As adults, we thought the years of teen drama and ugly pimples were behind us. But we are just as hormone crazed as ever! Acne affects people of all ages and goes beyond the early teenage years. This post will examine why you have adult acne and how you can get rid of it.

Why You Might Have Adult Acne

Adult acne is caused by sebum, an oily substance produced by the skin’s sebaceous glands. Sebum clogs pores, which attract bacteria and becomes inflamed. For some adults, breakouts are a result of hypersensitivity or overproduction of androgens (male hormones). But an imbalance in both male and female hormones (estrogen) can also cause breakouts.

For women, this can happen during pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause. Some medications, such as corticosteroids, and cosmetics can also contribute to the development of acne.

Steps To Get Rid Of Adult Acne

Treatment for adult acne starts at home. Having a good home care regime will be your first step towards clear skin. Here are 4 simple steps to adult acne down:

1. Wash The Oils Away

First, you must start with a clean slate, or a clean face. Washing your skin twice a day with a gentle cleanser is key in removing excess oils, and makeup that clog the pores. Celazome’s O-Plex Wash is a great cleanser designed for acne prone skin, it contains a mild dose of salicylic acid as well as other anti-bacterial essential oils such as tea tree and oregano oil that help deeply cleanse the skin without leaving it feeling dry, and irritated.

2. Control Your Oils

Now that you’ve washed the oils away, you need to control them. Exfoliating the skin will help to remove the buildup of dirt and oils in the pores causing the skin to look oily. Gentle scrubs are good, but I prefer something that contains a little salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory this flushes out the pores, as well as reduce inflammation associated with break outs. Try the ZO TE Pads once a day – quick wipe, a little tingle, and the skin stays matte all day.

3. Hydrate Your Skin

Keeping the skin hydrated will prevent the skin from over producing oils. Don’t confuse hydrating with moisturizing though. Think of hydrating the skin as adding water, and moisturizing as adding oil. If the skin feels thirsty it will create more oil to nourish it, by ensuring the skin is properly hydrated the skin will function normally without becoming oily. As an adult with acne not only do you want rid your skin of break outs, but you probably want to prevent wrinkles while you’re at it!

A great preventative lotion is Serum Vitae Purifying Moisturizer from Celazome, its very light weight and contains some soothing and purifying essential oils as well as a 0.4% retinol to help stimulate collagen production but also help prevent adult acne scarring.

If you’re looking for something stronger to fight against wrinkles try ZO Daily Power Defense, another light weight moisturizer with a slightly higher percentage of retinol (0.5%), enzymes to help restore the skins natural function, and antioxidants to combat free radicals and stimulate collagen.

4. Keep Adult Acne Away By Using Better Makeup

The best change in your skin care regime you can make is the type of makeup you use. Sure MAC has great coverage, and hides your blemishes but your just feeding the monster with those silicon, and oil based foundations. Mineral foundation again is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, and won’t clog your pores. Plus mineral foundation naturally has an SPF 20 build in.

Colorescience has a great mineral makeup line that provides great coverage, along with products formulated for acne-prone skin. The Skin Mattifying Primer has a soft skin tone tint to help smooth the appearance of blemishes, it also contains a small percentage of salicylic acid to help control oiliness throughout the day. While the Clarifying Mist helps set your foundation is also helps to keep a matte finish all day long and it has a refreshing citrus scent!

Now that you have a proper home care regime in place you are on your way to a blemish free complexion!

About the Author:

Chloe Dobie is the head Laser and Skin Care specialist at CüR Laser and Skin, where she helps the men and women of Vancouver to rejuvenate their skin, and souls! Chloe has a passion for learning and is constantly researching new technologies and techniques to improve the results of her clients. Although she hasn’t yet perfected her “miracle perfect skin potion”, Chloe has a lot of great tricks and tips up her sleeve that she loves sharing with her clients to ensure they get the most out of their treatments.