What do they all have in common? They all become a thing of your past once you reach adulthood. Right? Wrong. Especially if you’re talking about those pesky pimples. If you thought post adolescence bought you a ticket to the clear complexion club, think again.
Adult acne is very real – and it can follow you through your 20s, 30s and beyond.
You may even be part of the crowd that finds itself saddled with late-onset or adult-onset acne. This kind of acne can pop up after teen acne, once you’ve enjoyed an acne-free decade or so.
A study published in the 2012 issue of The Journal of Women’s Health found that a significant portion of the female population has some form of acne.
• 45 percent of women aged 21-30
• 26 percent of women aged 31-40
• 12 percent of women aged 41-50
The acne vulgaris that adults get is different from what teens suffer. The pimples you had as a youth probably popped up all over your face and possibly the neck and chest. These were caused by the overproduction of sebum. Teen acne occurs more in the upper layers of skin and will heal and disappear if you express (pop) the pimple.
Adult women tend to get their pimples more around the mouth, jawline and lips and often theirs is of the cystic variety. Cystic acne is caused by hormone changes. Cystic acne occurs in a deeper layer of skin. Prodding and attempting to pop these zits will lead to red, angry skin, and the pimple likely spreading over a larger area of the face. Doesn’t sound too pretty does it?
Since the tried-and-true methods of your youth will not fix adult-onset acne, let’s look at the grown-up ways to fight it.
Lifestyle
As unfair as it might seem, worrying about your skin can make it worse, not better. Stress causes your body to release androgens, a group of hormones that, besides stimulating your sex drive, also stimulate your oil glands. By reducing the stress in your life using whatever means you prefer – yoga, meditation, nature walks – you are also telling your body to stop producing so many androgens. So relax! Really.
Personal Hygiene Products
For those who find themselves with a smattering of zits around their temples and forehead, your hair products may be to blame. Wear a headband when you exercise to tame wayward strands and always shower as soon as possible after a sweat sesh to ensure your pores are clog-free.
Make sure the products that you use on your face and hair have at least one of the following printed on them so that your pores won’t get clogged.
• Non-acnegenic
• Non-comedogenic
• Oil-free
Beauty products can transfer to other surfaces and migrate to your skin, too. It doesn’t hurt to wash your towels as often as possible. Also change your sheets at least once a week. Flip your pillow over from night to night so that dirt and oil don't accumulate.
If you have bacne (back acne), then treat your back with as much care as you do your front (i.e. face). At the end of a long day at work, for instance, you would typically wash all your makeup off and apply anti-acne medication. Either hop in the shower and wash your back or run a wipe with salicylic acid across your back to unclog pores and reduce swelling and redness. You can get large wipes explicitly for backs at the drugstore.
Diet
The strongest evidence of a link between diet and acne are the glycemic index studies. Foods with a high-glycemic index increase your blood sugar level when you eat them, things like processed carbohydrates, sugar, and potatoes. Low-glycemic index foods like vegetables, nuts and beans do not drastically alter one’s blood sugar level.
The American Academy of Dermatology’s (AAD) take on this is “the consumption of high-glycemic index foods appears to trigger a cascade of responses [in the body], which can lead to acne through effects on growth hormones and sex hormones.”
Additionally, there has been ever-growing evidence collected by the AAD that dairy can also cause acne. Specifically, fat-free milk has shown links to acne growth, dermatologists believe because of the pairing of sugar with growth hormones.
Medication
First, you can try over-the-counter products. Use a cleanser that contains benzoyl peroxide. At night, opt for a topical antimicrobial to kill bacteria. You may want to ramp up to using the topical lotion in the mornings too, but monitor your skin for any irritation.
Many adult acne cases will need prescription help. For more severe adult acne, a visit to the dermatologist is in order as you may need a prescription retinoid like Retin-A. An added bonus -- retinoids also erase fine lines (yes!) but can cause severe redness and dryness (no!).
Balancing your skin's condition between oily and dry while using prescription medication is difficult, which is why you'll need continual consultations with your derm. He or she can monitor your skin’s progress and increase or decrease product use as your skin heals.
There are multiple other benefits to seeing a dermatologist beyond getting the Retin-A prescription. He or she can administer a cortisone shot to an individual pimple that can erase redness and shrink it. Cortisone shots are particularly helpful if you have un-poppable cystic acne and an important event to attend.
Dermatologists also offer more aggressive options for treating acne. These other options cost anywhere from $100 for a lunchtime peel (a glycolic acid peel that removes the first few layers of skin and has no downtime) to photodynamic therapy that costs about $800 (skin is exposed to light that kills bacteria within the follicle).
In sum, adult acne is treatable, whether you prefer to alter your daily routine a bit or just turn the issue over to a doctor. While your skin may not be the picture of perfection that you imagined it would be, there are a variety of options available to change that.