Acne and adolescence are conditions which have an undeniable connection, both in public perception and in the dermatologists’ activity. Of course, acne vulgaris is a condition that characterizes mostly teens, however adults can also be affected by this condition that has a psychological impact on comfort and self-image of those affected.
So we see that we are in the situation where after we have successfully overcome the hectic period of adolescence, around 30s or so new acne breakouts appear on our face. Statistics indicate that this is actually a relatively common issue, with about one in five persons with acne into adulthood with women being are more affected than men.
From the medical point of view, acne in adolescence is called acne vulgaris and should be distinguished from rosacea, a condition that occurs in adulthood. Acne vulgaris may still affect adults, either as an extension of acne in adolescence or as a “new beginning” after 25 years old age.
As if fighting wrinkles was not enough, adults continue to struggle with acne, a condition that does not belong to their age since a while…About 54% of all women and 40% of men aged 24 and 44, according to a study and 13% of those over 59 years, according to another study, suffer from adult acne and are in constant seek for a how to treat adult acne. For some people, acne does not just disappear after adolescence while for others, acne first appears in adulthood.
What are the causes of adult acne?
Even in adulthood, people can develop hormonal fluctuations that induce acne. Androgens are the “guilty hormones” and their level may vary during menstruation, ovulation, pregnancy, perimenopause or while taking certain birth control pills. Adult women may suffer acne breakouts in these circumstances.
Adult acne predominantly affects women, but men are not spared either, in these situations is usually the case of an acne extension from the adolescence.
Another major cause for occurrence of acne in adults is cosmetic products. A cosmetic product improper for your skin type, consisting of comedogenic ingredients and oil-based can cause this condition.
Certain medications or hormone therapies may also be the basis of adult acne, so it is useful to ask your doctor about side effects of medications if you notice your acne worsening during the treatment.
Heredity also plays an important role. Oily or seborrheic skin is a type of skin prone to acne and it is inherited. Also, if one parent had acne, a person’s risk of developing acne in adulthood is higher than average.
Treating adult acne
The first thing I want to emphasize is that there are some great treatments for acne available worldwide (one such treatment is Clear Skin Max) and acne is a curable disease!
Patients often arrive disappointed or frustrated at dermatologist’s office after they failed to overcome this condition, often being in a position to have previously tried various solutions, whether at the advice of an acquaintance, either on their own initiative, with more or less positive results.
Each patient is an individual case and although there are some general principles of treating adult acne, therapy should be adapted to each case, so a visit to dermatologist is the first step for solving this problem.
Generally indicated in mild to moderate acne is a combined local therapy consisting of products that contain comedolytic, keratolytic and antibacterial substances such as benzoyl peroxide, azelaic acid, salicylic acid, etc. For severe forms of adult acne or forms that are unresponsive to typical therapy, a systemic therapy with retinoids, antibiotics or certain types of oral contraceptives (for women) is indicated.
Some physical methods are also indicated in the treatment of residual lesions such as scars or hyper-pigmentation – chemical peels or dermabrasion.
Using dedicated dermocosmetic products for seborrheic skin is also an important step in solving this problem, as a complementary method to the medical treatment to get the expected result.
Patients should also be realistic in terms of time needed for achieve healing. Very often, after just 1-2 weeks, therapy is abandoned because the results are not immediately seen. It is a common mistake and any adult suffering from acne should know that treatments are made on a long-term, meaning from 1-2 months to even more for severe forms of acne.