As I’ve mentioned before - several times, in fact - acne has been a recurring problem in my life. The severity of the problem varies, but having problem skin in some form or another has been a reality for me since high school - and I’m definitely not a teenager anymore. Accutane solved the problem for a while, but now, years after my treatment, I still have to battle occasional breakouts. I figured that I knew pretty much all there was to know about adult acne, but after reading TotalBeauty.com’s Ultimate Guide to Fighting Adult Acne, I can safely say that I learned a few things after all. I recommend reading the whole thing, but here are a few highlights that took me by surprise:
- More than half of women over the age of 25 have some acne, and it’s most common in women who are in their 30s.
- Adult acne is almost always caused by stress.
- As you age, your ability to heal decreases and your cell turnover rate slows down, which means that adult acne sticks around longer than the breakouts you may have had as a teen.
- Adults are more likely to suffer from painful, tenacious cystic acne.
- Whereas teens break out on their noses and foreheads, adults tend to break out on the lower half of their faces (i.e., chin). Definitely true for me!
- Because adult acne is different, you need different products to treat it - particularly because acne treatments are usually drying, and dry skin can lead to wrinkles in adults.
- Tea tree oil is fantastic for slowing oil production, fighting inflammation, healing blemishes and decreasing redness. (I LOVE tea tree oil! I highly recommend Trader Joe’s tea tree oil soap - you can buy 2 bars for around $2!)
- Granular exfoliating scrubs are bad, because they can open up blemishes that are healing and spread bacteria all over your face. Instead, use an exfoliant with enzymes, hydroxy acids or salicyclic acid.
- You should use one type of moisturizer for the parts of your face that break out and a different type for the rest of your face.
- Only use mineral makeup or foundations, powders and concealers that contain acne-fighting ingredients to cover blemishes in order to avoid aggravating the problem. Steer clear of anything containing lanolin, isopropyl myristate, mineral oil and fragrance.
- Whenever you try a new treatment, you can expect your skin to get worse for the first week or so as your skin purges itself of sebum and bacteria (ew!), but if you don’t see a definite improvement in around four to six weeks, the product isn’t working.
- Eventually, your routine will need tweaking; as one dermatologist puts it, “skin care is like working out - eventually you reach a plateau and you need to make adjustments to keep improving.” Fascinating! I always wondered why this would happen to me; I had no idea that products just become less effective at fighting acne over time.
- Clean your phones, your makeup brushes and your pillowcase. Don’t wear makeup at the gym. And - this one is news to me - don’t use fabric softener on your pillowcase, because many of them contain beef lard, which is bad for skin. Beef lard!
Does anyone have any acne-fighting skincare tips to share? Right now, I’m all about tea tree oil, drinking water and keeping my hands away from my face. (Whenever I absent-mindedly rest my chin on my hand, I end up breaking out exactly where I was touching my face. Curse my greasy mitts!) Leave your favorite clear skin trick in a comment!
