Why does stress cause acne?

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Why: I've got the end-of-semester boyfriend's-parents-are-visiting gotta-go-to-Memphis-to-see-my-brother's-new-baby-three-days-before-my-thesis-is-due pizza-face breakout blues.

Answer: Until a couple of years ago, the medical field was divided on the issue of whether stress actually causes acne, but recently there have been many clinical studies which show that stress does worsen it in two ways. First, by stimulating adrenal glands to produce more hormones. Adrenal glands, which are located above the kidneys, secrete norepinephrine and epinephrine under stress and the adrenal cortex secretes male hormones. These male hormones are well known for stimulating the sebaceous gland to secrete more sebum, an oily substance in the hair follicles that lubricates hair and skin and ultimately results in the formation of acne.
Secondly, stress slows down the healing process. It ha been established that psychological stress can decrease the wound healing capacity of immune systems up to 40%, which doubles the impact of stress on acne.

Source: Acne-Resource.org

The More You Know: Stress also induces the adrenal glands into overproduction of cortisol, a steroid, which in turn makes sebaceous glands produce more oil and make skin extra oily.