Direct Answer: What’s Happening To Your Skin?
When you quit coffee, your skin might go through three primary stages: rehydration, less inflammation and a “detox” phase. At first, you may appear even more haggard from the withdrawal-induced vasodilation, or widening of blood vessels: puffiness can temporarily worsen. But in 14 to 21 days time, the lack of caffeine-induced cortisol spikes should result in less oil production (less breakouts) and better collagen repair thanks to higher quality deep-sleep cycles. What’s more, if your coffee ritual involved milk and sugar, kicking out your daily caffeine fixes removes two of the primary culprits behind adult acne and premature aging.
For The Acne Fighter: Inflammation and Oil Reduction
The Logic:
Plenty of people are quick to point the finger at the coffee bean itself for their breakouts, but by and large, it’s not the bean that makes your skin spaz out. If you are a fan of black coffee, then the problem is probably cortisol. Caffeine stimulates the adrenals to produce cortisol (the stress hormone). Elevated cortisol orders your sebaceous glands to produce lots more of that thick, sticky oil — we call it sebum — that clogs pores.
But if you drink lattes or cappuccinos, or iced coffees with sweet syrups — for that matter any kind of coffee with sugar in it at all, cold or hot — the villain is insulin. Milk (the whey protein, specifically) and sugar cause insulin levels to sky rocket. Elevated insulin ignites a klaxon, which in turn ups inflammation and skin cell production, clogging pores.
The Nuance:
Giving up coffee for acne does best if you are a stress case, or are a “sugar/dairy” drinker. And if you’re a mellow person who slugs back plain ol’ black coffee in the morning, quitting may not make your skin much clearer.
A Solution That Can Be Acted Upon (the “3-Week Elimination Protocol”)
- First week (Weaning): Don’t go cold turkey. Dial it back with a half-decaf to avoid major stress on the body (and ensuing breakouts).
- Week 2 (The Swap): Sub in warm water and lemon or spearmint tea for your morning ritual.
- Why Spearmint? The humble spearmint leaf has anti-androgen effects, it actually cools down the hormones that contribute to cystic breakouts by drinking two cups of spearmint tea per day.
- The Observation: Snap a shot of your skin once on Day 1 and again on Day 21. Now observe that COJ (hormonal area).
Critical Data:
A study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics determined that diets high in glycemic index (sugar) as well as dairy were associated with acne severity. The Warner study noted that we’re drinking milk laced with growth hormones, such as insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which stimulate acne in the way our other hormones generally do [1].
For The Natural Glow Lover: Restoring Radiance & Elasticity
The Logic:
You want the “glow.” Caffeine is an adenosine blocker. Adenosine is the molecule that accumulates in your brain to let your brain know you’re tired. Coffee keeps you awake by blocking it, but coffee also breaks up sleep architecture. This is when your pituitary gland releases Human Growth Hormone (HGH). HGH repairs cell damage and rebuilds collagen.
If you’re even a little bit addicted to coffee (or ‘just drink decaf’) — then right there, you might be micro-waking in your sleep all night, preventing skin from it’s hormonal repair time.
The Nuance:
Hydration is often cited as the primary reason to stop, but this is partly a myth. Despite being a diuretic, regular drinkers soon become tolerant of that effect. It’s not so much dehydration that’s the real “glow killer;” it’s the inability for our cells to repair themselves when you don’t get your full 8 hours.
Actionable Solution: The “Sleep-Skin Synchronization”
- The Cut-off: If you can’t detox completely yet, establish a “10-Hour Rule.” Quit caffeine for 10 hours before sleeping.
- The Substitute: drink one glass of water with electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium) upon immediately waking. This will actually plump skin cells more quickly than plain water.
- The Measurement: A sleep tracker. Try and increase your Deep Sleep percentage. The higher this number, the less dull your skin.
Critical Data:
Good sleepers have smoother and more youthful-looking skin, according to a University Hospitals Case Medical Center–sponsored study conducted in collaboration with Estée Lauder. The discrepancy was essentially what literally meant as “aging faster” from sleep deprivation [2].
For The Detoxer: Handling Withdrawal and The “Antioxidant Gap”
The Logic:
You quit coffee in the name of health, but you look tired and kind of puffy. This is the vasodilation effect. Caffeine restricts blood vessels. When you take it off, vessels enlarge, making blood flow to the head (causing headaches) and possibly causing your face to look a little flushed or puffy for a temporary period.
Additionally, for most Westerners, coffee is their highest source of antioxidants. Your body will lose that protective layer against free radicals (pollution, sun’s UV rays) when you quit coffee — unless you add it back.
The Nuance:
Stop drinking the coffee, and if you haven’t found a new antioxidant-rich hot drink to replace the habit with, your skin is actually at risk for being exposed to environment-induced aging (in the short term.)
Actionable Solution: The “Antioxidant Swap”
- The Morning Swap: You’ve got to swap in the antioxidants. Swing in with Matcha or Green Tea.
- Why? It has EGCG(a powerful antioxidant) and L-Theanine. L-Theanine offers a sort of calm focus, without the cortisol spike of coffee.
- Lymphatic Drainage: To combat the withdrawal puffiness, in the morning use a cold roller or your basic facial massage moves to stimulate drainage of excess fluid.
- Dietary: Consume more berries and leafy greens to get back some of the coffee’s polyphenols.
Critical Data:
And a recent study out of the University of Scranton found that coffee was the biggest source of antioxidants in the American diet, even surpassing fruits and veggies. Thus, deprivation of the nutrient alone (without diet change) results in a nutritional deficiency for the skin [3].
For The Sensitive Skin / Rosacea Afflicted: Finding the Culprit
The Logic:
People with rosacea tend to steer clear of coffee because they get red after drinking it. However, the mechanism is misunderstood. And finally, in and of itself, caffeine is a vasoconstrictor (it constricts blood vessels), which in theory can help reduce redness. The flush is more often induced by the heat of the coffee than the chemistry of caffeine.
The Nuance:
If you have rosacea, breaking up with hot coffee also helps, but going cold turkey on caffeine may cause a temporary uptick in redness because of the rebound vasodilation mentioned above (vessels opening up).
Actionable Solution: “Temperature Control Test”
- Step 1: Iced coffee for a week before quitting entirely.
- Observations, When your flushing decreases? If so, your trigger is heat, not caffeine.
- Step 2: If you still turn red when you drink iced coffee, it’s probably the fight or flight-like response (thanks to its caffeine) of the sympathetic nervous system. In such a situation, exit out.
- Step 3: In the quitting phase (first two weeks), keep your skincare routine minimal and cooling (that is to say, refrigerate your moisturizers) and prevent withdrawal-induced blood flow expansion.
Critical Data:
National Rosacea Society surveys have shown that despite 33% of patients reporting “hot beverages” as a trigger, it is causal equivalent “caffeine” (without heat) did not follow closely with alcohol or spicy foods among the reported triggers. It is therefore very important to differentiate between thermal heat and chemical stimulation [4].
Frequently Asked Questions
What does caffeine do that makes you have zits?
Caffeine causes a cortisol spike, which tells sebaceous glands to produce more pore-clogging oil, for black coffee drinkers. If you add dairy and sugar, the villains are whey protein and high glucose levels that elevate your insulin and increase skin inflammation.
Why does my face feel puffy or look tired right after you give up your coffee?
This is caused by vasodilation. Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor (it causes blood vessels to constrict or get smaller) that can open your eyes and make you look refreshed, even when you’re not feeling that way; at the same time, when it tapers off in your body, those same vessels expand slightly with each beat of the heart. This withdrawal effect generally lasts for 14–21 days.
Is coffee really the culprit of early skin aging?
Indirectly, yes. Caffeine acts by blocking adenosine, a chemical that signals fatigue, which can splinter deep sleep cycles. Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which is the collagen-repairing, cell-restoring hormone that’s released during deep sleep, doesn’t flow freely when you’re slugging back six cups of coffee a day—so by sipping java around bedtime to help get your skin through the night isn’t going to fly if beautiful skin is your ultimate goal.
What can I drink instead of coffee for healthy skin?
For hormonal acne, use Spearmint tea for its anti-androgenic effects. To keep those antioxidents without the cortisol spike reach for Matcha or Green Tea! Moreover, drinking some electrolytes before bed and upon waking can also volumize your skin cells.
Is caffeine is the biggest cause of Rosacea flare ups?
Not necessarily. Although caffeine is a stimulant to the nervous system, studies indicate that in many cases the heat of the drink triggers flushing. Trying Iced Coffee If your skin prefers iced coffee, then it would prove whether you are sensitive to the temperature or chemical ingredients.
References
- [1] Burris, J., Rietkerk, W., & Woolf, K. (2013). “Acne: the role of medical nutrition therapy.” Journal of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113(3), 416-430. (Corrects the association of high-glycemic loads/dairy with acne).
- [2] Oyetakin-White P, Suggs A, Koo B, et al. (2015). “Does what we sleep on impact how quickly our skin ages? Miller, J., Currenti, C. L., & O’Neill, J. P. (2015). Dermatology 40(1), 17-22. (Study at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center that found a connection between sleep quality and skin barrier function as well as signs of aging).
- [3] Vinson, J. A. (2005). “Coffee is the leading contributor of antioxidants.” th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. University of Scranton. (Hyperbolic because, yes: coffee is a very good source of antioxidants).
- [4] National Rosacea Society. (2002). “Rosacea Triggers Survey.” Rosacea Review. (Statistical breakdown of patient-reported triggers by heat versus food).
