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| Squeezing a blemish forces bacteria deeper into the skin, which is the wrong approach for adult acne. |
Acne is something that you associate with teenage skin. However, adults do get acne more often than you may realize. In fact, you may never have experienced acne in your youth only to find your complexion under attack once you get in your late 20s, 30s, 40s even through your 50s. Why skin trouble at this stage of your life you may wonder? Here are some likely reasons for the unwanted blemishes plaguing your face.
The Tie Between Increased Stress and Adult Acne
No one can pinpoint the exact cause of adult acne because various factors can contribute to this condition, but experts tend to agree that an increase in your stress level is a top contender. The reason is the body under stress responds by releasing the hormone cortisol, which pumps up oil production rapidly. The pores can’t keep up with the constant flow of oil and clog in the follicles along with dead skin cells and bacteria, resulting in those skin eruptions.
Being a Woman With a Menstrual Cycle and the Link to Adult Acne
Just because you are born female, our hormones are different and can do some wacky things during a monthly period, peri-menopause or even through the years of menopause to cause breakouts. The way the estrogen and progesterone jump up and down during those times can wildly increase oil production.
If you’re just starting taking birth control pills and switching to another type or medicine or even stopping, this can play with your hormone levels too. This is why some birth control pills can help some women have clear complexions while others are known to aggravate the skin. Each of us is different and unique in how our bodies respond to any foreign substance. You just need to discuss the effects of medication with your doctor because it may need a different dosage or a change in the prescription to clear up that acne.
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| Apples help the skin detox so eating more along with regular cleansing, not overstimulating the skin can be beneficial. |
How often have you craved extra sweets or more salty, deep-fried foods when your period rolls around? Though sugar and foods that are high in saturated fats don’t cause acne, they do affect hormone levels with how they oxidize in the body by turning into glucose and high insulin to cause inflammation. Besides that, I hate to tell you this but too much sugar also ages the complexion faster from the way it breaks down in your system, latching onto collagen. You just might want to try to reduce the refined sugar and saturated fats. Instead, opt for some fresh fruit, whole grains or other food choices that will not exessively raise your insulin levels. Also, a great resource available online is called the Glycemic Index that can help find the right food, levels, etc.
Ingredients in Your Beauty Products That May Trigger Adult Acne
We all dread getting older and do our best to keep those lines away. The only problem is that some formulas just may be too rich for our particular complexion, resulting in those breakouts. Worst offenders are ingredients such as sunflower oil, cocoa butter, wax, petrolatum, mineral oil, fragrances, silicones, parabens, phthalates, alcohol, acetylated lanolin, silica, and coconut oils are just some. Talc and particularly, bismuth oxychloride that is found in a lot in dry makeup formula powders, can burrow into the pores due to its sharp, angular shape, causing cystic acne. This is the type of big red pimple that hides deep beneath the skin’s surface, poking out of your face like a giant, red rock.
When shopping, do yourself a favor and also make sure to see non-comedogenic and oil-free on the packaging before buying that product.
Your first thought may be benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, but you might just aggravate your complexion more, especially if you’re borrowing your teenager’s high strength pimple product. Something with 10% salicylic acid is too drying and harsh for adult acne so keep this in mind.
The better way to handle cystic acne is applying warm compresses once you cleanse your face. The warm water helps the blood flow in that affected area to cause the eruption to either surface or dissolve internally.
You can also seek out skin care products with charcoal or soft clay to help dry out some of the oil. It won’t budge cystic acne, but it is useful for other adult acne blemishes.
Something else to look into is LED light, such as red and blue light for dealing with adult acne. The red light calms the skin's inflammation whereas blue light targets and destroys acne causing bacteria.
Adjust Your Diet and Internal System Can Help Promote Clearer Skin
You can also try adding more fiber and probiotics to your diet to help rid your system of toxins and promote better digestive health. A glass of Metamucil isn’t that bad to drink as well as turning to some Greek yoghurt. Then again, you might want to add a beta-carotene supplement since vitamin A is an antioxidant that can help the complexion renew and repair. Another suggestion is adding more Omega-3s, whether in supplement form or through eating more fish, for its powers in calming the acne down.
Hopefully, your complexion is not suffering and will not have this adult acne problem in the future. Nonetheless, the information that I am sharing can come to your rescue.
