Aargh – Audition Stress & Acne

Nervous acne timeSpots are a fact of life. We all get them sometimes – it just seems that we get that at the worst possible times. Like on the very morning we are due at an audition.

This is partly because there is a link between acne and stress. That is, stress can definitely make acne symptoms worse.

Stress is bad for us all round. It has a purpose – it’s part of the ‘fight or flight’ response. You know, that thing that saves you when you need to run from a sabre toothed tiger intent on making you it’s dinner. In our more modern world it is still useful, but a lot less useful than it used to be. Unfortunately our bodies haven’t had time to evolve yet to cope better with it.

When we’re stressed it causes an inflammatory response, and inflammation is generally not a good thing throughout the body anyway. Certainly not for any length of time. It also leads to making blocked pores appear swollen and look worse.

Our adrenal glands are also launched into overdrive when we feel stress. That means more of the hormone ‘androgen’ being pumped around our bodies – which can lead to more acne. This is especially true for women – sorry ladies.

The first thing is to understand acne and spots as best you can. There’s no ‘instant fix’, but it will greatly help in keeping acne at bay generally. You need to put a bit of study and effort in. That combined with some stress management techniques near those important times can make a world of difference to spots and breakouts.

Next thing is to remember, everyone knows castings are stressful. So it’s not uncommon for people to suffer breakouts – and a good makeup artist can hide the worst of them. You think movie stars don’t get spots? They’ve just got better make-up or selective lighting and camera angles on their side!

Finally, do your best to relax and de-stress when you know you have something stressful like an audition coming up. Avoid stimulants like caffeine and alcohol the night before, and on the day. Get a good sleep – exercise is good for helping you relax and want to sleep. You will still feel nervous and some stress, but that’s OK. Give yourself permission to be a bit stressed because everyone will be. In fact, take a little time to look around you and see how other aspiring actors are looking and behaving. I bet you see quite a few twitchy people wearing plenty of cover up stick.