Adult Acne Awareness

Acne has long been connected with teenage years, perhaps because this is the time when breakouts occur but adults can also develop acne and having no acne when you were a teenager does not mean that you will not have it when you reach your 20s and 30s.

In fact, there are many that only develop the condition later on in life. Doctors accredit the occurrence to the fact that internal body systems and make up change over time and one aspect that causes the development of acne is the body's hormones. An additional speculation is the fact that there are certain types of acne that only occur when one is already an adult.
Although there is no decisive proof that the rate of occurrence for adult acne has risen up, more and more adults are observed to be in search of treatment for their situation. This may be brought about by ever-increasing awareness on the problem of acne in adults and the fact that it can be cured.

Around 25 percent of men in their middle 20s to their early 40s experience or develop acne. Women, on the other hand, have a larger problem as they are most apt to develop adult acne. In fact, about 50 percent of women in the same age range have acne breakouts. Further  bad news is the fact that controlling the acne does not mean that recurrence will not occur. There are even some people who develop acne problems when they are in the vicinity of 40 years old, some even beyond 50.

Unlike with adolescent acne when the skin is much more flexible and its capability to restore and regenerate is still fast, adult acne is more prone to permanent scarring. This is perhaps for the reason that as a person ages, the skin loses its collagen which mostly required for the skin to heal and bounce back after much damage. Another reason is that adult acne conditions are often more severe than what is typically experienced during adolescence.

Although there is certainly no preventive measure that will totally eliminate the likelihood of developing acne later in life. As mentioned previously adult acne is essentially caused by the changes in the internal body system. There is in actuality nothing much that one can do about that.

Still, it does not hurt to develop practices that may avert minor cases of acne from exacerbating further. One of the steps to consider of course is to always keep the face clean. While any soap will essentially do to clean the face, there are people whose sensitive skin do not react well to the harshness of some body soaps. Dermatologists consequently urge the use of a mild soap that is water soluble to make sure that it will go easy on the skin and it will not leave any traces that can obstruct the skin further.

Another preventive measure is the use of products that will lessen the oil on the skin such as facial masks that are often worn while sleeping, which is the time when oil production increases dramatically. One more is the use of rice paper during the day, which helps in controlling the oily environment where the acne bacteria thrives on.

Exfoliation and disinfection are also considered necessary to keep the acne bacteria at bay. Products with 1% to 2% beta hydroxy acid (BHA) or an 8% alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) ingredients are great exfoliants. BHA is in fact better than AHA but some people are allergic to it. Benzoyl Peroxide, on the other hand, is the first line product that is used to sanitize the skin and kill off the bacteria.