Do Cold Shower Help Acne?

In This Article

Struggling with acne breakouts? You’re not alone! Research shows that over 500 million people in the U.S. have acne.

If you’re suffering from acne, you’ll likely go to all extremes to fix the problem and improve skin health. But is taking cold showers too crazy? Experts say no!

Taking a cold shower not only helps you feel refreshed in the morning, but it also benefits your skin. Below we discuss everything you need to know about incorporating cold showers into your morning regimes:

Can Cold Showers Eradicate Acne- Is It Worth Trying?

Beauty experts often tout cold showers as an effective strategy for combating acne- and for a good reason!

If you’ve been taking long, hot showers, hoping your pores will open and allow sebum to ooze out, chances are you’re exacerbating your acne. Conversely, taking cold showers can bring relief to your body, from improving moods to alleviating breakouts.

Therefore, braving cold water is 100% worth it! Not only will it help reduce redness and refresh your skin, but it will also combat rosacea and acne.

How Does Your Body React to Cold Water?

Using hot water strips your skin of natural oils, leading your skin to dry out and aggravating skin conditions. On the contrary, showering with cool water helps tighten pores, reducing puffiness and preventing blockages.

Furthermore, showering with cold water promotes blood circulation, increases endorphins, and boosts metabolism. It helps regulate oil levels, reduces redness, and makes your face glow.

Should You Start Washing Your Face with Cold Water?

Our body naturally produces beneficial oils that keep our skin nourished, healthy, and glowing. Rinsing your face with hot water can strip away these oils, leading to dryness and acne.

Cool water, however, can give you a healthy glow. But that’s not the only benefit of showering with water below 21^oC. Let’s discuss in depth why you should start washing your face with cold water:

The Benefits of Cold Showers

Read the many benefits of cold showering before you plunge in:

Helps Prevent Aging

Showering with hot water can dilate your blood vessels, leading to a redder appearance. Contrarily, cool water can help refresh your face, reduce redness, and make your skin look healthy and young.

Besides this, cold showers help lower stress levels, thus bringing you into a good mood and reducing the appearance of acne. As a result, you get healthier, young, and acne-free skin!

Nourishes Your Skin

Bathing in cold water stimulates blood flow, carrying essential nutrients and oxygen, thus nourishing your skin cells.

When your skin receives proper nourishment and enjoys healthy oxygen flow, it will glow and radiate. In addition, well-nourished and healthy skins promote cell activities that help beautify your complexion.

Prevents Stress-Related Skin Aging

Taking cold showers is a straightforward yet effective way of relieving stress and anxiety. In fact, a study found that showering in cool water helps reduce stress levels and manage depression by triggering endorphins.

Naturally, when your body produces happy chemicals, your stress levels decline. As a result, your susceptibility to developing stress-related skin conditions reduces, including acne and contact dermatitis.

Relieve Discomforting Symptoms of Skin Conditions

Showering with cold water can help alleviate the symptoms of skin conditions like acne, psoriasis, and sunburn.

Acne breakouts can make your skin hot, oily, and inflamed, so splashing cold water can help reduce redness and swelling.

Locks in Moisture

After a shower, moisturize as quickly as possible to maintain your skin soft and healthy. After a bath or shower, make it a practice to use a light lotion, body butter, or oil to lock in moisture and avoid dry skin.

Given the explanation above, it is evident that by making a few thoughtful modifications, your skin can benefit much from a regular shower or bath. You can enhance your skin by considering the advice given here and making minor adjustments to your daily routine, such as taking cooler showers.

Reduce Swelling and Inflammation

Inflammation and edema are two significant issues with a serious acne breakout. People with severe acne frequently experience excruciating agony and find it unbearable to touch their skin.

By reducing the swelling, cold water can help people experience pain relief without needing medicine.

Are There Any Downsides?

Using cold water to wash your skin could be harmful in many ways, including:

Your skin pores may constrict when you wash your face with cold water. Washing your face with cold water could narrow the opening through which dirt and bacteria could depart if these factors already block those pores. They might therefore stay entrapped beneath the skin and cause outbreaks.
Warm water may more effectively dissolve the oily oils on your skin than cold water. It may result in pore obstruction and a rise in acne outbreaks.

Some people’s skin may appear suddenly different, redder, or drier after using cold water on their face.

Make Your Skin Glow- Tips to Enjoy the Most Out of Your Cold Showers

Here are some tips to help you make the most of cold showers.

Using Natural Soap

Using natural soap to wash your body moisturizes and keeps your skin healthy. It comes from natural ingredients without the use of synthetic components. The soap you choose at the supermarket is merely detergent and not at all soap.

Exfoliating is Crucial

By thoroughly removing the dead skin cells with exfoliation, dry, dull skin—which can cause outbreaks and acne—is avoided. Using a product optimal for your skin type is crucial to cause microtears on the skin’s surface. Additionally, you can exfoliate your skin before taking a shower by using a dry brush.

Moisturizing

Have you ever moisturized your skin but still ended up with dry skin? Using oils and lotions on dry skin is one of the few top skincare blunders we make when moisturizing. Always apply lotions, butter, or oils on damp skin that has just come out of the shower to maximize the advantages of your moisturizing routine.

The Bottom Line- Adding Cold Showers to Your Skincare Routine

Hot showers are relaxing and comforting. However, switching to a cold shower for the final ten to thirty seconds could significantly impact your acne and general health.

It lessens the likelihood that fat, oil, and bacteria would accumulate in pores. Additionally, the advantages of cold showers may speed up your recovery and improve your athletic performance.