The Simple Acne Solution That No One Talks About

Having a bad hair day seems like a walk in the park compared to waking up to huge pimple on an important day.

Whether stressing over a driver’s license picture or heading to a high-school reunion, surprise pimples are never a welcome sight. While some acne is strictly hormonal, the cause of many blemishes can be traced back to what’s going on in the gut. Research has shown that our skin is pretty connected to what happens in our stomachs. After all, skin is the body’s largest organ, and is some of the chief ways that the body can detox itself are through sweat, oil, and, you guessed it, pimples.

Acne, eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis can all be unwelcome byproducts of inflammation that occurs in the body. As soon as something gnarly enters your system–whether it be a food that evokes an allergic reaction, a toxin lurking in unwashed produce, or the gross chemicals that show up in overly processed foods–the body will try to eliminate the offensive ingredient. There’s only a few ways to do that, but one of the most publicly obvious is through facial and body acne.

What to do? Try tossing back a probiotic to fix skin fast.

Probiotics are a magic bullet for most digestion issues because they support the healthy bacteria that lives in the stomach and intestines that breaks down food. Just one little pill is packed with millions of good bacteria that can stop inflammation, bacterial overgrowth, and infection in its tracks.  Less inflammation means less inflammatory response, which in turn means that skin will stay clearer and healthier.

But don’t rely simply on an oral probiotic to cure pimples—kick the acne fighting up a notch by adding a topical probiotic lotion to your beauty regimen. Skin has naturally occurring microorganisms that keep complexions healthy and protected from bacteria, and topical creams ensure that skin bacteria remains balanced. Harsh chemicals, medicated products, and day to day sun exposure can all make the skin’s micro biome go haywire and cause tons of skin issues to crop up.

In fact, using a topical probiotic decreases the size and shape of pimples, and researchers believe that the good bacteria in these lotions actually fights the bacteria that fills pimples–the puss that makes up the whitehead–acting like an antibiotic for your face.

The idea of using probiotics directly on skin makes a lot of sense, especially if you’ve ever tried this one ingredient facial trick. Plus, using these super nutrient rich lotions soothe inflammation in skin too, so if redness and irritation are issues, then a topical probiotic lotion might be worth investing in.

Illustration by Katherine Prendergast