Fighting acne while in your thirties

Skin care trends around the world point to an increase in cases of adult acne. While in the past it was almost limited to teenagers, it is now striking the 25 to 40 year olds who now not only have to contend with anti-aging skin care products, they also have to take care of pimply skin.

Teenage acne can be severe with painful cysts and weeping sores that leave scars. Both types of acne are caused by hormones going haywire. For teenagers it is an internal part of growing up, but for adults, it is exacerbated with lifestyle choices ranging from food to stress levels.

There is a rule in medicine that would just as easily apply to skin care, and that is ‘First do no harm.’ If you had clear skin or even if you broke out at a teenager and thought that phase of your life over, you will find adult acne quite a shock. To treat it, start gentle.

Wrong treatment
Your treatment may not be working because you are using the wrong products. Teenagers have thicker skin, and the skin treatments they use is stronger stuff. That means if it is benzoyl peroxide 10 per cent, it is far too strong for your thinner, adult skin.

Take it down several notches to something as minimal as two per cent. Use twice a day. Don’t overwork your skin or overuse your products. Look out for the following ingredients – tea tree, benzoyl peroxide and salicyclic acid. Use low percentages. Give a product up to three months before you rule it out.

To maximise your treatment, the most surprising thing recommended now is to layer you acne treatment with anti-aging treatment. What that means is, use a retinol underneath, and layer with salicyclic acid. Apply gently into the skin, dabbing rather than rubbing it in.

If, however, you feel the area around your eye stinging, it means your skin is aggravated and you should alternate the combination with a moisturiser on alternate days. Allow your skin to adjust. Use a deep penetrating moisturiser.
Acne-prone skin is usually oily, and so it is presumed it does not need moisture. If you starve your skin of the same, it overcompensates by excreting even more sebum, leading to more breakouts. You need a good moisturiser. Don’t punish your skin.
Do not scrub. It’s easy to buy into the myth that acne-prone skin is dirty skin, that you need to dig into and plunge stuff out of your pores. Minimise the number of times you exfoliate. Cleansing more than twice a day, using a face towel or exfoliating pads, crystal scrubs or granules is bad for your skin.

Please note nothing you use on acne-prone skin should hurt. It’s already bad enough that it is inflamed. Your skin should be treated like a baby with nappy rash – gently, tenderly and with the understanding that time will take care of the rest.

To exfoliate, get a gentle product in gel form and use sparingly. The more your scrub, and the longer your scrubbing session, the more irritable your skin gets.

It is better to use a clarifying mask that reaches deep and degunks the face. Salicyclic acid, incidentally, is an exfoliant. Look out for toners that exfoliate through a short and sweet method, and toners that contain no alcohol. Also scout for exfoliant creams.

Always use sunscreen. Look for lightweight sunblock from the range of products you use to treat acne, or the leading skin care names in the market. Sunscreen should have an SPF of no less than 30. This is because the products used to treat acne leave your skin more vulnerable to sun burn.

There is an emerging school of thought that believes that regular sun protection for acne-prone skinsun is good for you. To test this out, skip the 11am to 4pm sun. It is at its harshest then, and limit exposure to early morning or late evening. Otherwise all I can say is, once your skin has been sunburnt, the damage has already been done and better safer than burnt.

Hormones
Monitor your hormonal cycle. Smartphones have free period apps to help monitor not just your cycle, but your symptoms as well.

Notice what you crave which tells you what your body needs, when your skin tends to break out whether it is before, during or after ovulation, how your diet, such as a desire for greasy, salty or sugary foods, actually correlates with your skinand your digestive process along with how elimination can work in your favour.

A really good app will even help you monitor your energy and mood levels. This app can be a warning signal.
Look at your other products.

Before shopping for concealer and foundation, clean up your make up brushes on the regular and start out with a BB cream that works for your complexion, mixing it with a little foundation for a more natural finish.

When to see specialist
Don’t be scared of camouflage if you feel you are not skilled enough with your make up routine. Start small. If after all this you still don’t see any improvement or you feel your skin is getting worse, see a dermatologist.

These range from birth control pills to regulate your hormones (adult acne is far more common in women than men), antibiotics – prescription or topical, though it is possible to develop resistance to antibiotics so you want to have a serious conversation with your doctor over the same, and it might be time to consider Accutane, which is a whole other kind of conversation especially for women of child bearing age.

You will know your products are enhancing your skin when you notice despite the breakouts, you have a lovely, healthy glow.