Is My Lifestyle Causing My Adult Acne?
What Causes Adult Acne?
Our skin is always changing: Whether it’s as a result of the seasons, environment, or a new time in our lives. Most of the time, it’s beyond our control what causes some of the most common skin conditions, including adult acne.
Acne is caused by the inflammation of the hair follicles and oil-producing glands of the skin. It is the most common skin disorder among teenagers, but it also affects 40-55% of the adult population between the ages of 20 and 40. Upon entering adulthood, any kind of skin ailment can be a real confidence breaker.
While treatable, about 40% of people with acne don’t take any preventative measures to help get rid of it.
Whether you’ve spent years trying to find just the right skin regimen, seen every dermatologist in town, or tried every remedy you can imagine (including the age-old toothpaste remedy), you may not be doing your body any good.
Why Some Acne Gets Worse Over Time
It depends on a number of factors. Hormones play a great role in the occurrence of acne in adults — for both men and women. The causes of adult acne for women can range from menstruation to menopause to pregnancy. Even some birth controls can trigger its emergence. Adult acne doesn’t just affect women, though, since men are also subject to hormonal changes. When your hormones are out-of-flare, your skin’s oil production may increase, which causes an outbreak. In any case, Even if your skin was nearly perfect as a teenager, you can still develop skin blemishes at an older age.
Connecting Adult Ac
ne and Your Lifestyle
Maybe you’ve heard of the link between stress and acne, but didn’t know whether or not it was true. In fact, adult acne is caused by a number of possibilities, and yes, one is mental stress.
The body can actually react to stress by increasing the secretions of the skin’s sebaceous (oil-producing) glands, leading to breakouts. Oils from the sebaceous glands can block your pores and can exacerbate blemishes.
Your skin is actually the largest organ in the body, so it will react when a lifestyle change occurs.
How your Lifestyle Can Affect your Adult Acne
Lifestyle factors do contribute to the emergence of adult acne, but are not the leading causes. You may not think that what you eat has much of an effect on your skin’s health and well-being. But, remember, your skin is your body’s largest organ, so you need to nourish it just as you nourish the rest of your body.
Eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins is a way to protect your skin’s health, prevent the aging process, and improve the overall quality of your skin. By eating antioxidant-rich foods, such as leafy greens, juicy blueberries, and zesty red peppers, you’re helping both your body and your skin. Load up on foods rich with antioxidants, including blueberries, blackberries and walnuts. By nourishing your largest organ with important nutrients instead of preservatives and deep-fried food, you’re helping your body resist adult acne.
Maybe you thought you’ve found the vital cleanser, or toner, or moisturizer, but then, all of a sudden, you started breaking out again. Sometimes to mitigate further outbreaks, you need several measures to take in your adult acne treatment. Sometimes all it takes is rotating products to solve your skin dilemmas. Just like your body builds up an immunity to certain diseases, your acne builds up an immunity against certain products and begins to need different formulas and remedies.
Even though there are many things you cannot control, you can help diminish the possibility of further breakouts.
Treating Adult Acne Topically
Treating your skin “topically” just means applying the treatment directly to your skin, as opposed taking medication.
You probably know that you shouldn’t exfoliate your skin every single day because it will become further irritated. Applying a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer every day is not benefitting your skin; it’s making it prone to redness, dryness, and further irritation.
By applying the right mixture of products at just the right time, you’re benefitting your skin greatly. Mild cleansers are beneficial to use every day, and toners are also vital in improving adult acne. Just as long as they’re not used to excess.
Best Products for Adult Acne
A great acne skin care routine is so important for acne-prone skin. You can take some simple measures by having the right skin care regimen and choosing products that work for your own skin.
Remember, everyone’s skin is different, so everyone’s product needs vary. The best adult acne treatment is going to vary from person to person. If you want to reduce your skin irritation, you can start by having the right cleansing routine.
Everyday Face Wash (Use Daily)
For a night-time cleansing routine, try starting off with an acne wash. The Obagi Clenzidem MD Daily Skin Care Cleanser washes away any debris left over by makeup, natural oils, and any harmful pollutants that may have encountered your skin during the day.
The microbeads scrub away clogged dead skin cells to deep clean pores and blackheads, leaving the skin smooth and clear. Formulated with gentle botanicals, including tea tree and menthol, help to soothe and cool down your skin for optimal clear skin.
No matter how tired you are at night, washing your face is extremely important whether your skin has blemishes or not. As a helpful tip, try and wash your face before you start relaxing on the sofa or watching TV. Even if you do end up falling asleep watching Netflix marathons, at least you’ll know your face is clean.
Salicylic Acid (Use Daily After Cleansing)
As a natural product remedy, you can see the many benefits of using a cleanser with salicylic acid, which is, in fact, an acne medication.
The Topic Glycolix Gly/Sal 10-2 Cleanser is a toner formulated with both zinc and green tea extract to remove excess sebum while softening the skin (and can be used as a body wash). It combines 2% salicylic acid with 10% glycolic acid to prevent skin from drying out. Starting with a low-concentration of salicylic acid can also help to make sure your skin doesn’t get irritated by a new product and solution.
When using a toning after cleansing, you’re giving your skin a deeper cleanse to help heal it and prevent whiteheads, blackheads, and blemishes.
Benzoyl Peroxide (Use a Few Days a Week)
For mild to moderate acne, dermatologists often suggest a cleanser with bacteria-killing benzoyl peroxide, which is effective for use a few times a week in reducing the severity of breakouts.
If used on its own, benzoyl peroxide can be drying on your skin, but when used in combination with a sudsing cleanser, such as the Topix Benzoyl Peroxide 5% Wash, the benefits are astonishing. Your skin will thank you and see the many results. Be sure to do a “double-wash” at every cleansing, so cleanse, rinse, and cleanse again for optimal results.
Acne Medication or Cream (Use Daily, If Needed)
If you use a toner, then, once the toner dries, you can apply an over-the-counter topical acne treatment, such as the PCA Skin Acne Cream, which effectively delivers oxygen to the pores to help speed up the improvement of acne abrasions.
After you finish cleansing, you can use apply a smooth layer of your acne cream to your skin to keep skin clear of blemishes: blackheads, whiteheads and pimples!
Acne Moisturizer 
(Use Daily, If Needed)
Many over-the-counter acne medications can leave the skin feeling dry, so using an acne moisturizer or oil-free cream, such as the Obagi Clenziderm MD Therapeutic Moisturizer, can help your thirsty skin receive the moisture it craves. Acne moisturizers work to leave your skin feeling hydrated without clogging your pores.
When it comes to buying an acne moisturizer, you’re going to want to stay away from products that can clog your pores, such as mineral oil. And remember — do not use the same moisturizer you use for your body on your face!
Choosing the Ideal Product for Your Skin
Skin care products are like vitamins for your skin — working to improve the health of your skin. The best skin remedy comes from the use of mild formulas that have a massive impact.
By treating your skin well, you can prevent breakouts and keep your skin (and you) feeling happy and at ease from frustrating blemishes. Remember, your skin belongs to you and no one else, so finding the absolute best product for you comes with knowing your skin type and knowing what will help your skin look more radiant than ever.
Preventative Measures for Adult Acne
Even if you can’t completely prevent skin imperfections, at least you alleviate them to show more vibrant, clearer skin. Some simple lifestyle tricks
will get your skin to radiate.
Nourish your Body
If you don’t treat your body right, you can’t expect it to return the favor and show you the clearest, most radiant skin! Eat a proper diet, including a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains.
If you’re exhausted after work, don’t push yourself further to see your friends just to balance your social and work life. Even if you want to go out, rest up for the weekend or your time off. (Your skin will be pleased!)
Work it Out
If you ever believed that sweat leads to blemishes and over-washing prevents it, think again. Sweat does not cause acne, but washing your body and face too often can lead to breakouts.
You don’t have to be a marathon runner or a cross-country skier. Even just a 30-minute daily workout can work wonders for your body. In fact, exercise delivers oxygen to your skin cells, which makes it hard for acne bacteria to thrive. (Sounds like an added benefit for hitting that spin class tonight!)
Be Conscious with Your Face Products
Be sure to wash your face without over-washing it. Washing your face once or twice a day (in the morning and at night) while also using hypoallergenic cosmetics and personal care products can help greatly in preventing adult acne. Look for skincare products that are noncomedogenic, meaning they do not clog pores, or non-acnegenic, meaning they don’t cause breakouts.
Avoid Synthetic Ingredients
If you wear makeup, don’t reach for the cheapest product you can find. You shouldn’t be covering your skin up — you should be providing lasting healing results for your skin. Look for products with a lightweight formula without harmful or harsh ingredients. That means synthetic colors, fragrances, and additives as well!
De-Stress and Unwind
If you’re constantly on edge, your body’s going to react to it. Even if we can’t stop all the twists and turns that life may bring us, at least we can try and unwind during our spare minutes. Take a yoga class, try and meditate before bed, or wake up a few minutes early to allow yourself more time to get ready in the morning. Little measures, like having ample time to do something, can make a huge difference in your stress-level, and thus, your skin’s happiness.
Your Adult Acne Treatment Can Be Simple
Staying healthy, getting rest, and choosing the right products for essential measures to take to reduce your skin imperfections. Remember, if a product works for someone else, there is no guarantee it’ll work for you. Your skin is constantly changing, whether it be the result of lifestyle changes, temperature changes, or diet changes.
Treating adult acne means treating your body well, and you can do that by staying healthy, active, and choosing products that work for your skin.
Why cover up your skin, when you can show it off?