You have hit your thirties and pimples are still showing up, and you thought they would be gone by now…
The truth is that anyone can suffer from acne flare-ups at almost any age even after puberty. But it is different than the acne you have during your teens in several ways.
So are you wondering how is getting acne in your teens is different from getting it when you’re an adult?
The main difference is that whereas teenage acne is caused by active oil glands and excess oil production, adult acne is caused by hormonal activity. Knowing how acne arises in your teen vs. adulthood can help you keep your skin clear of acne? Read on here the difference between the two and their treatments.
Teen Acne
Teenage acne typically breakouts all over face, chest, back and shoulders. Such flare-ups mainly occur due to upsurge of androgens (the “male” hormones that both guys and girls have) during adolescence leading to excess production of sebum (oil). This is the main reason why, for many individuals, acne tends to improve after teenage years – hormonal changes settle and no longer incite bad breakouts.
The good news is that teens have faster cell turnover and their skin is quick to recover, which means they recover faster from breakouts.
How To Treat Teen Acne?
(i) The best acne treatment for teens (and adults alike) is to learn and maintain good skin care regimen ensuring regular cleansing of your face and any parts of your body that tend to get breakouts; that means washing twice daily and as soon as possible after you’ve sweat a lot.
Get Here Best Face Washes To Deal With Acne
(ii) Steer clear of the products containing harsh, inexpensive and comedogenic (pore-clogging) ingredients. Stripping ingredients such as alcohol – commonly found in astringent toners – can cause skin to produce more oil, triggering even more breakouts. Artificial fragrances and colors can also further irritate breakout-prone skin.
(iii) Use products that are labeled oil-free, non-comedogenic and/or non-acnegenic (such products won’t clog pores or cause breakouts).
(iv) Go for ingredients such as Salicylic Acid and Benzoyl Peroxide to prevent buildup of dead skin cells and thriving of acne-causing bacteria.
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Acne Treatment Tips Applicable To Teen As Well As Adult Acne
(i) Moisturize daily – even if your skin seems oily (use an oil-free moisturizer) – to help balance sebum production.
(ii) Avoid touching your face (hands and nails carry a lot of bacteria that can cause pimples.
(iii) Shampoo your hair regularly, especially if you have oily hair.
(iv) Avoid “picking” or “squeezing” pimples because it can introduce more bacteria and make the zit worse and even leave a scar or mark.
Complete Guide For Dealing With Teen Acne
Adult Acne
Women tend to get adult acne more often than men do. Chronic stress and the varied fluctuating hormone levels of adulthood can fuel adrenal glands into overdrive, causing upsurge in sebum production, which in turn can trigger acne breakout
Adults are prone to have more inflammatory acne, with lesions mostly located around the mouth, chin and jaw line. Treating adult acne can be more challenging than dealing with teen acne because adults are prone to have skin dryness, sensitivity and signs of aging.
How To Treat Adult Acne?
Although adult acne treatments are more or less same as those for teens, but adults may have a few more options.
(i) Choose a spot treatment product that balances your skin and meets your other skin needs such as dry, sensitive or aging.
(ii) An adult’s skin is more likely to be on dry side since our skin loses the ability to retain moisture as we age. This means the adults need to use a gentler formulation, a product with less benzoyl peroxide and containing non-drying ingredients such as Salicylic Acid or Glycolic Acid to help remove dead skin cells, excess oil and dirt, as well as Colloidal Silver to control bacteria.
(iii) If you’re fighting signs of skin aging, Retinol – a wrinkle-smoothing ingredient – can also work well to beat not only wrinkles but also to help prevent acne breakouts.
Our recommendation for adults is to follow a good anti-acne regimen incorporating a gentle cleanser, a non-comedogenic moisturizer (to beat dryness), and a thin layer of acne-fighting products used as needed to keep breakouts at bay.
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Acne Treatment Strategy For Teen As well As Adult Acne
There is a range of acne treatments to choose from, and in many cases a combination approach works best. For instance, products containing salicylic acid help remove the dead skin cells that can otherwise breed a pimple, and those with benzoyl peroxide are good at exterminating pimple-causing bacteria. Glycolic acid (which come as a topical product or a peel) helps get rid of oil and dirt on the skin, and retinols, which are derived from vitamin A, can work particularly well for aging skin and preventing new acne.
Note: Don’t get tempted to follow a “more is better” approach by using many products, doing so is likely to over-dry your skin, which can make acne worse.
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