How to Read Your Acne Lab Blood Test Results

If you’ve taken The Acne Lab Blood Test and received your results, you can use our guide below to understand what internal factors are influencing your acne.

Our test is one of the most comprehensive blood tests on the market for teens and adults with acne. It assesses factors that don’t just influence acne. They also play a major role in skin health, metabolism, and how you actually feel, including:  

• Hormone balance
• Nutrient status
• Inflammation
• Gut health
• Detox function

Accessing Your Test Results

You should have received an email from Rupa Health Labs with a link to your test results.

You also can access your results by logging onto your patient portal at Rupa Health Labs. 

Reading Your Acne Blood Test Results

Your results list out all the markers that were tested and each is marked as either Abnormal or Normal. 

Normal results will be in green/yellow: 

Abnormal results will be in red:

If you have abnormal results, you can use our alphabetical list below to see how it could be affecting your acne.

Get Help for Abnormal Test Results

If you need more help understanding your results or have health concerns, we recommend working with our partner Elovated Medicine, or another functional medicine provider of your choice.

A-Z: Acne Blood Test Results and What They Mean

Cardio IQ Insulin (fasting)

What it tells you: Metabolic status & androgen balance.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Major acne trigger → stimulates thecal cells → more androgens → more oil.
Low: Good metabolic control; acne less likely.

Cardio IQ Homocysteine

What it tells you: Methylation + inflammation.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Oxidative stress → inflammatory acne & poor healing.

Cardio IQ Lipid Panel

What it tells you: Cholesterol and triglyceride metabolism.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High triglycerides: Often insulin resistance → acne.
Low HDL: Inflammation, poor repair capacity.

Cardio IQ hs-CRP

What it tells you: Systemic inflammation.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Predicts inflammatory acne, cysts, nodules, hormonal flares.
Low: Good resilience; usually easier to clear acne.

CBC (Diff + Platelets)

What it tells you: Infection, inflammation, anemia, immune shifts.

ACNE RELEVANCE
Elevated WBC/neutrophils: Possible underlying infection or systemic inflammation → can worsen acne flares.
Low WBC: Immune suppression; slower healing of lesions.
Low Hgb/Hct: Anemia → impaired skin oxygenation → slower repair and more inflammation.

Complement Component C3c

What it tells you: Innate immune activation; often tied to inflammation or metabolic dysfunction.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Insulin resistance, systemic inflammation → fuels cystic acne.
Low: Rare; may indicate immune deficiency but usually not acne-related.

Complement Component C4c

What it tells you: Immune complex activity, autoimmunity.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Chronic inflammation (less common but can amplify skin inflammation).
Low: Suggests immune dysregulation; sometimes seen in autoimmunity → can correlate with chronic inflammatory acne that’s “slow to heal.”

Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)

What it tells you: Liver, kidneys, glucose, electrolytes.

ACNE RELEVANCE
Elevated AST/ALT: Sluggish liver detox → impaired hormone clearance → worsens acne.
High glucose/low glucose control: Insulin spikes → androgen activity → acne.
Abnormal electrolytes: Can affect skin hydration and barrier function.

DHEA Sulfate, Immunoassay

What it tells you: Adrenal androgen output.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Big driver of jawline/chin acne, cysts, and adult female acne.
Low: Adrenal insufficiency; doesn’t cause acne but predicts slow healing and low resilience.

Dihydrotestosterone(DHT)

What it tells you: Potent androgen that hypertrophies sebaceous glands.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Classic cystic acne pathway → oil production + inflammation.
Low: Not clinically meaningful for acne unless on blockers.

Estradiol (E2)

What it tells you: Ovarian estrogen; balances androgens.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Sometimes flares acne if estrogen dominance is relative (progesterone low), but usually estrogen protects against acne.
Low: Reduced SHBG → more free androgens → acne.

Ferritin

What it tells you: Iron storage + inflammation.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Inflammatory state → oxidative stress → more painful cystic lesions.
Low: Poor oxygenation, poor skin healing, brittle skin → acne that lingers and scars.

Gamma Glutamyl Transferase GGT

What it tells you: Liver detox capacity and oxidative stress.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Sluggish phase II detox → impaired hormone metabolism → acne flares.
Low: Good sign.

Hemoglobin A1c

What it tells you: 3-month glucose control.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High (>5.5–5.7): Insulin resistance → higher IGF-1 → more androgens → acne.
Low: Rare issue; not relevant to acne.

IGF-1

What it tells you: Growth factor tightly tied to insulin.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: One of the strongest biochemical drivers of acne — boosts androgens + oil production.
Low: Rare; not typically associated with acne.

Magnesium RBC

What it tells you: Functional magnesium status.

ACNE RELEVANCE
Low: Higher inflammation, higher cortisol → hormonal acne worsens.
High: Rare; usually supplementation effect.

Micronutrient Zinc, Plasma

What it tells you: Total body zinc; imperfect but useful.

ACNE RELEVANCE
Low: Huge acne risk—zinc regulates oil, immunity, inflammation, and skin healing.
High: Rare, usually supplementation.

Testosterone (Free, Bioavailable, Total)

What it tells you: Total androgen environment.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High free/bioavailable: Strong acne driver.
High Total but normal Free: Not as relevant; SHBG matters.
Low: May cause dryness, but not acne.

Thyroid Panel (FT3, FT4, TSH) and Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO)

What it tells you: Metabolic rate & hormone sensitivity.

ACNE RELEVANCE
Low thyroid: Slower skin turnover → clogged pores.
Hyperthyroid: Stress hormone–leaning state → potential flares but less common.
Thyroid antibodies: correlate with inflammatory acne.

Vitamin D (25-OH)

What it tells you: Immune modulation.

ACNE RELEVANCE
High: Rarely problematic; not acne-driving.
Low (<40): Higher inflammation, impaired antimicrobial defense → acne that won't clear.