I’ve had a passion for healing my acne holistically after I tried literally everything including  Accutane, which did not work as the final solution. This was also the time in my life when I started to have a huge interest in anti-aging regimens and this whole thing about not aging faster than I needed to. Surprisingly, the more I learned, the more I realized that there is a strong connection between the internal causes of acne and accelerated aging of the skin.

It’s taken me a few years to figure out, through trial and error, but the more I learned about acne healing and the prevention of premature aging – the more I came to realize, it’s not just about expensive skincare products and what the beauty industry is trying to sell you! Although skincare products can certainly help improve your skin, they have limited powers and ultimately cannot address what is going on in the inside – which is a much stronger force. Skincare products alone cannot heal chronic acne, which is triggered from the inside.

After reading a number of scientific studies and publications by notable dermatologists, nutritionists, and naturopathic doctors, I came to conclude that the root causes of acne are also the underlying reasons for accelerated aging if left untreated.  Originally, I thought they were separate issues so I studied them as separate issues, but surprisingly, the more I researched, the more I came to realize how much our body is interconnected! If you heal acne from the inside out, you’ll also stop yourself from prematurely aging on a cellular level. Basically, because there is such a huge overlap, adult acne is practically a symptom your body that is desperately telling you it’s prematurely aging from the inside.

Some say how fast you age is a matter of genetics; however, scientifically speaking it’s estimated that only 10% of how fast we age is determined by genetics and time! The other 90% is environmental and lifestyle related, referred to extrinsic aging, which is within our control.

The good news is that you DO have the power to change, and it’s much better to be aware sooner than later.

So how do we define acne? We need to see acne as a messenger. Your body is telling you it needs your help through acne as a way of getting your attention. Acne is not a disease or the problem; but rather a symptom of imbalances in your body. Although treating acne superficially does have its value, we should never stop at just treating acne as a symptom of something greater. If we are only seeking immediate relief, we will always be endlessly battling the next pimple.

By the time acne rears its ugly head, there are multiple functions within the body that have already occurred. Acne is just the tip of the iceberg, a small indication of a much bigger problem. By only superficially ‘fixing’ acne, it will cloak the symptoms but from within, the unseen yet treatable inflammation will be aging you on a cellular level faster than you need to be. 

Treating inflammation is critical because it’s not just about the bacteria, which usually gets all the blame when it comes to acne. On contrary, Inflammation is what is involved at every step of acne formation before it even appears on the skin. The easiest way to think about inflammation is to see it as lighting a match, which then if not extinguished soon starts a fire. And what begins as a small flame can quickly get out of control, affecting countless cells. When these cells are affected, it results in pores swelling and turning red. As a result of this inflamed pore, bacteria now get to colonize and cause an infection. We don’t see all that happens beneath the skin, but what we do see is the breakout that results.

However, not all inflammation is bad. The type of inflammation that is good is called acute inflammation.

Acute Inflammation is a natural immune response that occurs when your body heals itself from a cut, injury, or infection. 

It is characterized by heat, redness, and swelling.

Anti-inflammatory compounds are released when the injury is taken care of, and then the body goes back to business.

This is absolutely a healthy process. Acute inflammation is critical for living.

Chronic inflammation on the other hand, is the type of bad inflammation, the kind we don’t want or need, which is triggered by a number of ordinary events, like having to deal with non-life threatening bacteria.

When this occurs, natural immune responses go into overdrive and cause damage on a cellular level.

Unlike acute inflammation, your body does not send anti-inflammatory compounds to normalize so it can go back to business. Instead, your body sends “injured” signals all the time, causing your immune system to be in a constant state of alarm.

Chronic inflammation is what results in acne and accelerated premature aging of the skin because your immune system is constantly overreacting. 

Let’s dig a little deeper to understand what happens to the pore under chronic inflammation.

Technically, bacterial presence inside a pore isn’t life threatening, it’s something that happens every day because bacteria are everywhere and can’t be avoided. But with chronic inflammation, any infection is a threat.

Your body attacks immediately and responds as if it were a serious injury by causing the pore to swell, turn red, and protrude. This is when it turns into an infection creating a pimple, because now with the bacteria being trapped inside the pore, the bacteria starts to multiply and take over.

Thus, it’s important to understand that acne starts undetected beneath the surface of the skin way before you even see it.

And unfortunately, acne is not your only problem when it comes to chronic inflammation and let me illustrate why.

Under healthy circumstances, when we experience a cut or injury, Our immune system responds by sending white blood cells to that site of injury. Enzymes that break down tissue are immediately released after an insult to the skin. These enzymes destroy injured tissue and then create new tissue.

This process is absolutely needed for normal wound healing.

Now let’s understand what happens instead under chronic inflammation.

Initially, the process looks like the same – Our immune system responds by sending white blood cells to the site of perceived ‘injury’. I’m saying perceived injury, because your body isn’t responding to an actual injury when it’s chronically inflamed. Enzymes then get released start to break down tissue because there is a perceived ‘insult’ to the skin.

However, because your body continues to send “injured” signals, these enzymes don’t know when to stop and continue to break down tissue. Because enzymes cannot discriminate between acute vs. chronic, they break down healthy collagen and other good connective tissue along the way.

Unfortunately, starting as soon as the age of 25, our collagen levels naturally decline. If you add chronic inflammation into the mix, the combined effect means accelerated aging of the skin.

And so now we have this burning question, and that is what causes chronic inflammation?

One common factor that causes aging and acne is oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body that results in damaged DNA and skin structure. While we know that Free radicals from sunlight and UV radiation is the leading cause of oxidative stress, pollution, diet and emotional or physical stress are also sources of oxidative stress that can cause damage to skin proteins and collagen fibers, making us more prone to fine lines and wrinkles.

When our bodies fight oxidative stress it depletes our anti-oxidant reserves, it then leaves us more prone to acne breakouts and inflammation. Studies have actually proven that acne patients suffer from more oxidative stress due to lower amount of antioxidants found in their bodies. Oxidative damage to the natural oils on our skin also triggers an inflammatory response, which sets the stage for acne to form.

The second common factor is digestion problems. The digestion connection with acne & aging is real. A compromised digestive system ultimately weakens our ability to breakdown and absorb the very nutrients our skin needs to stay clear and youthful.

Our gut barrier is the most important barrier between us and the external world. Damage to this gut barrier leaves us with more chronic inflammation. A damaged digestive system allows harmful bacteria to multiply in number leading to more fine lines and breakouts. Poor digestion also contributes to higher levels of oxidative stress in our bodies.

The third common factor is a having a congested liver. If you want beautiful skin, then you must take care of your liver. The liver is responsible for blood detoxification. Because blood nourishes our skin, if it is not healthy, our skin will not be healthy. If our skin is fed toxins, our immune system will activate and acne will be our body’s inflammatory response. Other skin problems may also surface, like fine lines and wrinkles.

Liver health is also vital for hormonal balance because it filters out excess hormones from your body. Practically everything that goes through your body gets filtered through the liver. If the liver has too many substances to breakdown at once, it can suffer from build up and get sluggish at its job. A congested liver will make your skin more prone to acne and signs of age.

And last but not least the fourth common factor is hormonal imbalances. Inflammation can lead to testosterone dominance, which then fuels more inflammation. Studies have shown that women with persistent acne are at greater risk of having higher levels of male sex hormones, like testosterone, than women without acne. Hormonal imbalances can be tricky because they don’t happen in a vacuum. And actually, all of the factors above can lead to hormonal imbalances. Hormonal imbalances then contribute to greater inflammation, so then it becomes a cycle.

All of these shared factors behind the internal forces of acne and accelerated aging are so interconnected with each other to point where if one of these factors is present, it leads to the others. Because of such a huge overlap of these shared underlying causes, adult acne is practically a symptom of accelerated aging from the inside out.

I’m glad you guys have gone through this first article; it will help you build the foundation that you will need to understand the others lessons laid out.

To summarize what we’ve learned, we know acne is an inflammatory response to imbalances in the body. Chronic Acne itself it not a disease but is a symptom of something deeper inside the body.

Oxidative stress, less than optimal digestion, a congested liver, and unhealthy hormonal fluctuations trigger chronic inflammation, which sets the stage for acne formation.  

Chronic inflammation not only causes acne but also prematurely ages the body on a cellular level as they share the same triggers.

In the next lesson, we will learn more about hormonal imbalances and what you can do right now to help. You will understand how to accelerate the healing process as you continue onto your holistic journey.

Featured image by Kelsey Curtis on Unsplash