Do eggs cause acne?

the nerdy bit

Eggs haven't been shown to cause acne, and we found no controlled trial that tested them. The larger of the two case-control studies we found, from Kabul, Afghanistan, compared 279 young people with acne and 279 without. Participants who ate eggs on three or more days a week had about twice the odds of acne, an odds ratio of 1.95 (Aalemi et al., 2019).

A case-control study is an observational study that compares people who already have a condition with people who don't, then asks about their habits. An odds ratio is the number it reports. A value of 1 means no difference, and 1.95 means roughly double the odds. It can reveal an association, but it can't show that eggs caused anything.

The Kabul study was designed to investigate dairy, and eggs were one of many foods on its questionnaire. It also associated chicken with less acne, an odds ratio of 0.27 (Aalemi et al., 2019). Would you read that as proof that chicken clears skin? When a single survey tests many foods at once, some associations appear by chance, so one finding on its own proves very little.

In contrast, a smaller 2025 study from Turkey found the opposite pattern. Among 75 adults with acne and 75 without, 17.3% of the acne group ate more than one egg a day, compared with 37.3% of the others (Gürel et al., 2025). The authors suggested that vitamins A and D and selenium in eggs might explain the difference; however, a study of this size can't settle that either.

the nerdy bit

Several claims about eggs and acne circulate online, so we compared five of them with the published research. Take the idea that eggs are "inflammatory." A 2019 meta-analysis pooled nine trials and found that eating eggs had no significant effect on blood markers of inflammation in adults (Sajadi Hezaveh et al., 2019). The table sums up the rest.

the nerdy bit

The evidence is thin and inconsistent, so we graded it Limited. Compare dairy: a 2018 meta-analysis pooled 14 studies of 78,529 young people and found higher odds of acne with any dairy, an odds ratio of 1.25 (Juhl et al., 2018). Eggs have nothing comparable to that body of research.

Reviews show the same gap. A 2020 review of acne risk factors listed only the Kabul study for eggs (Heng and Chew, 2020). A 2022 systematic review kept 34 of 410 papers, concentrating on carbohydrates and dairy, and mentioned eggs only once in passing (Meixiong et al., 2022).

The American Academy of Dermatology's 2024 acne guidelines found the evidence too thin to make any diet recommendation, so they say nothing for or against eggs (AAD, 2024). If you're choosing which food to test first, the evidence on dairy is far larger than the evidence on eggs.

The strongest dietary evidence points elsewhere. For example, in a 12-week trial of 43 young men, lesion counts fell by 23.5 on a low-glycemic-load diet and by 12.0 on a standard diet (Smith et al., 2007). Dairy also has far more observational evidence behind it than eggs do (Juhl et al., 2018).

For a wider view, see the foods with the best evidence for clear skin and the foods most often linked to breakouts. Eggs aren't the only everyday food under suspicion: our page on bread and acne weighs another. Whatever you decide to test, give it time.

the nerdy bit

Eggs contain natural hormones, but only in traces. French researchers tested supermarket eggs and found the estrogens estrone and estradiol at 1.5 and 0.9 micrograms per kilogram. That's about a millionth of a gram per kilo of egg (Courant et al., 2007).

A 2019 Taiwanese study screened eggs from 8 common breeds for 15 hormones, natural and synthetic. It detected only natural ones, such as progesterone, and judged the levels no consumer health risk (Li et al., 2019).

The more relevant question is whether eggs change your own hormones. IGF-1 is insulin-like growth factor 1, a hormone that drives growth. Diet can shift it, along with insulin and androgens such as testosterone, and all three play a part in acne (Meixiong et al., 2022).

Two small trials suggest that whole eggs can nudge these hormones upward. In Thailand, schoolchildren aged 8 to 14 were randomly assigned to three groups of 24 to 26. After 35 weeks, children eating 10 extra whole eggs a week had higher IGF-1 than the control group: 330.9 against 264.3 ng/mL. A yolk-free egg substitute made no significant difference (Suta et al., 2023).

In a 2021 trial, 30 young men on a 12-week weight-training program ate either whole eggs or egg whites. Testosterone rose more in the whole-egg group (Bagheri et al., 2021). Neither trial examined anyone's skin, so they suggest a possible pathway, not a proven effect on acne.

The Kabul authors proposed leucine, an amino acid in protein, as the explanation (Aalemi et al., 2019). Sebum is the oil your skin's glands make, and leucine feeds the growth signal that drives it (Melnik, 2012). But egg protein is about 8.5% leucine, close to meat at 8% and below whey at 14% (Melnik, 2012). For the higher-leucine case, see our look at whey protein and acne.

the nerdy bit

We found no study that tested egg whites and acne. The claim that egg-white protein, called albumin, is "hard to digest" doesn't match the measurements. In a small 1998 study of 5 people, 90.9% of cooked egg protein was absorbed, against 51.3% of raw egg protein (Evenepoel et al., 1998). Cooked eggs are well digested; raw ones much less so.

If anything, the two hormone trials implicate the yolk rather than the white: in both, the groups eating whites or a yolk-free substitute showed smaller hormonal changes (Suta et al., 2023; Bagheri et al., 2021). That's still no reason to switch to whites for your skin, since neither trial measured skin at all.

What about biotin? Egg yolk is one dietary source of this B vitamin. Signs of running short include skin rashes, hair loss and brittle nails, and there are no known toxic symptoms from biotin (MedlinePlus). We found no study connecting the biotin in eggs to breakouts.

the nerdy bit

We found no controlled study showing that egg allergy causes acne. Egg allergy itself is real: it affects 1% to 2% of children, and in one specialist clinic an estimated 68% had outgrown it by age 16 (Savage et al., 2007). Food allergy symptoms, such as hives, usually begin within 2 hours of eating (MedlinePlus).

The closest thing to evidence is a 2022 Russian study. It skin-prick tested 57 people with moderate acne, and 66.7% reacted to whole egg. After an elimination diet, 71.9% improved (Barilo and Smirnova, 2022). However, the abstract describes no comparison group, so we can't tell how many people without acne would have reacted too.

A skin prick test is an allergy test that puts a drop of food extract into a tiny prick in the skin. A positive result indicates sensitization, not proof of allergy. A US expert panel sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says a prick test alone can't diagnose food allergy (Boyce et al., 2010).

Home "food sensitivity" tests that measure IgG antibodies are another trap. A European allergy task force found that IgG4 to a food mostly shows you've eaten it, and advised against the test for food complaints (Stapel et al., 2008). The US panel warns that unproven tests like this can lead to unnecessary dietary restrictions (Boyce et al., 2010).

If you think eggs cause a reaction, see an allergist, who can test you properly. That matters most for children: rather than cutting eggs from a child's diet on a hunch, ask a doctor first.

the nerdy bit

That's consistent with the evidence, because no study has shown that eggs cause acne. In addition, a few weeks is too short to judge any dietary change, since the controlled trials that improved skin lasted 10 and 12 weeks (Kwon et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2007).

If you're an adult and want to test eggs for yourself, make it a fair test.

1. Change one variable at a time; if you drop eggs and dairy together, you won't know which one mattered.
2. Allow about 12 weeks, matching the longer of the two low-glycemic trials (Smith et al., 2007).
3. Keep the rest of breakfast steady, because swapping eggs for sugary cereal changes two things at once.
4. Record where you are in your menstrual cycle, so a monthly flare doesn't mislead you.
5. Take photos in identical lighting each week instead of relying on memory.
6. If your skin improves, reintroduce eggs for a few weeks; a genuine egg effect should reappear with them.

the nerdy bit

Then your cycle is worth tracking before you blame eggs. In a 2001 study of 400 women and girls with acne, 44% reported premenstrual flares (Stoll et al., 2001). If your breakouts arrive on a monthly schedule regardless of what you eat, the timing points to hormonal changes rather than a particular food. Our guide to hormonal acne and diet covers what food can and can't do there.