The Positive and Negative Effects of Exercise on Your Skin

After going through the last few years, more people are starting to prioritize self-care.

In fact, a study on physical fitness and exercise highlighted that many now devote time to a regular workout routine.  

The usage of social media networks and apps has even increased since they served as an instructional tool for home-based fitness activities.

If you’re also starting out on your fitness journey, you may notice some changes. 

After all, exercise affects your body in many ways, and some effects manifest in your skin. 

To understand these changes, here’s what you need to know about the positive and negative effects of exercise on your skin.

Photo by Cheyenne Doig on Unsplash

What are the Positive Effects of Exercise on Your Skin?

You can get glowing skin post-workout

There’s a good reason why your skin looks glowing after every workout!  

Exercise causes your heart rate to go up, which then prompts your blood vessels to expand and distribute more blood all over your body. This allows oxygen and nutrients to travel all throughout, including to your skin! 

Thanks to the improved blood circulation, you'll have glowing skin for about an hour after your workout.

Regular workouts can boost your skin’s health

Thankfully, the skin benefits of exercise aren’t temporary. 

Since exercise promotes better blood circulation, your skin can regularly get the nutrients it needs for promoting collagen production and skin cell renewal. 

On top of that, fitness enthusiasts who love drinking collagen protein can enjoy benefits on their exercise performance as well as skin health. 

By regularly drinking collagen protein for exercise, you can encourage faster hair growth and better skin elasticity.
Exercise can reduce age-related skin deterioration

Regular exercise can also do wonders for the appearance of your skin. 

Case in point: Medical News Today highlights that older adults who accomplished regular exercise for three months observed improvements in their skin structure. As such, researchers believe that regular exercise has positive effects on the skin’s aging process. 

By exercising regularly, you can have improved skin structure and more youthful skin.

What are the Negative Effects of Exercise on Your Skin?

Sweat from exercise can cause acne breakouts
While exercise does not directly cause acne, your post-workout practices do. Excess sweat from exercise can clog your pores and attract bacteria, which are unfortunately the two main causes of acne. 

Therefore, you have to include a skincare routine for acne into your post-workout activities so that you can prevent breakouts. 

A proper skincare routine can remove the buildup of oil, dirt, and sweat after your workout so that you can have clear and glowing skin.

Exercise can lead to skin irritation

Aside from experiencing acne breakouts, you may also experience skin irritations due to your workout habits. 

Case in point: overheating during tough workouts can trigger rosacea and eczema, while avid runners may experience rashes and irritation in their thighs due to chafing. 

To ease these skin conditions, you can use a hydrocortisone cream with 1% strength to target itchy rashes and eczema. This steroid cream helps reduce any inflammation on your skin so that you can lessen itches or irritation.

Your skin may dry up due to loss of moisture

 It may feel rewarding to sweat it out during your exercise routine but your body will suffer, especially if you forget to rehydrate. 

In fact, your skin may even dry out because of the loss of moisture inside your body. You may even notice that your face looks pale or your lips are dry once your moisture levels are decreasing. 

Consequently, it’s important to drink lots of water to replenish the lost fluids and stay hydrated.

The final word on exercise and skin health…
Exercise can provide both temporary and long-term benefits for your skin's health. 

However, your workout habits may also cause detrimental effects on your skin, such as acne, irritation, and dryness. 

To maintain your optimal skin health, remember to follow a skincare routine post-workout, apply remedies for skin irritation, and replenish your thirst with water.

If you make sure to keep clean post-workout, most of the effects of exercise on your skin are highly beneficial!