Adult Acne
Adult acne affects 25% of all adult men and 50% of adult women at some time in their adult lives. These are the official statistics, but I personally don’t know many adults who have not had a zit or two in their adult lives. People can develop unpleasant acne or have an acne recurrence in their 20s, 30s, and 40s and beyond. It can be difficult to cope with no matter your age, and can cause depression and social anxiety in an adult the same way it can in a teen.
Adult Acne: Why You Get It, How to Fight It
Adult acne is more common than you think – and fairly easy to treat.
By Charlotte Libov WebMD the Magazine – Feature
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD
Adult acne can really put a crimp on your life. Last year, for instance, Christine Janssen considered posting a new photograph of herself on her business web site but ultimately resisted the idea. “With my acne, I just wanted to put a paper bag over my head,” says Janssen, 41, who runs a Manhattan marketing research company.
Skin problems afflict almost everyone growing up, but some never outgrow it, says Jonette Keri, MD, PhD, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and chief of dermatology at the Miami VA Medical Center. She estimates that nearly 30% of women and 20% of men ages 20 to 60 (and beyond) are troubled by breakouts.
What Causes Adult Acne?
Adult acne is caused by sebum, an oily substance produced by the skin’s sebaceous glands. Sebum clogs pores, which attract bacteria and become inflamed. For most adults, breakouts are a result of hypersensitivity to androgens (male hormones). But an imbalance in both male and female hormones (estrogen) can also cause breakouts. For women, this can happen during pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause. Some medications, such as corticosteroids, and cosmetics are also triggers.
How Is Adult Acne Treated?
Treating adult acne is tricky. Most acne medications are geared to teens’ oily skin, a bad choice for drier adult skin. Effective treatment often requires a trial-and-error approach that takes time, Keri says. Her recommendations include:
Cleansers: Cetaphil and Aquanil are the most gentle. Avoid too-strong gels and products containing beads or granules, which are abrasive and can irritate and worsen sensitive skin.
Creams and lotions: Use an over-the-counter retinol product to clean pores and help reduce fine wrinkles. Prevent discoloration and fade acne scars with products that contain salicylic and glycolic acids. And to spot-treat a breakout, use a product with benzoyl peroxide, which helps kill bacteria.
Prescription medications: The topical antibiotic clindamycin helps fight bacteria in the skin; so does tetracycline, another antibiotic, taken orally. Oral contraceptives and spironolactone, a blood pressure drug, can help balance hormones.
High-tech solutions: Laser and intense pulsed light treatments mainly target scars, but blue light therapy treatments kill acne-causing bacteria. These treatments are costly, though, so explore your other options first.
A Skin-Care Regimen for the Acne Prone
Believe it or not, there’s a trick to skillful face washing. To start, try to keep your face clean during the day. Then wash your face twice daily with the cleanser (if your skin is dry, try using water the second time). Use only warm water (hot water is drying). Wash for just 1-2 minutes (more can irritate your skin). And use your hands instead of a rough washcloth. (If you must wash with a cloth, choose one made for babies, so it’s as soft as possible.)
As for Janssen, she found that a doctor-prescribed regimen of gentle cleansing, oral antibiotics, and a retinol cream did the trick, and her new photo is now proudly posted on her web site. She says, “All my friends comment on how clear my skin looks.”
As seen in the above article, there are many different opinions in the market place about how to treat Adult Acne. The biggest problem with treating it is, is because there is no one thing that causes it. I have had clients who never had any breakouts during there teenage years and then, in their thirties have full acne breakouts. In my opinion, thee best way to treat this condition is to do ‘peels’ on the skin. These peels should be either AHA or BHA based or TCA based, as these are the least harsh of all peels on the market and will not damage the skin as the do not remove alot of skin at one time.
It is also important to remember that these peels should be done over a period of time for best results and should be done by a professional.
Another active ingredient that has been found to be very effective on Adult onset Acne is Vitamin A, in any form, as it is a ‘skin normalizer’. Spot treatments should contain tee tree essential oil or salicylic acid as these are effective in drying the pustules. Tee tree is also a very effective disinfectant and is therefore very effective when treating acne. Note that you can have a tee tree reaction if using it too often and that is why some people will claim that they had a reaction to the product- it is not the product, but the oil that gives the reaction as it is very stimulating and does have a cumulative effect.
My last bit of advice is to go for regular facial treatments, as these help regulate the skin and use a good, effective skin care regime, because no matter what people say, the best way to regulate your breakouts is to use a product that will do the job. It is NOT necessary to break the bank, but ensure that the product that you use has been scientifically proven top work on the condition over the long run and not just have short term effects, otherwise you will be spending money unnecessarily.
Find out how to treat Adult Acne following the link to Acne Treatments – Acne Treatment Page
