Coffee has had a rocky relationship with health science over the last couple of decades. First it was bad for you, then good, then bad and good again.
More recently it’s been in the news for how it might affect your skin.
Here’s the skinny on whether drinking coffee is bad for your skin.
Coffee contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.
Let’s start with the good. Coffee is well known to contain large amounts of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. Antioxidants help fight skin damage by destroying the free radicals produced when your skin is in the sun or exposed to pollution.
Coffee’s anti-inflammatory properties are also well established and might have particular benefits for rosacea, a chronic inflammatory condition.
A recent study showed that women who drank four or more cups of caffeinated coffee per day were significantly less likely to report a rosacea diagnosis than those who drank little to no coffee.
And women who drank less than four cups were also less likely to have rosacea than the “no coffee” group.If you have rosacea, drinking coffee might be great for your skin.
Caffeine is a diuretic.
One thing we all know about coffee: it contains caffeine, and caffeine causes fluid loss.
Losing too much fluid can be bad for your skin. Dehydration can make skin look dry, dull, flakey and uneven. It can also cause dark under-eye circles and sunken eyes. If you pinch or press on your skin and it doesn’t immediately bounce back, you may be dehydrated.
While too much caffeine can contribute to overall dehydration, experts say that drinking coffee in moderation is unlikely to be a problem, especially if you’re getting plenty of other fluids during the day.
Caffeine can keep you awake.
High-quality sleep is so important to your overall health and the health and appearance of your skin. Lack of quality sleep can contribute to dark circles and a dull complexion.
Drinking too much caffeine or drinking it too close to bedtime can dramatically affect the length and quality of your sleep.
If you struggle with falling asleep, especially if you tend to feel wired, anxious or energized close to bedtime, cutting back on your coffee consumption or adjusting when you drink coffee could help.
Doctors recommend having no more than 1-2 cups of coffee per day and not consuming any coffee after 2 p.m.
Coffee is a vasoconstrictor.
The caffeine in coffee is a vasoconstrictor, which means it causes your blood vessels to constrict, raising blood pressure and slowing blood flow to affected areas.
In the short term, this can reduce redness and increase the brightness of your complexion. Need to reduce skin redness quickly? A cup of coffee could actually help!
In the long term, however, some doctors say this can reduce blood flow to the tissues, restricting collagen production and cell regeneration. That can lead to dull, dry skin.
How are you drinking your coffee?
How we drink our coffee can also have a big effect on our skin. Many of us load our coffee up with sweeteners, milk, syrups and sugary toppings.
Delicious? Sure. But not necessarily great for your skin.
If you’re wondering if your coffee is causing skin problems, don’t forget to look at how you’re drinking your coffee. Dairy, sugar and other additions may be the actual culprits.
The Bottom Line
The evidence for and against coffee is still pretty mixed, but most experts believe that coffee is neither good nor bad for your skin—when consumed in moderation. As is generally true in life, you can have too much of a good thing.
Love your coffee too much to cut back? You can also fortify your skin from the outside with skincare products that contain the vitamins and minerals your skin needs to support vital functions like collagen and elastin production. We suggest you start the day with a liquid serum like Boom Nectar®.
Made with organic, anti-inflammatory ingredients like jojoba oil and witch hazel, Boom Nectar helps reduce the appearance of redness and inflammation and hydrates your skin for a dewy finish.
Then protect your skin with a layer of Boomsilk®, our organic “everywhere” moisturizer. Made with simple, pure extra virgin olive oil, honey and beeswax to hydrate and insulate your skin from moisture loss.
Nourishing your skin this way can help mitigate the effects of too much coffee, caffeine or other dietary stresses on your skin.
Do you drink coffee? Have you noticed any effects on your skin?
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