What Causes Chin Acne & What Role Do Hormones Play?
Breakouts, acne scars, and having acne on specific areas of the face make up one of the most common skin concerns. Acne can affect anyone, whether you’re a teenager, young adult, or older, so if you struggle with breakouts, you’re not alone.
It’s common for acne to target a specific area of the body, depending on a variety of factors. Genetics, environmental factors, internal conditions, and hormones all play a role in acne and where it decides to land.
If you experience chin acne, hormones likely play the biggest role. Navigating hormones is a challenge in and of itself, but it’s important to understand why our hormones can cause chin acne and how to prevent it. Before you turn to over-the-counter cleansers and remedies like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide or get a prescription for oral antibiotics or a combination of these, it’s best to learn everything you can about the problem at hand.
This guide breaks down all you need to learn about chin acne, what causes it, and how our hormones play an intricate role. Keep reading to learn more.
Causes of Chin Acne
When you take a closer look at the skin irritants, you learn the number of factors that can lead to chin acne. This can make it difficult to pinpoint what’s causing your breakouts, but it’s still helpful to examine a few of the different causes.
Clogged Pores
When you break it down, all acne is caused by clogged pores. Different factors can increase your risk of clogged pores or increase sebum production and clog pores more easily, but acne at its most basic level consists of pores that are clogged.
Pores and hair follicles can be clogged by hair, dead skin cells, bacteria, and sebum. Our bodies naturally produce sebum and release it through the oil glands of our skin, so your pores can become clogged even when you maintain good hygiene. This oil helps our skin stay hydrated but can clog pores and lead to acne when overproduced. You may also experience issues with acne if you get ingrown hair.
Pores can also become clogged with certain types of cosmetics, makeup, and skincare products. These are known as comedogenic.
Comedogenic products contain ingredients that can clog pores and lead to pimples more easily than other products, while non-comedogenic products are not likely to clog pores and lead to acne, whether that be blackheads, whiteheads, or more intense forms like cysts and pustules. This term is derived from the word for a clogged pore in medical terminology, also known as “comedones.” If you use comedogenic products, this can lead to acne or accentuate it. These effects may be somewhat counteracted by products like retinoids.
Genetics
Genetics can also influence chin acne. If someone in your immediate family also suffers from or has suffered from severe acne, this could be why you do as well. While genetics can be a cause of chin acne, it usually isn’t the only culprit. Clogged pores, sebum, and bacteria are often necessary to make genetic acne breakouts moderate to severe.
Weather
Believe it or not, the weather plays an important role in whether you have acne. If the weather is humid, your pores can become more easily clogged, and you may sweat more. This can lead to breakouts and acne, whether on your skin or somewhere else, like your forehead.
On the other hand, when the weather is dry, your body might overcompensate for dry skin by producing more sebum. This overproduction of sebum can also clog pores and cause acne.
The Foods You Eat
While this factor hasn’t been studied quite as much as the others listed, there is some evidence to suggest that what you eat can lead to increased acne. Some claim that cutting out dairy products like milk and cheese can lead to reduced acne on the chin.
How Are Hormones Involved?
Clogged pores from bacteria, oil, or sebum, the weather, and genetics all play a part in chin acne, but none of these factors are as influential as hormones. Chin acne is a type of acne that’s heavily influenced by hormone fluctuations, so you may notice chin acne popping up during hormonal changes, especially around menstruation.
When acne is related to changes in your hormones, it can be easier to pinpoint. Knowing which hormones are involved in your breakouts, when they occur, and other factors that can influence chin acne can help you manage breakouts along your chin and jawline and enjoy clearer-looking skin.
Androgens and Acne
If you’ve ever heard of the T-zone before, chin acne follows a similar pattern known as the U-zone. This area traces the chin, lower cheeks, and jawline and is more heavily influenced by hormonal changes than other areas of skin.
The main hormone responsible for acne and breakouts is androgens. Testosterone is one of the most well-known androgens, a group of hormones known for forming male sex organs and reproductive traits. However, many mistake this hormone for being solely present in males when it’s actually found in both men and women.
These are the hormones that kick in during puberty, which is why younger teenagers tend to deal with the most acne. Still, androgens can continue fluctuating, changing, and affecting acne into adulthood as well. Androgen overproduction or underproduction is common in women, which can lead to excess sebum production around the chin area, clogged pores, and chin acne.
Stress Hormones and Acne
Androgens aren’t the only hormones linked to chin acne. When we undergo a lot of stress at one time, our bodies increase the production of cortisol. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone, but you likely know it as the regulator of the fight or flight response. When we experience stressful situations or prolonged stress, our brains tell our nervous systems to release cortisol and adrenaline throughout the body.
While stress hormones play important functions in how our bodies and minds work, they aren’t great for our bodies when left unaddressed. One of the negative impacts of cortisol is acne, especially around the chin, lower cheeks, and jawline.
Periods and Acne
The menstrual cycle is a large determining factor for when many experience chin acne. This is because of all the hormonal changes that occur throughout the menstrual cycle and how the body responds to these changes. That’s why you may notice acne popping up a few days before your period begins or at the same time during your cycle. It’s also why birth control pills are often prescribed by healthcare providers as a potential solution to hormonal acne.
How to Get Rid of Chin Acne
Get to Know Your Hormonal Changes
Our skin is the largest organ in the body, so it’s no wonder that it’s one of the most sensitive. Our bodies are constantly working to keep us safe and healthy, so we can’t always control our hormones as much as we’d like.
However, there are a few tips and acne treatments that can help you manage hormones and those stubborn bumps on your chin. First, start tracking your hormonal changes. You can do this a few ways, but tracking your menstrual cycle is one of the most common. This lets you understand when your body is producing more estrogen, progesterone, androgens, cortisol, and more. Take special care to notice when your chin acne pops up most often.
Use Color Correcting Techniques
Chin acne can be frustrating to deal with. If you’ve tried using concealer to hide blemishes on your chin which sometimes can end up looking cakey intern drawing more attention to the problem, you know what a challenge this can be. Luckily, there’s a better option.
While concealer and foundation have been a staple in the world of makeup for years, we’re constantly learning more about skin, the body, and which ingredients can be used to support skin health. That’s why we’ve ditched the cakey concealer and foundation to opt for color-correcting skincare instead!
Color correcting works via the colors on the color wheel to neutralize redness from chin acne and acne scars. Plus, they work to address your underlying skin concerns at the source instead of just hiding your skin concerns for the day. This means you can give your skin the nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants it needs to support the appearance of clearer-looking skin in the long run.
Here’s one of our favorite color correcting techniques. First, you’ll have to choose a correcting color. For redness from chin acne or acne scarring, choose a green color like Matcha to cancel it out on the skin and help your skin look smooth and even.
Packed with Hibiscus, Seaweed, and Matcha, you’ll be able to use this to dry out spots, minimize the appearance of pores, and reduce the appearance of blemish scars over time. It works as both skincare and a solution to cover your skin concerns.
Simply dab a seed-sized amount on the back of your hand, warm it with your fingers, and pat it onto freshly cleansed and moisturized skin. Continue the process until you reach your desired skin tone results and enjoy an even complexion.
Love Your Complexion
Having acne and acne scars around the chin area can be frustrating to deal with, discouraging, and difficult to manage. Examine your hormones first as the cause of your breakouts since this is the largest influence on chin acne.
You can also start using a color corrector to reduce the red appearance chin acne can produce. It’s not a cakey-like foundation or concealer; a thin layer of corrector finished with a touch of foundation results in not only flawless skin but also addresses your underlying skin concerns over time.
Learn more about what corrector color is best for your skin here.
Sources:
Acne: Treatment, Types, Causes & Prevention | Cleveland Clinic
What Do "Comedogenic" and "Non-comedogenic" Mean? | Acne.org
Hormones | Acne.org
"Understanding the stress response” | Harvard Health
What Cycle Tracking Can Tell You About Your Health | UNC Health