How Breathwork Techniques May Help Prevent Acne

We can all agree having acne is super frustrating. But what's even more frustrating is trying every cream, medication, and natural remedy out there, just to find out nothing works (or that your acne has gotten worse). According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, more than 50 million Americans deal with acne each year, meaning more than 50 million people are searching for a way to deal with this skin condition. But — believe it or not — certain breathwork techniques can actually help prevent acne.

When creams and medications can't help you, there is another method to help fight acne, and it all comes down to your breathwork. Yep, certain techniques can actually work to stop pimples. Because it isn't a well-known form of relief, it's important to learn the science behind the phenomenon, and the incredible benefits that come with it. With that said, let's get into how breathwork techniques may help prevent acne.

Ever get red, itchy, or painful patches on your skin? The culprit is likely inflammation. According to Cleveland Clinic, inflammation is typically caused by things such as allergens, autoimmune conditions, and exposure to toxins and pollution. When you practice proper breathing techniques, you're actually removing those toxins from your body; therefore, you're reducing the amount of inflammation, Alexami explains. In order to release these toxins, the key is to breathe deeply from your belly. But you must also be in the right headspace — and environment — for this technique to work.

When it comes to practicing proper deep breathing, it's crucial you give yourself enough time to actually do it. Rushing through it to get to work or school on time isn't going to help you in the long run. Find a space in your home without distractions (we know it can be tough sometimes), then take the time to settle in and get ready to practice.

One of the greatest benefits of breathwork techniques — in our opinion — is how radiant they make your skin look. Come on, who doesn't want gorgeous, glowy skin?. When we breathe incorrectly, we're preventing good blood circulation, which we need to achieve healthy skin and the illusion you're glowing from within, The Health Life states. Deep breathing exercises work to increase cell growth as well, significantly bettering your skin, says Dermascope. These techniques can stimulate these new cells as well, which instantly make you appear naturally radiant.

By growing and stimulating these new cells, you're improving your circulatory system, and when you have a healthy circulatory system, it enhances the texture of your skin. All this being said, when your skin is already healthy and bright, there's less of a need for you to use products to give yourself that glow we all want (though a little highlighter never hurt anyone).

For some people, their acne is super mild and disappears without leaving scars behind. But unfortunately, many are left with the evidence a blemish was once there. In fact, 80% of people from ages 11 to 33 are affected by acne, and one in five of those people will develop scars at some point, per Cleveland Clinic. These scars are caused by a lack of healthy skin tissue or too much collagen production. In this case, your body is essentially overcompensating in order to repair the damaged tissue.

Acne scars can be just as annoying as acne itself, though it's certainly less painful (for most). Not only are they a burden, but they can significantly lessen your self-esteem. Once the acne has gone away, the last thing you want is to be reminded of it every time you look in the mirror. Luckily, when you practice proper breathwork techniques, you're helping prevent the formation of acne — hence fewer acne scars.

No matter how hard we try and how many products we use, aging is inevitable. However, breathwork techniques can actually slow down the aging process. Instead of the deep breathing exercises we discussed before, the key to anti-aging is slowing down your breath completely. According to Dermascope, rapid breathing speeds up the aging process and ups our cortisone levels, which are responsible for inducing stress. In turn, slow breathing not only keeps us from aging at a rapid rate, but we feel less stressed too (win-win!).

Additionally, breathing at a much more relaxed rate activates our lymphatic system. When our lymphatic system improves, it ultimately rids our bodies of harmful pathogens, while simultaneously providing it with the nutrients we need. While this doesn't exactly pertain to preventing acne, it does significantly benefit our skin in the long run. We can all agree slowing down our aging process is something we could all use.

You may already be aware of how breathing can release carbon dioxide within our systems. But if you aren't, this phenomenon occurs in every single one of us. When we take a deep breath, our body flushes out that carbon dioxide we hold and takes in oxygen, UCHealth explains. Not only is this necessary for us to exist, but this breathwork technique can also prevent acne in an indirect way. In other words, when we rid our body of carbon dioxide, we're allowing oxygen to enter.

Those oxygen levels are necessary to increase our cellular metabolism and neocollagenesis, which are both needed to improve our skin, says National Library of Medicine. When our skin improves, we are less likely to develop acne, and that means fewer acne scars. At the end of the day, practicing breathwork techniques do wonders for our skin, so it's worth taking a look into (you'll thank us later).