Last week, I talked about how what we eat and how our internal plumbing affects our skin. A couple of you mentioned taking probiotics and how you derived benefits from it.
Well, when I was doing my personal research, I found that probiotics is definitely helpful for helping with digestion and bowel movement. What it is, is billions of beneficial bacteria introduced into your gut via a capsule or a yogurt or yogurt drink or even a drink like Yakult or Vitagen (I happen to love drinking the latter 2 as a kid, nevermind the sweetness. It was such a treat!)
The purpose behind probiotics is to introduce more good bacteria to balance out the bad bacteria in your gut. It is being touted as a new health thing and like all health things, there will naturally be pros and cons. If you look out there though, the pros outweigh the cons of taking probiotics by about a million to one. Probiotics is even said to be able to help people who have skin problems, allergies or acne.
Well, guess who discovered a small side effect of taking probiotics that isn’t quite as inspiring as all that? 😛
Yours truly actually had acne after taking probiotics. Yep. It defies imagination doesn’t it? Here is this capsule of all these supposedly good bacteria that’s supposed to help with digestive problems, clear up internal plumbing and maybe even help with clearing up acne on skin.
What I experienced was otherwise. I was having some spots. This was during the time before I decided to do anything to my diet. It was highly irritating. I was then suggested to try some probiotics. Everyone in my family was taking it and everyone was raving about how regular it made them. That was the primary reason for taking the probiotics I might add.
So I started taking it once a day. After about a week, I started to realize that my skin, which was bad before, was now stark raving NUTS! I was having huge, painful cystic acne on my chin and honestly, after not having such bad skin for such a long time, it was a downer. It wasn’t hormones, I might add. It wasn’t close to that time of the month when hormones go nuts, and I haven’t had hormonal acne for a while now.
I don’t know what made me think about the probiotics I was taking. One morning, I woke up and thought “I wonder if its the probiotics?” Perhaps it was some instinct so I stopped it. Within 2 weeks, I started to notice a difference to my skin. Coupled with my lifestyle and diet change, I found my skin was healing itself, with no lasting damage. Was it the probiotics then? Could it actually cause me to have acne?
I looked for information online but there was little to no information. Most people said it HELPED their acne problem. It was on a few little known forums where I found one or two people who mentioned the same things I experienced. Within a couple of days of taking probiotics, they erupted with acne along the chin and jaw line. After stopping, the breakouts stopped. Most people shot that theory down and told them to stick it out but I personally felt there was something there. I wasn’t going to stick it out, no matter what anyone said.
I’d gotten my problem under control by this time. Barring the regular random blackheads my skin was back to normal. So, I decided to experiment. I popped a probiotic capsule just last week in the morning. By evening, there was a painful hard spot forming on my chin. By the next morning, it was a full blown painful cystic acne spot. I wasn’t waiting around to see what happened if I popped another capsule!
So, going from my personal experience with probiotics, I’m going to stick my head out and say that yes, in some very rare cases (like mine) probiotics can cause you more harm to your skin than good. Probiotics can, in my case, cause you to break out and have acne problems where you had none before, or even make your problem worse.
I’ve stopped taking probiotics and am now treating the spot with the Nexcare patch which is helping to bring down the swelling and reduce the painful spot. Once it flattens out or comes to a head, I’ll go with tea tree oil and then perhaps a whitening spot corrector to get rid of the mark and hydration to get my skin back to normal.
Its a horrible process and if you ask me, I think this an awful way to discover that probiotics isn’t for me. I might add that it could also be the strain of bacteria used in this particular brand (it all looks like the normal stuff in most probiotics supplements though). Not being medically or pharmaceutically trained, I can’t tell. The only thing I will say is that I’m quite safely NOT going near anymore probiotic supplements from now on.
If anyone has shared a similar experience as I have, I hope you could share it. Perhaps you had a good experience with taking probiotics. Share it too! 🙂
Paris B
Siri says
Even I started taking probiotics from last one month . My skin is horrible with acne all over chin . I just stopped them.how long does it take to see results
Lisa says
I have psoriasis, I had terrible blotches, I ran out of my probiotics, I was on vacation so I decided to wait until I returned home. Surprise after 10 days with no probiotics my psoriasis cleared to almost nothing. I to will not return to them. I will seek natural by eating yogurt or similar.
D says
You are not alone! I started taking a probiotic three weeks ago. First week was okay, but starting on week 2 I experienced the worst breakout I have had in YEARS. I’m talking volcano eruption. Huge painful cysts on my face in places I never get acne.
I completely understand it may be a symptom of “die-off” and although I have experienced improvement with my bloating issue, I am going to stop taking the probiotic and see what happens. I think I may have introduced it into my system too quickly.
Thank you for sharing your experience with probiotics! Just like you said, everyone is different and what may work for one person may not work for another.
Terra says
Maybe it’s the dairy in yakult? Perhaps try a soy-free and dairy-free probiotic.
Diane Beling says
Just recently started taking probiotics for the first time. Have always had allergies &/or sensitivities so am careful when I start anything new like vitamins or meds etc. Only took 1 capsule a day for a week or 10 days & have progressively begun to break out more & more. Called the company who sell the product & they are referring it to their adverse reaction team to decide if they will refund my money. This is similar to the breakouts I have if I eat yogurt.
Viera says
Absolutely agree! But I might add not all probiotics have the same effect. The last batch of probiotics I purchased was from Trader Joes (I love their supplements so I was very excited when I saw they started producing probiotics). Note that I have always had very clear skin, I take probiotics to help with my IBS. These specific probiotics caused me to get the most painful little pimples under my nose. They kept coming, and popping them would leave a painful scab that took forever to heal and left a red mark behind. As soon as I stopped the probiotics the pimples were gone. As a control experiment I eliminated all suspicious supplements for a few days and this morning I took a probiotic. Guess what? Around 6 PM a very painful pimple appeared under my nose. I will give my skin a few days to heal and go back to my old probiotic. Fingers crossed!
AD says
I know these are old comments but I finally figured out today that my cystic chin acne (never had acne in my life and I’m 27 yrs old) – could very well be from my Probiotics! Any one else still experiencing this? Anyone find alternatives to aiding your gut and keeping away nasty cystic acne?
I am about 90% sure its the probiotics that I have been taking religiously for 2 years! I began to develop crazy chin acne just a few months into taking them and its been a battle ever since! BC changes, my gyno has no answers..dermatologist prescribed a sulfur cleanse that did nothing!
Thanks for this! Although super unfortunate that we all went through this, but its always nice to hear you’re not alone or crazy!
AD says
Also, the way I realized this is because for the first time in 2 years I ran OUT of my probiotics a week ago and miraculously I have been obsessing over the fact that my acne just VANISHED. I finally put 2 and 2 together today and here I am, finding 100’s of others that have experienced this cystic acne nightmare.
TYhanks again!
Annette says
Hi! I just found this forum today. I thought I was crazy too. I develop a cystic acne problem all over my chin and jaw line a while ago exactly the same time when I started to drink kombucha every day. I never thought it was the kombucha until today. I found lots of people saying that probiotics give them acne.
I move out of the us and stop drinking kombucha because I dindt find it in any store. Then I went to a dermatologist she gave me antibiotics and all my face was clear in only 2 weeks. ( the acne was severe). 2 week ago I met a lady who makes kombucha tea, I’ve been drinking it daily since then. All my acne is coming back.
Annette says
Hi! I just found this page while looking for “acne problems related to kombucha” .
A year ago I started drinking kombucha very frequently, I’ve been struggling with painful cystic acne since then. Never occur to me that it was the kombucha until today and to be honest I feel kind of sad knowing that is not good for me. Short story, The thing is that 6 month ago I move to another country and stop drinking kombucha because I coundt find any on the stores, I went to a dermatologist and she gave me antibiotics, my acne was severe and it only took 3 weeks to clear, I was acne free for about 5 month.
2 week ago I met a lady who makes kombucha and I started drinking it again daily. It only took 1 week for me to notice painful cystic pimples on my chin and jaw line. I’ve been researching all morning about it and I found lots of people talking about probiotics and kombucha being related to acne. Is just crazy? So, anyways next Friday I’m going again to the dermatologist and I guess I’ll stop kombucha for a while.
mariah says
With those who broke out after taking probiotics what was your method of taking them? Maybe its the method rather than the bacteria itself.
Sian says
I’ve been taking the 300 billion and I have noticed that I have got spots too. It has helped my digestive system, but I won’t be taking anymore due to the severity and size of the spots. Fingers crossed that they will clear up soon.
Susan Nam says
Yes . I too noticed everytime I took a probiotic, I developed acne. I’m glad I found someone like me. I am not sure if I should keep taking it and eventually probiotics won’t develop acne. I never had good skin throughout teenage years. As an adult I do not have acne.
Bzmom says
If there is anybody who initially developed acne but later cleared with probiotics?
Rhythm says
I think I am going through exactly what you did! I used to take tetracycline years back so I thought it probably killed my good bacteria which is why my adult acne came back with fury suddenly. Probiotics are a good to way to deal with this so I started but nope everytime I take one, a pimple pops. Iam honestly lost right now! What would help? I want to be able to eat dairy/ sugar once in a blue moon without having to worry! 🙁
Luisa says
I agree that every person is different, but I ran into the same issue. I’ve been vegetarian for 4+ years, vegan for about 2 months, and have been sensitive to dairy since I was a baby. I’ve been taking probiotics for about 1.5 months (I’m very prone to UTIs) and have been experiencing some highly irregular and frequent breakouts in the last couple weeks on my face, back, and thighs. (Otherwise, my skin has calmed down in my late 20s and now in my 30s.) Stopped taking them today. Hopefully that is the solution. It was difficult to find information on why this was happening so thanks for sharing your story!
Julie z says
I stumbled across this while searching for answers to my current probiotic nightmare. I have rosacea and read kefir was good for skin issues… wrong!! Two days into it my face is covered with tiny bumps. Never in my 50 years has this happened to me. I stopped drinking this vile stuff as soon as the bumps appeared… hoping it goes away soon. I feel hideous. My skin before this was beautiful with an occasional red spot from rosacea. Its been two days since bumps appeared so im hoping itll go away soon??
maddie says
I recently took only three probiotic pills once a day for three days.. the acne that formed on my jawline and chin is UNREAL! i dont even want to leave the house. I thought it was the lotion I was using but ive used this lotion before and my skin never reacted.. come to find out it was the Probiotic pill. phew so happy I’m not alone on this one and i found this article. thank you. I stopped taking the probiotic last week and no new breakouts thankfully but i’m still dealing with the breakout that appeared when I started taking them. hopefully they’ll go away soon!
Annie K says
Oh my I’m so glad I stumbled on this blog! Literally everywhere it says how incredible probiotics are for skin… topically and internally! Neither work for me. Skincare lines containing beneficial bacteria break me out, cause redness and irritation. Internally I get acne on my chest and face and my anxiety is out of control. And the worst part is probiotics are showing up in all sorts of supplements so I have read labels carefully. From multivitamins to collagen peptide powders. This is great if they benefit you but for me they make matters much worse. My doctor told me she can’t take probiotics either as they break her skin out too. Instead she tells her patients to eat fresh, organic raw veggies and fruit to get beneficial bacteria. For an extra kick drink a little sauerkraut juice, kombucha, or kefir.
Cristina says
I just started probiotics 2 weeks ago and my cystic acne is the worse it’s ever been. I got it on my chin which I never do and also on my right cheek which had been mostly clear for over a year. I’m sticking it out though because I’ve read Therese sometimes a purging phase and I’m just hoping that’s exactly what it is. I will update this in a few weeks.
Crystal says
Hello! I have also been taking a probiotoc for several months. I have had issues with acne but I noticed that since I started the probiotic my issue worsened. I developed deep, painful, hard cysts. They swelled and made my chin look deformed. It was awful. I never connected thr probiotoc to the problem until recently. I have stopped and I’m waiting for the painful swelling to go down. This has been a nightmare. I need to take a probiotoc but dont want the painful unsightly side effects. I may try another brand after my skin heals. Good to know I’m not the only one who has experienced this.
Natalie says
WOW so glad I found this I thought I was going CRAZY. I’ve never had bad acne and about two months ago I started getting the absolute worst and most painful cystic breakouts on my chin and jawline. I did not change a single aspect of my lifestyle nor diet but then I realized – like today- I added probiotic power we had lying around (probably not the smartest thing) into my daily smoothie around the same time this started happening. Two dermos, my GP, a naturopath , and multiple blood tests later confirmed it wasn’t hormonal or diet influenced. Anyway it didn’t even cross my mind to bring up the probiotics because I’ve heard so many people talk about how good they are for your skin. Now however I’m convinced that they’re the cause of this and this post and all the comments were so helpful for me, so glad I found this THANK YOU good bye probiotics!!!!