Skin Health Ask an Expert: How Do Environmental and Lifestyle Factors Impact Skin Conditions? By Team Verywell Health Published on February 25, 2022 Fact checked by Nick Blackmer Fact checked by Nick Blackmer LinkedIn Nick Blackmer is a librarian, fact-checker, and researcher with more than 20 years’ experience in consumer-oriented health and wellness content. Learn about our editorial process Print This article is part of Health Divide: Skin Conditions and Darker Skin, a destination in our Health Divide series. Julie Bang / Verywell Verywell Health: How do environmental and lifestyle factors impact skin conditions? Dr. Woolery-Lloyd: One of the biggest environmental factors for skin disease is stress. This is especially true for inflammatory skin diseases that have flares, like psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, and even certain types of hair loss. So, although stress doesn't cause any of these skin conditions, stress can make them worse and exacerbate symptoms like itching. Other factors, like diet, can play a role in skin disease, but it really depends on the specific condition. For acne, the greatest environmental factors are diet and stress. There’s significant data to show that high-sugar diets, dairy, and whey may influence or exacerbate acne. There are also many studies that show that stress influences acne. One of the more famous studies looked at pimples in students throughout a college semester and found that acne lesions increased during exam times, like midterms and finals. This association between stress and acne has been repeated in multiple studies. Eczema also gets worse with stress, particularly the symptom of itching. For psoriasis, obesity is a risk factor. In terms of caloric intake, some studies have looked at calorie-restricted diets in patients who have psoriasis and found a significant improvement in their disease. What to Eat When You Have Psoriasis For aging skin, research shows that a diet rich in green leafy vegetables and fish is associated with younger-looking skin. Diets high in vitamin C and linoleic acid are also associated with younger-looking skin. On the other hand, diets high in saturated fat and sugar are associated with older-looking skin. And, of course, excessive sun exposure can significantly accelerate aging skin. Healthy Skin Tips for Every Age 6 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Woźniak E, Owczarczyk-Saczonek A, Placek W. Psychological stress, mast cells, and psoriasis—is there any relationship?. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(24):13252. doi:10.3390/ijms222413252 Dall’Oglio F, Nasca MR, Fiorentini F, Micali G. Diet and acne: review of the evidence from 2009 to 2020. Int J Dermatol. 2021;60(6):672-685. doi:10.1111/ijd.15390 Penso L, Touvier M, Deschasaux M, et al. Association between adult acne and dietary behaviors: findings from the nutrinet-santé prospective cohort study. JAMA Dermatol. 2020;156(8):854. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.1602 Chiu A, Chon SY, Kimball AB. The response of skin disease to stress: changes in the severity of acne vulgaris as affected by examination stress. Arch Dermatol. 2003;139(7). doi:10.1001/archderm.139.7.897 Klingberg E, Bilberg A, Björkman S, et al. Weight loss improves disease activity in patients with psoriatic arthritis and obesity: an interventional study. Arthritis Res Ther. 2019;21(1):17. doi:10.1186/s13075-019-1810-5 Pullar JM, Carr AC, Vissers MCM. The roles of vitamin C in skin health. Nutrients. 2017;9(8):866. doi:10.3390/nu9080866 See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit