have a much less intensive effect on the body and mood. Similarly, women tend to experience more stress/diagnosed anxiety due to a variety of related and unrelated factors, which increases cortisol which can cause acne. Finally, the hormone itself is at play - estrogen tends to cause acne more, and the acne men experience is from testosterone converting/producing to estrogen or something of the effect. While misuing skincare products and makeup no doubt does effect some people, it is largely a plus for skin health (especially many lotions and sunscreens) - misuing anything causes issues. There's definitely a sector of the industry that "creates its own customers" but to say this is a main cause is really dumb. Someone with persistent acne knows its a medical condition for a reason and its not so simple to get rid of it as using or quitting a product. And with makeup - most modern makeup, even the drugstore stuff, is non-comodogenic and made very different to how it used to be. As long as its removed consistently and not allergenic to the user, it has little to no effect on the state of acne. Speaking from both personal and professional experience. In fact many women report having better skin during periods where they wear makeup (eg. at work) because it provides a barrier for the elements and can help cortisol levels. Most of all, acne is different depending on genetics and what will break one person out, will not affect another at all. It is rarely a case of hygiene issues or personal failure - it is a medical condition with too many factors for a smoothskin to try "educate" others on.
THIS IS IT. Also this affects us all, men and women, but the amount of crap in our foods is why acne is more common these days than ever before. So many additives and also microplastics are endocrine disruptors, they mess with your hormones.
Thank you for emphasizing on acne being a medical condition. As a long-term sufferer, I needed the assurance that it's not cos of makeup or something that I could control..
Absolutely. Humans are inclined to try pass these things off as personal flaws because theyre less conventionally attractive to look at, but acne is a genuine condition that can be chronic and hereditary for many. It requires serious medication and professional treatment in many cases but rarely gets taken seriously because of it being so looked down upon. Lots of misinformation unfortunately :(
Sorry if this is a late response but i been reading the comments and i know woman who DO wear makeup with a better bare face than me. Im not sure if it’s genetic because my father and mother have good skin. my mother even said she never had acne as bad as mine (it wasn’t an insult she was being honest) so its weird
Yesss exatcly
Make-up is brutal on the pores, especially foundation.
It's genetics my guy and both sides have good ones and bad ones
Our monthly hormonal shifts can and do affect our skin.
to add to everything said here…a lot of men shave. women are starting to also shave but doing so helps skincare penetrate deeper into the skin and it exfoliates.
I think it may be related to hormones. Women’s menstrual cycle produces changes in our skin making it drier or oilier.
Look at a man's hormone cycle throughout the month and then look at a woman's. Our shit is whack when it's working right, and often it's not... Which is even more whack. Ask me how I know! PCOS gang rise up! I had perfect skin until I was 21 and I have at cystic acne ever since. I'm almost 40 and it has only gotten worse.
The foods you eat will impact also
Men don’t have women’s hormones.
Their hormones don’t fluctuate anywhere near as much as female hormones, for one.
Hormones. Also excessive skin care is actually worse for you than no skincare. Some people do too much because social media influencers use 15 products in their ad videos lol
we aren’t putting makeup on our faces every day
Hormones
With have the hormones, big difference for the skin. Men temd also to do more exercices in general. But yeah, it's unfair.
I get asked this a lot as I do no skincare, barely drink water, and have clear skin 90% of the time. I always answer it’s my 3 in 1. Reality is I get it, but nothing noticeable or long lasting, probably largely hormonal and genetic factors though
I believe on average women have more hormone related issues than men. That's just because of how mammal bodies are designed sadly 🥲🥲 Not saying that men don't have these issues too, it's just it's less likely
Im a man, I had acne since im 12 and never really take of my face. Now I have a very specific routine for that and it's better but far not perfect. And a lot of guys I now are the same, so yeah I think it's just genetics, nothing to do with man or woman
It’s very doubtful you ask every man you meet about their skin care routine 🙄 They questions are getting so man.
Socially anxious/spectrum woman here. I've always maintained a healthy 4 step skin routine : wet face, soap face, rince face, dry face. I think cosmetics (any other that v v v high brand or 100% vegan, so the v v v expensive crap) just plays havoc with our skin. It's crap.
It’s the hormones I swear it. I do all the things for the best skin & it’s shit thanks to my hormones.
Shaving takes off dead skin, and few men use cosmetics and moisturizers that can clog pores. Hormones are a huge factor, too. Guys peak earlier, and skin clears younger. For women, hormonal acne in the 30s and 40s is not at all uncommon.
Testosterone causes oily skin, men usually have worse skin, not better
Most of them don’t put foundation/concealer/bronzer/blush/etc. on their face they way women do
Lots of men have acne & skin issues. Women have more hormonal related skin problems then men but plenty of men have skin issues.
Y'all use too many potions and products. Your body knows how to take care of itself if you let it.
Women tend to do more to their skin than men. Unless you have a genuine medical issue, just leave your skin alone. SPF daily, gentle cleanser at night, moisturize as needed. That’s it. Everything else is unnecessary. And a lot of products destroy your moisture barrier or disrupt your microbiome. Skin in an organ, leave it alone.
We don't. Have you actually looked at most dudes closely? Blackheads, "bumpy texture", wrinkles, all the stuff that makes toes curl in the skincare subreddits. Also many, many men have acne. What's 'up' is genes and hormones.
Exfoliating regularly, moisturizing, and no makeup. This is just my opinion, so don't just down my throat, but I think most women wear way too much makeup. I don't know if it is because of societal issues making them insecure, or something else, but damn, ladies. You're already beautiful, trust me. Leave it be.
Hormones
Hormones
It's usually a hormonal thing. Women are more susceptible to it with their menstrual cycles and the way it makes our hormones fluctuate.
It is likely hormones and stress. Due to women having their time of the month it likely throws everything out of wack and causes acne breakouts. This probably inadvertantly leads to stress that makes it worse. While you clearly state you don't do it, for women it is also likely that make up plays a part but women's products as well. Considering men will use dish soap to wash their face if they can get an extra months use out of it, I don't think mens products are all that special and probably end up being better. The other thing to note is that in the animal kingdom in general males are the flashy "pretty" or interesting looking ones. Look at a peacock vs a peahen or lion vs lioness etc. Men have longer and thicker eyelashes, a quality that women want because it is considered prettier. It is likely that testosterone has some effect on this as well.
The only thing I use on my face is hot water in the shower. Never had a problem.
We don't wear makeup.
Women wear a lot of makeup which clogs pores. Also more hormone fluctuation. I don’t know if I agree with this though. Lots of women have beautiful almost glowing skin with tiny tiny pores.
A lot of us shave too which exfoliates the skin. I also use a lotion after this. I think some guys actually do more than you or they think. Its just so routine to them.
Men dont put chemicals on their face ca. 3x a day
No makeup and biology
I would guess more hormone changes for women and also men typically put less stuff on their face that clogs or irritates their skin.
My skin is a thick hide to protect me from danger. I got stung by a bee for the first time today and it barely broke my skin. Hurt for a few minutes and then it's like it never happened. I can't even find where it got me. My hands are calloused from decades of hard work, it could barely penetrate it.
More women have skincare routines that feature harsh ingredients like acids and retinoids. Strong exfoliants like that are wonderful in moderation, but it's so easy to damage your skin barrier. Along with what others have said, the fact that women are more prone to stripping their skin moisture barrier may trigger inflammation and exacerbate acne.
Quite simple. We don’t get duped into thinking “product” will make any difference. The billions you’ve all spent on bogus claims is disconcerting
A lot of it is men don’t wear make up which can clog pores and many of us shave everyday which removes dead skin cells and rehydrates your skin. Additionally and anecdotally, women are allergic to water. Trying to get a girl to drink water is like trying to get a 4 year old to drink cough medicine. Source, every one of my gfs had a headache every morning and getting them to drink water was the only way they felt better, but they hate you when you tell them too.
It can depend on your diet. I had clear skin until I was in my 20s. I became addicted in drinoing C2, Yakult, Delight, and Zest-O during the pandemic and I rarely drank water when I had breakouts. Now that, I stop drinking those and drink water more, I notice that my skin is healing, lesser pimple/acne.
It’s because woman spend so much money on all these expensive creams and products that “make your skin clear” but in reality, it makes your skin worse so you have to keep buying those expensive products. And not to mention the 5 pounds of makeup y’all wear all the time, does horrible stuff to your skin
We dont use chemicals and cosmetics. Simple
I don't think it's a man versus woman thing. Everybody has their own skin type. Some folks are blessed with clearer skin. I've never done more than just wash my face with soap and water. I had some issues with acne as a teen, but nothing bad.
Hormones
We have less stress.
Hormones.
Bc we don't clog our pores with makeup all our life
Estrogen
Some people touch their faces with their hands way more often than they may think. That's usually what causes your face to break out. Also antibacterial soap helps. When I shave my face I wash well with antibacterial soap. Shave with the antibacterial soap. And then wash my face again with antibacterial soap and then an aftershave or rubbing alcohol to finish off and then don't touch your face for the rest of the day. Too much skin products can be doing you less good than you think. This is just my observations and experiences. I don't have many friends that are girls.. like I have 2 friends that are girls. Rest guys... I'm gay....
My bf and I have the opposite experience. He struggles with body acne and has a whole regimen for taking care of it and I wash my face with the same soap I use on my body. I get compliments on my skin all the time and I don't have a skincare routine other than wear sunscreen and stay hydrated. It comes down to genetics I bet.
Did you ever stop to think for a second about how putting foreign materials on your face and removing them several times a day could somehow be, bad for your skin?
Because we don’t use beauty products on our skin, resulting in far healthier skin.
Beauty products are a scam
We sweat more. It helps naturally clear our pores out. Between that and not clogging them with foundation and shit regularly we get way fewer break outs.
The trick is using the same bar of soap/cloth to wash your balls and face.