Chocolate probably doesn’t give acne to someone who never gets it, but in a handful of small trials it did make breakouts worse in people who were already prone to them. Three controlled studies gave acne-prone volunteers pure cocoa capsules, 99% dark chocolate or 85% dark chocolate, and lesion counts or acne scores went up within one to four weeks. Those trials were tiny, short and mostly made up of young men, so they’re a nudge, not a verdict. The surprise is which chocolate did it: the trials used cocoa with little or no sugar and milk, the two ingredients usually blamed. If you’re acne-prone and notice a pattern after a chocolate-heavy week, you’re probably not imagining it. A steady acne routine will do far more for your skin than worrying over one dessert.
The myth that got un-mythed, then re-mythed
For a long stretch, chocolate and acne was the classic example of an old wives’ tale. A 1969 paper in JAMA by Fulton, Plewig and Kligman tested chocolate and acne, and for years afterward the standard line from doctors was that chocolate had nothing to do with breakouts. By 2011, dermatologists were publishing letters with titles like “Chocolate and acne: how valid was the original study?”
That question started a small wave of new trials. None of them is large. All of them are fun to read, because the method is about as simple as science gets: feed people chocolate, then count their pimples.
What happened when researchers handed out chocolate
| Study | Who took part | What they ate | What happened |
| University of Miami, 2014 | 14 men aged 18 to 35 with a history of acne (13 finished) | Capsules of unsweetened 100% cocoa, a gelatin placebo, or a mix, once | More acne lesions on day 4 and day 7 than at the start |
| Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 2016 | 25 acne-prone men | 25 g of 99% dark chocolate a day for 4 weeks | Higher acne scores and more blackheads, whiteheads and inflamed bumps by week 2, still higher at week 4 |
| Wroclaw, Poland, 2024 | 92 people with acne | 50 g of 85% dark chocolate a day for 4 weeks, on top of an anti-inflammatory diet | Acne got worse by at least one point on a 0-to-5 scale in 79 of them |
The cocoa capsule study
The cleverest design came out of the University of Miami dermatology department and was published in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. Fourteen men with a history of acne swallowed capsules filled with unsweetened 100% cocoa, hydrolyzed gelatin powder (the placebo), or a combination of the two. It was double-blind and placebo-controlled. Thirteen finished. Total acne lesions rose on day 4 and again on day 7 compared with where they started, and the more cocoa a man swallowed, the more new lesions he tended to have, though that link was small to medium in strength.
Capsules are the trick here. You can’t taste a capsule, so nobody’s expectations about “eating chocolate” could color the result, and there was no sugar or milk in it at all. The catch is the size. Thirteen men for one week is a pilot, not proof.
The 99% dark chocolate study
Researchers at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, writing in the International Journal of Dermatology, gave 25 acne-prone men 25 grams of 99% dark chocolate every day for four weeks. That’s a small daily portion of about the most bitter chocolate you can buy. Acne scores and counts of comedones (blackheads and whiteheads) and inflamed bumps rose by week 2 and stayed up at week 4. Everyone ate the chocolate, and their skin was compared with how it looked at the start, so there was no comparison group eating something else.
The biggest one so far
The largest trial, from Wroclaw Medical University and a cosmetology clinic in Wroclaw, was published in the journal Foods. Ninety-two people with acne ate an anti-inflammatory diet throughout. Each group took a four-week turn adding 50 grams of 85% dark chocolate a day, then switched. Acne was graded from 0 (none) to 5 (severe). After the chocolate weeks, the average score went from about 2.5 to 3.4 in one group and from 2.4 to 3.5 in the other. Sixty-five people got one point worse, thirteen got two points worse and one got three points worse. The authors wrote that it’s still unclear which part of the chocolate was responsible.
So it’s the sugar and the milk, right?
That’s the popular theory, and it’s not a silly one. A systematic review published in the International Journal of Dermatology in 2021 pulled together 53 diet-and-acne studies from 2009 to 2020. It listed high-glycemic foods (the ones that spike blood sugar fast), dairy, fatty foods and chocolate as factors linked to acne in that research, and fruit, vegetables and fatty acids on the protective side. If you want the blood-sugar side of that story, our post on blood sugar balancing covers what the glucose trend gets right and wrong.
Here’s the twist. The chocolate in these trials was the opposite of a candy bar. Pure cocoa in a capsule, 99% dark, 85% dark: about as close to plain cocoa as food gets, with little or no sugar and milk. Acne still got worse. So in these studies, chocolate with little or no sugar and milk still went along with worse acne in acne-prone skin.
That doesn’t clear the sugar and milk. A typical milk chocolate bar combines cocoa with both, and nobody in these trials compared a milk chocolate bar with a dark one. The same review said which part of chocolate matters, cocoa or dark versus milk, is still unsolved. Why cocoa would affect acne isn’t settled either.
What these studies can’t tell you
- They’re small. Thirteen, 25 and 92 people. A single unusual participant can tilt a study with 13.
- They’re short. One week to four weeks. None of them followed people for months to see whether skin settles down or keeps getting worse.
- They’re mostly young men. Two of the three trials only included men. If you’re a woman whose breakouts follow your cycle, these studies weren’t built around you.
- Everyone already had acne. The volunteers were acne-prone by design. The results say nothing about whether chocolate can start acne in someone with clear skin.
- One country each. The US, Thailand and Poland, with no repeat of any single study.
- The doses were real but steady. Fifty grams of 85% dark chocolate every day for a month is a lot of very bitter chocolate. An occasional brownie isn’t the same exposure.
Put together, the evidence leans one way: in people who already break out, chocolate can make it a bit worse. It’s consistent, but it’s thin.
What a reasonable chocolate lover does with this
Nothing dramatic. This isn’t a reason to give up something you enjoy, and the studies don’t support treating chocolate as forbidden. If your skin is clear, enjoy it. If you’re acne-prone and you’ve noticed flare-ups after a week of daily chocolate, you have three small trials agreeing with you, and noticing your own pattern is fair game.
The bigger lever is what you put on your face every day. Acne responds to a consistent routine with one proven active, a moisturizer that won’t clog pores and some patience. Our complete guide to acne-prone skin walks through the whole routine. And if breakouts are painful, leave marks or won’t settle after a few months of steady care, a board-certified dermatologist is the right next step. For any big change to how you eat, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian first.
The acne kit that does more than skipping dessert
CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
About $15
Prices move constantly, so we link to live listings instead of printing a number that is wrong by the time you read it. Links go to Amazon, which is where a referral gets credited.
PanOxyl Acne Creamy Wash is about $10, though the price changes often. It has 4% benzoyl peroxide in a creamy face wash. The directions are to massage it in for one to two minutes and rinse, starting once a day because it can dry skin out. Benzoyl peroxide can bleach hair and dyed fabrics, so use a white towel and pillowcase.
CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser is a gel wash with 2% salicylic acid, plus niacinamide, ceramides and hyaluronic acid. Salicylic acid suits blackheads and clogged pores better than angry red bumps. About $17 for a 16-ounce bottle, which lasts a long time. More options are in our best cleansers for acne-prone skin.
Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment is a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide cream that goes on in a thin layer. Start once a day and add a second application only if your skin is fine with it. It’s about $9 and lasts for ages if you use it only where you need it.
Differin Gel has 0.1% adapalene, a retinoid that was prescription-only before it went over the counter. It isn’t a spot treatment. Differin’s directions are a pea-sized amount on the whole face once a day, and Differin says to use it consistently for 12 weeks. Expect some dryness at first. It’s about $13 for the small tube.
CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion is oil-free and non-comedogenic, with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and three ceramides. Acne actives dry skin out, and a light moisturizer keeps you using them. About $15. Our moisturizers for acne-prone skin list has more.
Hero Cosmetics Mighty Patch Original is a box of 36 hydrocolloid patches. They’re drug-free: you stick one on a clean, dry whitehead and peel it off after six to eight hours. The best part is that you can’t pick at a pimple with a patch on it. About $12. We compared more of them in our pimple patch roundup.
One rule for the whole kit: the benzoyl peroxide labels warn that skin irritation and dryness are more likely if you use another acne medication at the same time. Pick one active to start and give it a few weeks before adding a second.
How we picked
Every pick follows from the problem in this article: acne that a chocolate habit might nudge along. We chose one benzoyl peroxide wash, one salicylic acid wash, one spot treatment, one retinoid, one non-comedogenic moisturizer and one pimple patch, kept it to products under about $20, and limited it to two products per brand.
If I Were You
If your skin is clear and you love chocolate, eat it. Nothing in these studies says otherwise.
If you’re acne-prone and you’ve noticed breakouts after chocolate-heavy weeks, trust the pattern you’ve seen, and put your energy into a steady routine: the PanOxyl wash for red bumps or the CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser for blackheads, plus the CeraVe PM.
If you switched to dark chocolate because it’s “healthier for your skin,” know that the trials that found a flare used dark chocolate, 85% and 99%. Dark isn’t a free pass for acne-prone skin.
If you get one or two pimples after a holiday or a birthday, use the Neutrogena spot treatment or a Mighty Patch and move on.
If breakouts are constant no matter what you eat, start Differin Gel and give it the full 12 weeks. If it still isn’t better, or the acne is deep and painful, see a dermatologist.
FAQ
Does dark chocolate cause acne?
In two small trials, 99% and 85% dark chocolate made acne worse in people who already had it. Nobody has shown that it causes acne in people who don’t get breakouts.
Is milk chocolate worse than dark chocolate for acne?
Nobody knows yet. The trials used pure cocoa or very dark chocolate, and none compared the two. Dairy and high-glycemic foods have been linked to acne in other research, so it’s a fair guess, but it’s still a guess.
How long after eating chocolate do breakouts show up?
In the cocoa capsule study, lesion counts were up by day 4. In the 99% dark chocolate study, the change showed by week 2.
Is hot chocolate or cocoa powder any different?
The capsule study used unsweetened 100% cocoa, and more cocoa went with more new lesions. Nobody has tested hot chocolate specifically.
Should I stop eating chocolate to clear my skin?
The research doesn’t support a ban. The trials found a modest worsening in small groups of acne-prone people over a few weeks. A consistent acne routine has much better evidence behind it, and a dermatologist can help if that isn’t enough.
Bottom line
Your grandmother was a little bit right. In small, short trials, chocolate, including very dark chocolate and pure cocoa, made breakouts somewhat worse in people already prone to acne. The trials were tiny, mostly men and weeks rather than months long, so this is a lean, not a law. Enjoy chocolate if you love it, notice your own pattern if you break out, and spend most of your effort on the routine. There’s more in our skin care archive.
