Did you ever get told to stop drinking milk because it was going to give you acne? Well whoever said that was not wrong. Dairy is a common cause of acne, but you may be surprised by how much more it can affect your skin than just causing pimples. In fact, a dairy face is something that many people experience as they get older—and it's something to be aware of.
What is a dairy face?
You may already know that dairy can cause acne, but it can also cause other forms of skin issues. Let’s take a look at what a dairy face is and how to fix it.
Dairy face is a common condition in which your skin reacts negatively to the hormones and proteins found in cow's milk. It's also known as milk face because when you eat dairy products, your facial appearance resembles that of someone who has just consumed too much ice cream or cheese (which might not sound like such a bad thing).
The main culprit for this reaction is whey protein—the liquid byproduct of cheese production—which releases an inflammatory compound called leucine-rich alpha-2 globulin (LACS) when digested by humans. LACS causes redness, puffiness and inflammation around the eyes and mouth due to overstimulating sebaceous glands under your skin on both sides of your cheeks. Your body will even start producing excess oil under your nose!
How do you know if you have it?
The key is to know if your acne is caused by an allergy or something else. Here are some symptoms of dairy intolerance:
Acne
Breakouts
Dark circles under the eyes
Puffiness around the eyes (bags)
Think about your diet.
Dairy products can be found in many foods, and it's very easy to eat more than you realize. If you're having trouble avoiding dairy, talk to a nutritionist or try checking the ingredients list on food labels for any of these common sources: skim milk powder, buttermilk powder or sodium caseinate (which is used to make cheese and other dairy products), whey protein concentrate or isolate, lactose-free butter flavoring and whey protein concentrate or isolate.
Keep an eye on your symptoms.
If you've been experiencing symptoms like redness, swelling or inflammation of the skin on your face and neck, it's time to start keeping a dairy journal. It's simple: write down each time you feel a reaction from eating dairy in the past couple of days (or weeks), including how long it lasted. You'll be able to see if there are any patterns that emerge when you eat dairy products (e.g., maybe drinking milk right after waking up makes your face break out).
What to do when you're noticing symptoms of a dairy face.
If you're noticing symptoms of a dairy face, there's no need to panic. The first thing to do is simply remove all dairy from your diet for two weeks. This will give you time to see if it was in fact the culprit behind your red and puffy face.
Next, keep track of any changes in your skin by keeping a food journal that includes what you eat and how much (or little) water you drink each day. If after these two weeks things don't look up, consider talking with a doctor about whether or not something else could be causing the problem—you may have more than just an allergy!
You might also benefit from doing a food intolerance test. These ones are really simple to do and vary in price depending on your budget too.
Keep in mind that removing all dairy from your diet may not improve your skin.
While the link between dairy and acne has been shown to be strong, it’s not the sole cause of this skin condition. If you have struggled with breakouts for years but haven’t seen any improvements when removing dairy from your diet, there could be more factors at play.
Severe cases of acne can be caused by a number of other issues including hormonal imbalances and food intolerances (such as gluten). The best way to determine whether or not these are contributing factors is by tracking symptoms and keeping a journal for 24 hours before making any drastic changes to your diet or lifestyle routine.
It’s also important to keep in mind that switching up your diet doesn't always result in immediate results—sometimes it takes time for good things (like clearer skin!) to happen after making changes like these. And if nothing else, remember that staying committed is key when trying new things—so don't give up if things aren't perfect yet.
If you suspect that you're allergic or intolerant to dairy, talk to your doctor and consider removing all dairy from your diet and see how you feel.
If you suspect that you're allergic or intolerant to dairy, talk to your doctor and consider removing all dairy from your diet and see how you feel. If it's been a few years since you've eaten it and the symptoms have gone away, treat yourself with some ice cream on special occasions. But if they don't go away, then don't eat dairy on a regular basis.
If you notice that eating dairy triggers acne breakouts or puffiness under your eyes or dark circles under them, then maybe stop eating it?
We hope that this article has given you insight into the world of dairy faces. Do you think you might have a dairy face? What are your thoughts on the topic? Let us know in the comments below!
Thanks so much for reading,
Emmaline x
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