Acne, Why Are You Still Here?

Over the past month I’ve spent a great deal of my time with my face about an inch and a half away from my mirror.  Each day I notice something new forming under my skin and I get a little more desperate and a little more pissed off.  The thing is, I went through a terrible skin phase as a teenager.   But I was always comforted by the fact that my face would magically be clear once I turned 18, because acne is just an adolescence plague, right?  I’m realizing that’s not true as I am STILL buying anti-acne products and I’m almost 27. 

Lucky for me, I think I know the culprit to my current flare up and it’s that I discontinued my birth control pills several months ago.  I’ve been on the pill for over 10 years and decided to give my body and my hormones a little vacation, but I think that might have been a bad idea because now my hormones are confused and out of whack.  For a lot of women, birth control pills don’t just keep you baby-free, but they also help with PMS and acne.  I’ve decided to start my pills back up in a few weeks, but I’m prepared my face might still break out until my body adjusts.  Can’t wait for that.

The thing is, adult acne is a common problem, a lot more common than you might think and a lot of times acne products that you find at your local drugstore are a little harsh for your more mature skin.  If you’re finding that a basic salicylic acid treatment or benzol peroxide treatment isn’t cutting it for you, you might have to upgrade a bit and this could mean a number of things.

One of the first things you can do is to either get on birth control, or switch your current birth control to a brand that has been proven to help with hormonal acne.  Generally, if you are no longer a teen, yet are still breaking out, your problem is probably hormonal.  A lot of dermatologists actually recommend getting on the pill or switching to a different pill if you are experiencing this type of acne.  If you take this route, make sure to give it a few months before you throw in the towel.  Hormonal acne might take awhile to clear up while you wait for your hormones to balance themselves out.  Not an easy thing to wait for, but the benefits should be long term.

One thing a lot of adult women might not think of is really taking a close look at what products they are using on their skin.  Make sure your makeup in noncomedogenic, this goes for your moisturizer and sunscreen too.  Use oil-free products and also make sure your skincare routine is gentle.  Using products that are too harsh on your skin can strip your skin of needed moisture and in return your skin will produce extra oil to overcompensate which will equal a huge zit on your forehead.  Make sure to go gentle when you can (think Cetaphil or Purpose) and don’t over do it with the number of products you use on your skin.  Less is more when it comes to your skin.

If you’ve tried getting on the pill and switching up your facial products and you’re STILL not seeing any results, then it’s time to see a dermatologist.  I know this will probably be the last thing you want to do, but don’t get down on yourself, one in five women between the age of 25-40 suffer from adult acne, so you’re not alone in this.  When you go in to see the dermatologist be honest about your skin…if you can go into the appointment without makeup, do it!  That way your dermatologist will get a good look at what’s going on with your skin.  Also, make sure to be honest about how your skin acts.  I was prescribed Retin A as a teen and my face had a horrible reaction to it.  A few years ago I went to see a dermatologist to clear up some pesky bumps around my forehead and she prescribed me Retin A.  I knew I didn’t like it the first time, but got on it anyways and had the same awful results.  I’m not saying your face will react the same way to Retin A, but everyone is different and you know your skin best.

Another interesting tidbit I found out this weekend from a friend who is an esthetician is that the places you break out tell you different things about the cause of your acne.  For instance, acne on your chin is hormonal, acne on your forehead is due to diet (you might want to omit certain things or take a vitamin supplement) and acne on your cheeks has something to do with respiratory problems (no suggestions there, except for don’t smoke!).

Let’s face it.  Adult acne sucks, but if you face the problem head on (geez, all the puns here!) and really look into what’s causing your problem you can help to control, limit and hopefully eliminate acne from your life!