Can You Manifest Clear Skin? Experts Have Thoughts.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Thinking about the amount of time, money, and energy I’ve spent on my skin makes me wanna crawl out of it. I’ve had acne since I was 11 (early bloomer), and I’ve tried just about everything to clear it as a result: facials, lasers, dermatologist visits, birth control pills and patches and rings and implants, antibiotics, and more. But just when I thought I had seen it all, my For You Page served me something new: manifesting clear skin.
I was intrigued but also skeptical. Like, can you really just visualize yourself with no breakouts, redness, or acne scars, and then it simply happens? If you make a vision board of Hailey Bieber and stare at it every day, will you suddenly have no pores? Can you think your way to clearer skin?
I did some digging, and to my surprise, there’s actually some merit to this phenomenon. According to experts, manifesting—and the methods involved in getting there, like visualization, meditation, and thought reframing—can potentially have a positive impact on your acne. I’m getting into all of it below:
What is manifestation, exactly?
Manifestation is the idea that your thoughts create your reality. For example: If you ask the universe for a higher salary, a partner, a new house, or clear skin and then you genuinely believe it’s on its way, it’ll eventually come to you. Also sometimes called the Law of Attraction or the Law of Assumption (basically a fancy idea for faking it till you make it), manifesting rose in popularity in the early 2000s thanks to Oprah but has grown legs on TikTok and Instagram in 2024 with tons of self-help gurus and thought leaders offering up different manifesting methods to inspire mindset shifts.
Among those thought leaders is Mimi Bouchard, founder of Superhuman, an app full of manifestation-based audios. Bouchard says that in the context of skin, manifestation is one of the fastest ways to make a physical change thanks to the mind-body connection. “Our bodies listen to our thoughts, and if you use mental rehearsal and visualize yourself in a state that’s different to where you are, with practice, you will get there,” Bouchard says.
Astrologer and writer Meghan Rose used manifestation to help clear her own skin (along with getting her dream job and meeting her ideal partner, now fiancé). “I believe that when you perceive yourself in certain ways, and live in a positive and optimistic mindset, your skin—the largest organ in your body—will be undeniably changed,” Rose says.
But does science support this?
Kinda sorta. While the evidence to support positive thinking impacting skin is primarily anecdotal, science does tell us that there is a strong connection between the skin, the nervous system, and the endocrine system, which controls your hormones, explains dermatologist and psychiatrist Evan Rieder, MD. When there is an uptick in stress, your hormones (aka androgens and cortisol) go into overdrive and spike oil production and inflammation levels, which is basically a perfect recipe for breakouts, says aesthetician Jenn Mills. (Hence why stress acne is such a thing.)
To that end, Dr. Rieder says that anything we can do to control our stress levels—including using manifestation techniques like meditation and reciting affirmations—could theoretically help improve stress-related skin conditions. When you’re reframing negative thoughts, acting as if you already have clear skin, and visualizing your life with clear skin, you’re reducing the stress you have about your skin, potentially reducing those hormone levels over time.
This point was largely echoed by nutritionist and Clearstem cofounder Kayleigh Christina. Her brand offers an Acne Lab Test, which involves getting a blood test to analyze your personal acne triggers (i.e., hormones, stress, digestion, etc.) and explore the best way to treat them. “For so many people who have tried all the traditional ways to heal their skin, the emotional component is the final piece they need to figure out,” she says. “It’s the difference between someone getting into therapy and finally getting to talk things out or moving their body in a yoga class or doing somatic work—whatever it is to release those emotions,” she adds.
It’s also worth noting that manifesters and positive thinkers are more likely to prioritize and practice better self-care, like doing a complex skincare routine even when they’re exhausted or changing their pillowcase regularly. Habits like these can ultimately lead to better skin, Dr. Rieder says. Brand designer and long-time acne sufferer Isabel Bagsik saw this play out with her own skin. “Once I shifted my mindset and intention in how I navigated the world, I began making more intentional choices about my habits and what products I was using, ultimately leading to clearer skin,” she says.
So if manifestation has the potential to work, how do you do it?
According to Bouchard, there’s a two-step process for manifesting: Get specific on what you want, then become it. “First, design that future-self version of you that has what you want,” she says. Then you have to “become that person in everyday moments,” she adds. She recommends journaling every morning to remind yourself of who you want to be and/or listening to activations or meditations.
Mills tasks her clients with acne to do daily affirmations related to their skin as a way to manifest. “I have found that most of my clients who stick to their affirmations get results quicker,” she says. When I’m doing my skincare in the morning and at night, I’ll look in the mirror and recite, “I have clear, glowy skin” or “My skin is acne-free.” Since I’ve implemented this, I’ve noticed that I’m not as hard on myself when I do get breakouts, which has drastically reduced how often I pick at my skin.
Christina recommends saying affirmations during intentional moments throughout your day, like before a big meeting or a date. These are times when you would think about your acne and get self-conscious, leading to a shame spiral. But if you can stop them before they happen, you’ll not only emotionally settle down but also bring down some inflammation-causing cortisol.
“I tell myself I’m hot, gorgeous, pretty, etc., and eventually, I just end up feeling that way,” says publicist Erica G., 26. When her skin starts to respond, she suddenly feels better in basically every area—almost like the antithesis of the acne/stress cycle. “It also serves as a motivator to do more beauty treatments, workouts that make me feel good, and additional self-care treatments,” she says.
The takeaway:
You can’t necessarily just believe that your skin will be clear, and your oil glands will immediately dry up and give you glowing, baby skin. It just doesn’t work that way, no matter how many TikTok witches you consult. However, there is an undeniable association between positive self-talk and better mental health and breakouts. Chilling out and loving on yourself a smidge very well over time, might be exactly what your skin needed all along.
For me, manifestation looks like consistent therapy and medication for my anxiety, which have definitely made a massive difference in my hormonal acne. Improving my mental health at a base level was key to get to a place where I could do all the other self-soothing mechanisms, like journaling about my gorgeous, glowing skin, to bring down day-to-day stress that lead to zits.
You Might Also Like
