Why Your Liver & Gut Matter for Clear Skin
If you’ve been battling acne, breakouts, or inflamed skin for years, you’ve probably tried every lotion, serum, and skin treatment under the sun.
But what if the real problem isn’t your skincare… it’s your detox pathways?
As a nutritionist who specialises in treating skin conditions from the inside out, I see this all the time, clients come to me with an overburdened liver and an imbalanced gut and that combination can seriously impact your skin’s ability to clear, heal, and glow.
Here’s why your liver and gut matter so much when it comes to your skin and what you can do to support them.
What Are DETOX PATHWAYS?
Your body is constantly working to eliminate waste, both from the outside world (like toxins, chemicals, and pollution) and from within (like hormones and metabolic by-products). It does this through five main detoxification pathways:
Liver
Gut
Kidneys
Lungs
Skin
Each organ plays a unique role, but they also work as a team. When one pathway is under-functioning or overwhelmed, others may have to pick up the slack, often resulting in skin flare-ups, breakouts, or inflammation.
The liver-skin connection
Think of your liver as your body’s main filter. It’s responsible for breaking down hormones, environmental toxins, medications, alcohol, and by-products from your own metabolism. It does this in three key phases:
Phase I – Transformation
In this initial stage of liver detoxification, a group of enzymes known as cytochrome P450 (CYP450) gets to work breaking down substances like hormones, medications, and environmental toxins (including pesticides and pollutants). This transformation process changes these compounds into more water-soluble forms, making them easier for the body to eventually eliminate. This phase also produces free radicals as by-products, which means your body needs strong antioxidant support (glutathione) to manage the potential for inflammation and oxidative stress.
Skin link: If Phase I is working faster than Phase II, you can get a buildup of reactive metabolites, leading to oxidative stress, inflammation, and flare-ups on the skin.
Phase II – Conjugation
Now that the toxins are more water-soluble, your liver moves into Phase II. This is where it neutralises and "packages" those transformed substances so they can be safely excreted via bile, urine, or stool.
This phase uses several biochemical pathways:
Methylation
Glucuronidation
Sulfation
Acetylation
Glutathione conjugation
Amino acid conjugation
These processes rely heavily on key nutrients such as:
B vitamins
Amino acids like glycine, taurine, and glutamine
Sulfur-rich foods
Antioxidants like glutathione
Skin link: If your diet is low in protein, cruciferous veg, or specific vitamins/minerals, Phase II slows down, allowing toxins and hormones like oestrogen to recirculate and impact skin health.
Phase III – Elimination (Where the Gut Comes In)
After the liver packages these toxins, they’re sent to the gut via bile to be excreted through your stool.
But if your gut isn’t functioning well, if you’re not having regular bowel movements, or your microbiome is imbalanced, those toxins can be reabsorbed into your system.
Skin link: Constipation, sluggish digestion, and gut imbalances are often at the root of stubborn acne, especially when paired with hormone-driven breakouts.
The Gut
Your liver can do all the right work, but if your gut can’t eliminate waste effectively, it can all come undone. When bowel movements are infrequent or gut bacteria are imbalanced, your body may reabsorb toxins and hormones your liver tried to clear. This reabsorption increases inflammation and disrupts hormonal balance, two of the biggest contributors to acne, rosacea, and eczema.
Nutrition tip: Fibre is your friend. It binds to toxins and helps move them out of the body. Try to include a mix of soluble and insoluble fibre daily from sources like:
Root vegetables
Flaxseeds
Oats
Legumes
Leafy greens
Beta-Glucuronidase: The Enzyme That Can Undermine Your Skin
Beta-glucuronidase is an enzyme produced by certain gut bacteria. When elevated, it can reverse the work your liver has done, unbinding toxins and hormones that were ready to be eliminated.
In simple terms:
Your liver detoxes excess oestrogen
Your gut, if out of balance, can send it straight back into circulation
Skin link: This recycling can trigger hormonal breakouts, especially around the chin and jawline, worsen premenstrual acne, and cause skin congestion that never fully clears, no matter how ‘clean’ your skincare is.
How to check it: A comprehensive gut microbiome test can measure your beta-glucuronidase levels and identify the bacteria contributing to this activity. This gives you clear, targeted insight into what may be driving your skin issues.
Start with the foundations:
Now if anyone tells you to go on juice cleanse to “detox” please run in the other direction. As you have read, our body has detox systems built in place, we just need to support them with the right foods and lifestyle. Here are some basic steps to support your body’s natural detox systems:
A nutrient-dense diet that includes amino acids, cruciferous vegetables, and antioxidant-rich foods
Daily bowel movements to keep toxins moving out
Balanced gut health with targeted probiotics and prebiotics
Lifestyle support like good sleep, hydration, and blood sugar balance
Once these foundations are in place, your liver and gut can do their jobs effectively, leading to clearer, calmer, and more resilient skin.
If you're curious about how your liver, gut, and overall health might be impacting your skin, you can book a FREE 15-minute consultation with me. In this call, we’ll discuss your skin concerns, diet, lifestyle, and any underlying health conditions so I can help you uncover the root causes of your acne, and support you with a personalised plan that works from the inside out.