Adult acne is not as rare as people often assume. It happens frequently that an adult will wake up one fine morning and see something in the mirror that will put them back 10 years when they were facing puberty. The bad thing about adult acne is that age does not make it easier to bear. In fact, adults often feel worse than teenagers if they contract acne.
Acne is related to the sebaceous gland in the skin and this gland can malfunction at any age. The oil on the skin is called sebum and is secreted by these glands. The gland is also attached to hair follicles. Sometimes the hair follicle gets stuck in the sebum along with dead skin cells and pretty soon you have bacteria thriving in there. This creates acne lesions.
It is estimated that 20% of all females between 25 and 40 will suffer from adult acne. This recurrence of acne is attributed to several causes. In most cases it is simply a tendency to develop acne. If you had it as an adolescent, you are likely to have it again if you do not take proper care of your skin. The second biggest cause of adult acne is hormonal changes, as happens during pregnancy.
Acne always begins with blackheads. These are not dirt but pimples that break the skin. The broken skin turns black because of skin pigment. When the blackhead becomes inflamed it turns into the well known red pimple. White heads are pimples that have become infected with bacteria but have not broken the skin. The white color is evidence of infection.
Blackheads must be removed gently. Do not scrub too hard or you will cause inflammation. If possible, use the peeling strips to remove blackheads gently.
Always remember that there are several contributing factors that lead to acne, especially in women who experience more hormonal fluctuations. Stress, medication, bad cosmetics can all trigger the next acne outbreak. Stress is closely related to hormonal imbalance that can cause the sebaceous glands to step up oil production. Bad cosmetics are often responsible for bacterial infection because they do not properly clean the skin or their chemicals block pores. Birth control pills and medication containing iodine or lithium can also trigger an acne attack.
The role of diet and its relation to acne is not clear but it is still recommended that you eat good food and avoid all quick fixes.
When adult acne keeps recurring it might become difficult to treat. Another confusing point is that other types of skin lesions in adults look just like acne but in fact they are not. One such condition is folliculitis. This is when the hair follicle becomes inflamed or infected. Acne treatment is not going to help with this.
Adult acne, even if it looks like acne but is not, must be checked by a dermatologist before you start buying over the counter cures.