Just because you are an adult does not mean that you’ve seen the last of acne. This one skin condition that can trouble you even in your grown-up years. You might have sighed with relief as you entered adulthood and bid adieu to your pimple problem. You thought that you’ve seen the last of those zits that popped up on your face. But you are wrong! As your cross over to your 40’s, suddenly you find your facial skin on certain areas feeling tender and painful for days before a pesky pimple appears. Welcome adult acne.
Issues that lead to adult acne
According to dermatologists and skin care experts, adult acne can be caused by more than one issue. Stress is usually the main culprit behind one getting acne after crossing 40’s. Lifestyle stress along with change in body chemistry leads to acne eruptions. What really happens is that stress causes a hormonal imbalance which in turn upsets your body’s natural sebum production that can clog pores.
It is an established fact that women more than men tend to get adult acne. This is because more women tend to face issues with hormonal imbalance than men. Usage of birth control pills and with advent of menopause women can get adult acne. As women near menopausal age, the hormones start fluctuating which create an overall imbalance in the body, which leads to the acne issue. The hormonal imbalance often lead to inflammation; all these put together can stimulate acne producing bacteria.
As you grow older your skin cell turnover slows down which means your skin will have more dead skin cells than fresh skin which can get covered by the dead skin layer. This layer can then clog pores – as you age irregular sebum production in skin is a problem that many face. This kind of acne can happen to both men and women.
How do you know you have adult acne?
Unlike in your teens when pimples appeared on the T-zone that is the cheeks, nose and the forehead, adult acne appears on your C-Zone that is around the temples, sides of the face, and jawline. While zits during the teens appear almost overnight, adult acne can take 5 to 7 days before the actual pimple appears on skin. According to skin care experts, one can feel the onslaught of adult acne since the skin around the acne area starts to feel tender. The skin gets really red and painful. Unlike teenage acne, adult acne may not even become a pustule or filled with pus. Adut acne takes longer to vanish. It could just remain there for quite some time and then subside leaving behind a dark mark.
Taking care of adult acne
The first thing to do is to check the medication you might have started especially if those medications involve hormones. Consult a doctor and stop the medication to check if that has a positive impact. Also get you hormonal balance checked to know if hormones are the cause of acne.
Second most important thing that you must do is to stop using multiple skin care products. Instead focus on keeping your skin clean. Use a balancing foaming face wash to clear away dirt and skin impurities. Cleansers with AHA ensures that dead skin layer does not get deposited into the pores and clog them. Look for an exfoliating face wash that can slough off the dead skin layer without really hurting the skin. Do this twice a day to keep skin clean.
Do not skip the moisturiser. Use a gel-based one that hydrates the skin without making it greasy. Dermatologists also recommend using products with tea-tree oil to reduce the inflammation. Using a salicylic acid-based face toner or serum also helps to manage an acne breakout. As soon as you feel your skin getting tender or redness starts to appear, use ice on the area to soothe the pain. This is especially good trick to adopt if you plan to wear makeup.
7 Things to do when adult acne appears
- Keep skin clean, use a salicylic acid based wash.
- Apply topical cream with tea tree and neem extracts to treat the spots.
- Eat anti-inflammatory diet that cool down body like cucumber, watermelon etc.
- Seek professional help to reduce the inflammation.
- Go for light acid-based peels to remove acne pigmentation.
- Avoid oil-based products as that can aggravate sebum production.
- Look for products with retinol that can boost skin renewal process and heal acne.
WOW Products to try to fight acne
Check out the ant-acne product range from WOW Skin Science. If you can’t decide the right foaming face wash to use, try Neem and Tea Tree Anti-Acne Foaming Face Wash. Follow that up with an acne control serum like anti Acne Face Serum for the day and retinol Face Serum for the night. Helps to keep your adult acne at bay.
