Adult Acne Treatment

Worrying about adult acne treatment is like a cruel joke by Mother Nature. Just when you are starting to see thinner, drier skin and the beginnings of crow’s feet and other wrinkles, you are still dealing with acne years after you were told you would outgrow it!

While there is no cure that will eliminate acne permanently, you don’t have to just suffer with it either. There are many ways you can control acne both in the teen years and well into adulthood. Controlling acne is important, not just for your self-confidence, but to prevent permanent scarring.

Adult acne is an inflammatory skin disorder which is commonly seen in people aged between 30 and 50 years. Adult acne is more likely to be seen in people with fair skin. The exact reasons for adult acne is unknown but is believed to relate to the changes or imbalance in an individual’s body hormones.

It is believed that the hormonal changes of an individual, at various times in his/her life, leads to the increases in the amount of oil in the skin which results to clogged pores or hair follicles in the skin. This leads waste particles to build up under the surface of one’s skin which becomes infected by bacteria and generates acne or the spots suffered by acne sufferers.

Therefore the main aim of any adult acne treatment should include prevention of scarring, clearing up existing acne, and preventing future breakouts.

People who are suffering with severe adult acne can be treated with tropical or oral medicines. For severe forms of adult acne that will leave scars, systemic acne treatment can be used when other treatments fail. Systemic treatments attempt to stop the acne at its source and is more powerful than topical treatments; and comes with more risk.

In United States, some of the most popular prescription topical antimicrobials used to treat adult acne include benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, azelaic acid, erythromycin, clindamycin, and sodium sulfacetamide.

Some of the various types of prescription topical retinoids used in the treatment of adult acne include:

tazarotene (Tazorac), adapalene (Differin), and tretinoin (Retin A).

What is different about Adult Acne Treatment?

One advantage most adult acne suffers share is skin that is more oily than normal. This does help prevent wrinkles and is the only thing acne sufferers are grateful for. Although you may find you are aging a little slower than your clear skin friends, you do have older more fragile skin than when in your teens and it needs a slightly different approach.

Benzoyl peroxide which can be very effective for teens is also hard on the skin. Older adults may want to avoid the over the counter 5-10% preparations and look for products formulated for adult skin.

One ingredient common in adult acne creams is salicylic acid. This ingredient can be gentler on older skin than benzoyl peroxide yet can still cause peeling. You will want to use an oil-free moisturizing as needed to combat excess irritation and peeling.

Adults with acne may find their face is oily but have dry skin just around the eyes and the beginnings of wrinkles there only. You need to use a high quality eye cream and moisturize this area only while being careful not to spread the cream to any of the surrounding areas that are still acne prone.

A good cleanser and toner for adult skin is the best choice, followed by an acne cream specially formulated for adult acne prone skin. You will need to be diligent and use these products both morning and evening, even when your skin is clear. Prevention is very important for adult acne treatment because blemish prone skin can erupt suddenly without warning.

Most treatments for adult acne are similar to ordinary acne. Remember not every popular adult acne products work well for everyone because people respond differently to treatments. You may need to experiment with a few different products until you find the one that works best for you.

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