Adults in their mid-twenties, all the way up to their fifties and older, still experience acne flare-ups. Additionally, adult acne can have just as many negative effects on a person as teenage acne. Possibly even more so, as the stress of career and family adds to the strain of living with an unsightly skin problem.

Causes of Adult Acne

Environmental factors that surround a person, paired with the individual’s lifestyle can also play a huge role in the appearance of adult acne. An improper diet or behaviors such as smoking and drinking affect the skin’s condition and resistance to acne, as well as other diseases.

Adult Acne Prevention

Prevention is the only obvious way to go when dealing with adult acne. A proper nutritious diet, paired with plenty of water and rest is a good start. Trying to relieve stress and maintaining proper skin care and hygiene go a long way to help prevent adult acne from occurring.

What about the pimples that you may already have? There are many treatments available for individuals who have adult acne. Anti-acne medications, certain skin care products, and even laser surgery are just a few of the many treatments available for acne on the market today. Visiting a qualified doctor or dermatologist is the only way to determine how severe your acne really is and to find the proper treatment available for you.

Adult Acne Relief

More often than not, adult acne isn’t something you’re going to have to stress about. Don’t worry about posting pictures of yourself online. Follow a good skin care regiment, get a good product or two to help if needed, and once your adult acne clears up you’ll be ready to update your social media profile pictures once again.

Regardless of age, young or old, acne is a condition that we never outgrow.  No matter how old we get, acne still finds its way to embarrass us. Studies estimate that adult acne breakouts affect 20% of men and 30% of women in the 20 – 60 age group; as well as older adults too.

Natural Causes of Adult Acne

Just like in your teen years, adult acne is a condition where the sebaceous glands, that are attached to your hair follicles, produce too much of an oily substance called sebum. The sebum, along with dead skin cells, clog your pores, attract bacteria, become inflamed and “voila” an acne lesion is formed.

Unfortunately for some it’s not just sebum that causes their acne woes.  Adult acne breakouts can also occur in individuals that are over sensitive to certain hormones. The overproduction of androgen, a male hormone, and estrogen, a female hormone, can cause adult acne as well.

Not So Natural Causes of Adult Acne

These over production of natural, internal variables like sebum and hormones are not the only causes of adult acne. External factors like foods, chemicals, and pharmaceutical products may also be a cause of adult acne for some individuals.

Foods: long considered a cause of acne by many, there are those that just don’t buy it. However, tell that to folks who eat chocolate or greasy foods and seem to breakout. Maybe there isn’t a ton of scientific evidence to prove the acne diet connection, so the debate will continue. Until it’s resolved, if certain foods seem to make your adult acne breakouts worse, then just try to limit them the best you can.

Chemicals: these things are in just about everything we use on the outside of our body, as well as, ingest into our body. Sodium 
Laureth 
Sulfate and Sodium 
Lauryl 
Sulfate are cleaning detergents; both of which are in most of your common hair care shampoo and conditioning products. These “engine degreasers” leave a nasty film on your skin that can close your pores. Sadly, these are just a few of the thousands of chemicals and fragrances that we come into contact with daily the mess with our skin.

Pharmaceutical: better known as medications, can induce adult acne. Unfortunately as many people grow older their intake of drugs increases, as does their adult acne because a nasty side effect of some drugs is acne. Drugs known to induce acne in adults include anabolic steroids (sometimes used illegally by athletes to “bulk up”), some anti-epileptic medications, the anti-tuberculosis drugs isoniazid and rifampin, lithium and iodine-containing medications. Also, drugs that mess with your hormone levels, such as those used by women during menopause tend to cause acne breakouts as well.

Adult Acne Isn’t the End All

If you never had acne as a kid growing up, then a dermatologist who can investigate the underlying cause should examine acne that appears for the first time in adulthood. Let your dermatologist know if you’ve started any new medications first, since these were probably prescribed for other health reasons. Next work through changes that you have made to your diet recently and then talk about any new products you might be using.

At the end of the day your adult acne is just that, acne. It’s not the end of the world and with treatment and care can be controlled. Don’t let your adult acne embarrass you and keep you locked away.

Although the exact cause of adult acne is debatable, it is well known that hormonal fluctuations often trigger the onset or outbreaks of adult acne. Increased hormonal fluctuation is a reason many women suffering from adult acne notice a change in acne severity around the time of their menstrual cycle.

While hormones are a major contributor to the onset of adult acne, there are a numerous other reasons as well that contribute to adult acne. Listed below are eight major contributors to adult acne:

The Cause of Most Adult Acne is Poorly Understood

Dermatologists typically focus entirely on the skin when they talk about the causes of adult acne. They fixate on how dry cells mix with sebum, resulting in plugs or blockages of the pores. These blockages then lead to further sebum build-up, and bacterial infections often result.

Although this technical answer to adult acne is correct, it is not complete. Unfortunately failing to understand the deeper cause of adult acne tends to result in most cases of adult acne not being treated. Toxins and waste that build up inside the body and cannot be properly eliminated are the main cause of acne. When functioning properly the body “normally” expels toxins, through the liver, kidneys, colon, small intestine, and other organs.

When these organs are weak and unable to flush the toxins, or if the buildup is too great or too rapid, adult acne results.  The body must absolutely rid itself of these toxins and in a last ditch effort to cleanse itself; the body tries to flush the unwanted toxins out through the pores of the skin. The sores and blemishes that result are what we call acne.

Menstrual Cycles and Adult Acne

Adult acne in women will oftentimes revolve around their menstrual cycle; pimples will develop a few days before the onset of their period and may intensify during this time.

The reason for this is that a woman’s estrogen levels decrease while her progesterone levels increase, causing the sebaceous glands to produce more oil, which often results in the onset of acne.

Pregnancies and Adult Acne

Pregnant women not only have enough to worry about when it comes to their pregnancy, they often have to dealing with acne too! Enormous hormonal changes occur during pregnancy and it’s very common for adult acne to present itself during a women’s pregnancy.

The first three months of pregnancy are often the worst time for acne, due to the fact that a women’s hormones are fluctuating all over the map at this time. Although acne usually decreases as the pregnancy progresses, it is possible for acne to last throughout the entire pregnancy and continue a woman breastfeeds.

Pre-pregnancy complexions usually return for most women soon after delivery or as breastfeeding slows and hormones return to normal levels.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Adult Acne

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, often referred to as Polycystic Ovarian Disease (POD), is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions in women. The condition affects six to ten percent of all women — and most women are unaware that they even have the disease.

Irregular and absent menstruation are the most common sign of POD, however acne is almost always present when this condition exists. Women suffering from POD suffer substantial hormone imbalances and when left untreated adult acne often results.

Adult Acne during Menopause

You would think that menopause would signal the beginning of the end of adult acne for women, but menopause is another period in a women’s life when hormones change considerable. And with these hormonal changes adult acne often appears in postmenopausal women.

Although not common, experiencing acne during your 40’s, 50’s and elder years is possible. Adult acne at this stage of life is usually mild, less annoying, but sometimes still embarrassing.

Medications Impact on Adult Acne

Certain medications have been shown through research to cause acne. In cases of adult acne when medications are involved, it’s often anabolic steroids or medications containing lithium and iodine, isoniazid and rifampin, or anti-epileptic medications that are present in the patient.

Adult Acne and Chemicals

Over-exposure to certain halogenated industrial chemicals, like fluorine and chlorine, can create an acne-like eruption of blackheads, cysts, and pustules resulting in a skin disorder called chloracne. These toxic chemicals are fat-soluble and persist in body fat for very long periods following exposure.

Often treated with oral antibiotics, this condition is highly resistant to treatment and often last years or decades.

Physical Pressure and Frictions Impact on Adult Acne

Technically known as acne mechanica, this form of adult acne is caused or aggravated by heat, covered skin, constant pressure and repetitive friction against the skin. This form of acne is often seen on individuals that where helmets, tight clothing, or play musical instruments like the violin that is tucked under the chin for hours at a time.

For most sufferers of this condition, prevention is relatively easy. Switching to loose fitting, clean cotton cloths that help absorb perspiration and reduce friction of the skin helps considerably; showering immediately after athletic activities, and avoiding long periods of constant pressure against the skin further reduce the symptoms of this disease.

Although often thought of as a teenage dilemma, adult acne can be just as annoying and embarrassing if left untreated. As with most health related conditions, prevention is the best cure. A proper diet, paired with plenty of water and rest is a good start. Try to relieve stress, maintain proper skin care and hygiene, and you should be able to reduce the occurrence of your adult acne flare-ups.