What’s worse than acne? Adult acne. The easiest way for me to speak about this is for me to first tell you a bit about my own experience….
I had acne in high school like most kids. Nothing too bad, but enough where I begged my mom to buy me Proactive, or take me to see a dermatologists. Nothing ever really worked, but my acne sort of just cleared up on it’s own as I grew up. I was happy with my skin for a while, I got the occasional pimple but really nothing to call home about.
Fast forward almost 10 years at this point my skin is horrible. Constantly caking on makeup to cover it, trying products to clear it, spending hours on the internet in hopes of finding the solution. I just didn’t understand. I was an adult, I washed my face, I didn’t have a horrible diet, but still…. Acne. Even after I decided to pursue a career in skincare and go to esthetics school, I couldn’t figure it out and no one could help me! Eventually I found the answer, and have clear skin now, but it took a while to figure it out. Lucky for you reading this, I’ve done the hard part for you.
There’s so many factors to an adult's life that surface acne, just as there were factors that made your acne surface as a teenager. Or maybe you didn’t even have acne as a teenager and now you do! So let me tell you what’s going on.
According to a study presented at the American Academy of Dermatology’s annual meeting this March more people are suffering from acne now than ever before. Over 50% of adults continue to get acne well into adulthood, so don’t feel like you’re alone.
Okay Mackenzie, but why the heck is this happening??
Well… as I have mentioned in previous blog posts. Acne is hereditary, and something has to “trigger” it for it to show on your skin. Some people just never grow out of it. Some people never see it, and then all of a sudden at 45 years of age they have a face full of it! Why it laid dormant for so long is a mystery, but as an adult there’s many things that can contribute to acne being triggered.
Hormonal fluctuations in your adult years can certainly have an impact. Things like:
birth control
Plan B
pregnancy
premenstrual syndrome
medications, and
menopause
If you are a women, learn about the birth control you are taking, how it effects acne, and consider switching to something acne safe. Please visit my blog post about acne safe birth control if you have questions.
Medical conditions like PCOS or Thyroid disorder can cause mayhem in your skin.
Medications like lithium (for bipolar disorder), thyroid medications, anticonvulsant medications, lo-dose birth control, corticosteroids, etc can trigger acne.
Pore clogging makeup, skin care, laundry detergent, and hair care can be one of the BIGGEST culprits for acne. Even products that say “non-pore clogging” or “noncomedogenic can’t be trusted as they aren’t regulated terms. If you’re ever in questions, refer to my list of pore clogging ingredients.
Stress may be one of the biggest factors in adult acne. As adults we sometimes have monumentous amounts of stress that a teenager would never experience. Acne is almost always associated with some elevated levels of testosterone, it’s almost unheard of for someone to have low testosterone and acne together. When your body becomes stressed your adrenal glands go into a “fight or flight” response increasing testosterone. This would show in the amount of acne you see in your skin.
The good news! Acne is acne. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a teenage boy or a 50 year old women. It responds the same way to product, active ingredients, diet changes, and supplementation with herbs. So if you’ve lost hope, I can help you. The majority of my clients are those suffering from adult acne… men and women. If you’re tired and frustrated and want your acne cleared for good please schedule a consultation with me and together we will get to the root cause!