Have you been told that masturbation accelerates your acne and that more and more pimples appear on your face or forehead? Nothing further from reality.
And although puberty brings many changes to the body, the discovery of self-pleasure is not one of the reasons why your acne is so aggressive.
Such a belief is usually related to a myth that for centuries was established as a “scientific” fact implanted by a certain American doctor and businessman, and that was transmitted through the generations as a popular truth.
John Harvey Kellog not only left his last name and his imprint on the famous corn flakes eaten for breakfast in the United States and other countries, but he was recognized as the guru of healthy living, despite some atrocities he encouraged. .
It turns out that this gentleman, also a religious and obstinate eugenicist, promoted an intense campaign against masturbation under the concept of combining extreme hygiene and sexual abstinence to promote a holistic model of healthy living.
He referred to the body as a living temple in which science, nutrition, and religious extremism were intertwined. His intention with cornflakes for breakfast, being a clean food, was to free people from their carnal desires.
So he started a crusade against onanism and associated a taste for spicy food, round shoulders and daring with signs of a chronic masturbator.
These are just a few examples of the dissimilar pseudoscientific milestones that he established during his life and that it would take an exclusive article to list the progressive contributions that marked the era.
Fortunately, science has proven that the notorious character was wrong about what causes acne.
Studies confirm that this skin disease is caused by the plugging of hair follicles.
It is true that during puberty several elements such as onanism and changes in sex hormones can coincide, but the main cause is due to an interaction of hormones, sebum and bacteria that lead to inflammation of the pores.
There is also no relationship between acne and little face washing.
What is certain is that foods with a high glycemic index, that is, those that increase the level of sugar in the blood, dairy products, chocolate and saturated fats also exacerbate acne. Genetics, medications, and stress also play a role.
A recent study of young students in France even found that those who were more active in sexual relations, of any kind, suffered from less acne and were even less stressed.
