Why You Are Breaking Out During COVID-19 Quarantine More Than Normal

This is probably especially true if you are using this time to skip makeup and load up on homemade masks, "spa" treatments, or the like. After all, isn't skipping makeup supposed to stop breakouts? What gives?

So even if you are breaking out more now, it's not because the lack of makeup is triggering it. Here's what might be happening instead:

There are a lot of reasons to be anxious right now—ranging from worrying for your loved ones to a bad night's sleep. Well, your mental health and your skin are intricately connected via the skin-brain axis. Stress is a significant trigger for breakouts.

"Our skin is both an immediate stress perceiver as well as a target of the stress responses," board-certified dermatologist Keira Barr, M.D., tells mbg. "This is why the presence of acne not only contributes to a feeling of stress, but acne is more common in those who experience a higher intensity of stress from life events."

"Gut inflammation eventually can become systemic inflammation. And that, along with oxidative stress, blood sugar imbalances, and other problems2 can all show up on your skin—especially if you are genetically predisposed to these conditions," writes board-certified internist Vincent M. Pedre, M.D. This can show up in your skin via breakouts or other inflammatory skin conditions like rosacea and eczema. 

Finally, you might just be noticing small skin changes more acutely since you don't have makeup covering your complexion up most of the day. If you are normally one to wear makeup, you likely apply it in the morning, carry about your business, and rinse it off at night. So now that you don't have that all-day cover-up, when you see yourself in mirrors or on screens throughout the day, you're more likely to notice small changes in your skin or new breakouts forming. Not to mention, with the influx of FaceTime hangouts and Zoom meetings, we're all likely looking at our reflections a bit more than we're used to. It used to be out of sight, out of mind. Now? Not so much. So in reality, you may not actually be breaking out more than normal—you're just paying it more attention than you would be otherwise. 

If you're breaking out more than normal right now, there are plenty of perfectly normal explanations. The most important thing is that you are trying your best to manage your stress levels, care for your body internally via what you're ingesting, and tend to your skin care routine as best you can. There's only so much you can do right now—so just stick to what you can and don't sweat the rest.