TikTokers blame acne on toxic relationships. They might actually be right.

Can you really tell if someone's in a toxic relationship just by the state of their skin? Some TikTokers seem to think so.

On the social media app, users are posting pictures of their skin from when they were in toxic relationships alongside pictures of their skin since becoming single or getting into healthy relationships. In the before photos, they often have severe acne; in the after ones, their skin appears clear and glowing.

TikTok's verdict? The skin doesn't lie: If you're in a bad or toxic relationship, your complexion is going to show it. And what better way to clear up acne than to rid yourself of that relationship and embark on a new journey... right?

Not so fast.

Dermatologists say there is certainly merit to the idea that toxic relationships take a toll on your skin, as well as your overall health, and thereby contribute to acne. But does that mean you should dump your significant other just because your breakouts aren't clearing up? Or that having acne means your relationship must be toxic?

"A lot of these observations are actually later shown to be built on actual science," Dr. Danilo Del Campo, the founder and medical director of Chicago Skin Clinic, says.

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On TikTok, there seems to be a guiding ethos when it comes to physical health and dating: that your body will reject someone if they're the wrong person for you, even if you haven't consciously realized it.

On the flipside, some add that your body will affirm when someone is right for you. For instance, one user showed her acne-ridden skin from when she was in a toxic relationship and her clear skin now that she's in a healthy one. In a video with 6.3 million views, another TikToker writes that "your body will automatically reject someone who's not right for you," showing her own before and after as an example.

The videos have struck a chord with commenters, who share similar experiences. "my acne AND scars started to clear up once I let go of him," one person wrote. "all of a sudden my skin cleared up too when I became single," wrote another. On the other hand, one person wrote, "Broke up with him about a month ago and my skin has never been worse."

Dermatologists say there's a lot of truth to this, though it isn't the full story. While having acne may not tell you if a specific relationship in your life is toxic, it could certainly tell you that you are under stress.

Dr. Anthony Rossi, a dermatologist and surgeon who hosts the podcast "Give Good Face: Clean Clinical Science," says stress can be a major contributor to acne by affecting the amount of cortisol in our bodies, which impacts our oil glands.

"When we are stressed out emotionally or mentally, your cortisol levels can increase, and your heart rate can increase. You can sweat more," he says. "In doing so, that can actually make things like eczema flare. It can make things like psoriasis get worse and even acne."

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Additionally, other lifestyle factors, like diet and sleep, impact your skin too. So, if you're not sleeping well because you're up late fretting over your relationship, that's also going to contribute to your acne. And, if the stress from your relationship is also making you turn to junk food for comfort, that will too. Chocolate and milk in particular, Rossi says, have been shown to contribute to acne, as well as other high glycemic, high sugar foods.

Del Campo says all these factors can compound on each other too, creating a nightmare for your skin.

"One thing can build onto another," he says. "So yes, I do believe that it could be a sign of someone who's just not in a good place in their lives."

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This isn't just limited to relationships. Stress in general, no matter where it comes from, can contribute to acne. So, if you think your mental health is hurting your skin health, it's important to reflect on if it's really your relationship that's the problem or something else.

"It is not always relationship stress," dermatologist Dr. Brooke Jeffy says. "It could be stress because they're working a job that's negatively influencing their sleep or they're a student and they're staying up late and that's affecting their sleep or their nutrition is off or they're staying up late playing video games."

The real lesson of the TikTok trend

Though dermatologists caution against chalking up all your skin woes to your relationship, they do say these TikToks hold an important lesson, which is that mental health plays a tremendous role in physical health.

Because of this, the best skincare regimens don't just involve cleansers and sunscreens, but also mindfulness practices and occasional check-ins on how one is doing mentally.

It's also important to understand that family history plays a role in how acne-prone one is and to keep in mind that acne often comes in waves no matter what's going on in your life.

"I don't necessarily think just ending that relationship is going to clear up your skin entirely," Rossi says. "Acne is an interesting disease, because it's cyclical in the way it flares."

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That being said, if you're having abnormal acne and you know your relationship is causing you stress, it might be worth paying attention.

"If something in your life is causing you emotional and physical stress, it's not good. Not just for your skin, but also your mental wellbeing," Rossi says. As a result, he says, people's personal lives often come up in his practice. "The skin is a big reflection of how people feel."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: TikTokers say acne means your relationship is toxic. What's the truth?