This article was last updated on August 13, 2026
Acne is a very common, frustrating, and usually inconvenient skin condition that most people experience at different points in their lives. Teenagers and/or young adults often experience the worst and most persistent cases of acne, thanks to their rapidly changing hormones. However, adults are not exempt from experiencing hormonal acne, either.
While acne can be caused by a variety of things—hygeine, diet, hormones, or all three—it might be hard to tell which problem to begin addressing in order to make your acne go away.
So how can you tell you’re experiencing hormonal acne instead of dirt, poor diet, or something else?
What causes hormonal acne?
If you’ve noticed your breakouts clustering around your jawline and chin, hormones are probably the culprit. Androgens (that’s testosterone and its relatives) tell your skin’s oil glands to kick into overdrive, and all that extra oil mixes with dead skin cells and bacteria to create the perfect setup for a breakout.
So what actually causes those hormone swings? A few common ones:
Natural Hormonal Shifts
Your monthly cycle (many people notice a flare-up right before their period, when progesterone rises and estrogen dips), puberty, pregnancy and the postpartum period, and perimenopause. Starting or stopping hormonal birth control can also stir things up. And if breakouts feel like a constant, stubborn presence rather than an occasional flare, it may be worth looking into PCOS, since it’s one of the most common reasons adults deal with ongoing hormonal acne.
Stress
Stress deserves a mention too. It doesn’t cause hormonal acne on its own, but the cortisol spike that comes with it can ramp up oil production and inflammation, making existing breakouts worse.
Diet
And while the diet-acne connection is still debated, there’s decent evidence that high-glycemic foods and dairy can be triggers for some people.
If your breakouts are persistent, especially painful or cystic, or showing up alongside things like irregular periods, it’s worth chatting with a dermatologist or your doctor. We can help pinpoint what’s actually driving it, rather than just treating the skin on the surface.
Here are a few ways we narrow down the potential causes of hormonal acne.
Pinpointing whether someone’s acne is being caused by hormones (“hormonal acne”) can be frustrating because we can’t visually see the hormone imbalance. We may need bloodwork drawn and a dermatologist’s help to determine if hormones are the root of our acne problem.
However, there are a few factors that can help a dermatology provider narrow things down to determine whether or not you’re experiencing hormonal acne.
1. Age
Age is a factor in hormonal acne. We expect teenagers to have acne. After all, their hormones are raging and they are going through major bodily changes.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always stop there. Once you reach your 30’s and 40’s, acne can strike again, especially in women—pregnancy and pre-menopause hormones can disrupt your oil production. Additionally, hormonal fluctuations caused by menstruation and even menopause can create an excess of oil produced causing more breakouts.
If you are past your teen years and are still experiencing acne or maybe you had baby soft skin during your teens and you are just now breaking out, these are good signs its hormonal acne.
2. Pattern of Occurance
Hormonal changes often occur in patterns, especially for women. Progesterone and estrogen normally fluctuate during a woman’s 28-day cycle. If you are breaking out around the same time every month, then more than likely it can be chalked up to hormonal acne.
3. Acne Type
Acne type can be an indicator of hormonal acne. There are different types of acne. Most often, acne consists of blackheads, whiteheads and clogged pores that become infected (papules and pustules).
On the other hand, hormonal acne can result in nodules and cysts. Nodules hurt. They are large, hard and go deeper into your skin. Cysts are also deep but can have pus and are softer. If you are experiencing large, hard bumps you are unable to “pop” (please stop trying, you don’t want to create a scar!), these are likely related to hormones.
4. Acne Location
The location of your acne can be telling. Hormonal acne is usually found around the jawline, chin, and cheeks. The excess hormones in your body are making your oil production increase as well and many oil glands are around the chin/jawline.
How to Treat Hormonal Acne
So how do you treat hormonal acne?
Hormonal acne is harder to treat and oftentimes requires not only prescription creams but possibly even an oral medication to help balance out those hormones.
You will likely find many at-home remedies out there in your online searches, as well as countless over the counter acne solutions that treat pimples but not underlying causes. Therefore, the absolute best thing you can do for hormonal acne is to schedule an appointment with your dermatologist right away.
Your dermatologist might ultimately refer you to a hormone specialist if the hormonal acne persists. Hormone replacement therapy treatments like the ones offered at our sister company Blue Sky MD can help restore balance to out-of-wack hormones and stop hormonal acne at its source.
If you’re struggling with an acne breakout and suspect it might be hormonal, start by contacting us today and we can help you get the root of the issue.
Dr. Richard Levine, MD, FAAD
Board-Certified Dermatologist & Mohs Surgeon • Fellow, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery
With over two decades of experience, Dr. Levine combines surgical precision with an eye for natural-looking results. Board-certified in dermatology and fellowship-trained in cosmetic and facial surgery, he specializes in eyelid, brow, and facial rejuvenation procedures. Outside the clinic, he’s usually cycling Western North Carolina’s mountain roads or on the tennis court, bringing the same precision and care to every patient he treats.
