Coffee, Soda and Energy Drinks: How Much Do They Really Damage Your Skin?
Coffee, soda, energy drinks. Most of my acne clients are living on at least one of them, and most of them have never been told it shows up on the face. It does. Here is how much, and what to do about it.
Coffee
Coffee itself is not the enemy. Black coffee in the morning is fine for most skin. The problem is three things that usually come with it: it is acidic, it is a diuretic, and it raises cortisol, the stress hormone. Acid is hard on the gut, and the gut shows up on the face (I wrote about that here). The diuretic part pulls water out of you, so the skin looks tired and lined by the afternoon. And cortisol tells the oil glands to make more oil, which for acne-prone skin means more breakouts along the jaw and chin.
Three or four cups a day, with sugar and creamer, is where I start to see it in the chair: dull skin, dark circles, and breakouts that do not respond to products alone.
Soda
Soda is sugar and acid in a can. A regular can has around ten teaspoons of sugar. That sugar spikes insulin, and insulin tells the skin to make more oil and more skin cells, which is the recipe for clogged pores. Over years, sugar also stiffens collagen, which is what makes a face look older than it is. Diet soda is not a free pass either. The acid is still there, and the sweeteners still feed the gut problems that end up on the chin.
Energy drinks
These are the worst of the three, and I am careful how I say that because I know people love them. An energy drink is a lot of caffeine, a lot of sugar, and a list of acids, all at once. The crash afterwards is a cortisol crash, and skin dealing with acne hates cortisol swings. I can tell an energy-drink client within a few minutes: inflamed, oily in the T-zone, dry on the cheeks, and the kind of breakouts that leave marks.
What I tell my clients
Water before coffee. A full glass first thing, then the coffee. And 150 ounces a day. It is not optional for clear skin.
Keep coffee to the morning and keep it as plain as you can stand it.
Swap soda for sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon. It gives you the fizz without the ten teaspoons.
Drop the energy drinks for thirty days and watch your chin. That is usually all the convincing anyone needs.
Where Scheál comes in
Your skin cannot clear while the oil glands are being told to over-produce. But it can be helped a lot while you change the habit. That is exactly what the Clear Skin routine is for: a cleanser that takes the oil off without stripping, a toner that calms, a serum and balm that put the right oils back so the skin stops over-producing its own, and an exfoliant and mask that keep the pores clear while the marks fade. Start at Level 1 and follow the routine at the bottom of the Clear Skin page.
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This is my experience from twenty-eight years in skin, not medical advice.