Many of us thought that once we left our teen years, we would never have to deal with crazy skin issues again. Sorry, but for some of us, it has gotten worse! Some of us have sailed through those years with maybe just a few blackheads and the occasional breakout, and then WHAM! We're in our thirties and we look like we took a cheese grater to our faces! What is going on?!
Sadly, there aren't any actual reasons for adult onset acne. Wah-Wahn...here comes Debbie Downer. But, cheer up, buttercup! Dermatologists have some ideas of things that could potentially cause our worlds to go in a tail spin because of the craziness on our faces.
1. Hormones, Hormones, Hormones...they play so dirty in our lives, don't they ladies? I mean, seriously, up until our teen years, we are perfectly happy little girls, dreaming of looking like Barbie, playing house, and having tea parties with our stuffed animals. All of a sudden, we are plagued with these crazy hormones that make us automatically roll our eyes when our moms talk to us, they add sarcasm to our vocabulary, and then we start crying for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON AT ALL. Then on top of it all we get pimples, when we're at the most insecure point in our lives! Yes, ladies, take a good look at your 9th grade picture. Were you as foxy as you are now? Me, neither-far from it. To make it worse, these hormones stay with us for a REALLY LONG TIME! Our poor parents back then, our poor husbands now!
2. Not having a good skincare routine can also play into our adult acne. This is where I might get a little crazy and tell you what I do every night to take off all of my warpaint of the day. Brace yourselves, I'm a little OCD with my skin. First, I take my eye makeup off with a remover containing dimethicone. This handy little ingredient is what makes it look "oily", even though it's not oil. It's a type of really slippery silicone and it works really well because you don't have to pull on your eye too much and you can still get waterproof stuff off. Next, I use a makeup remover on my whole face. Would you take a shower with your clothes on? Of course not-unless you're just really into multitasking. Anywhooo...you always want to remove your cosmetics from your face BEFORE washing your face with your cleanser, otherwise, your cleanser will have a "wall of makeup" to try and get through and then you're not getting your pores well. Once I've done that, THEN I wash with my cleanser WITHOUT A WASHCLOTH. Yep, that's right NO WASHCLOTH! They are very abrasive and irritating to your skin-use your bare hands to wash your face. Then, I pat, not rub my face dry. Rubbing is just pulling on that beautiful skin-unnecessary roughness! Afterwards, I use a clarifying lotion (AKA a toner or astringent) to wipe away all the dead skin that I just loosened up. Next, eye cream-not on the lids and only around the orbital bone! You don't want this stuff to get in your eyes, do you? You'll be thinking it's foggy outside on a clear morning! Then, I use a vitamin oil on my face that contains vitamins A, D, E and ceramides. After that, I put on my night cream. Don't forget about your neck, too! Finally I put on a lip conditioner-you don't want those lips looking like a piece of shriveled up beef jerky, do you? And that's it-that's what I do at night. Yes, by the time I am done with all of that, I am READY for bed.
3. Stress is another possible cause of acne. Read your Bible, get a therapist, whatever helps you-do it.
4. Allergies to products are also possible culprits. Do you have acne just on one side of your face? Check your pillowcase-did you switch detergents? "Bacne" (acne on your back)-new soap/lotion? Have you changed ANYTHING? Sometimes this calls for some serious detective work-da duh duh da da, Inspector Gadget....not really. If you can't figure out what's causing your breakouts, see an allergist and/or dermatologist.
5. Cosmetics can sometimes rock your world. If you have sensitive skin to begin with, you have to be very discerning when it comes to makeup. You want to look for items that are "Non-comedogenic" (doesn't cause the blockage of pores) and/or "Non-Acnegenic" (guess what that means-yay! You passed your common sense quiz-good job). Now, you could still be allergic to some of the dyes used in these products, so, again...if you have sensitive skin, be careful and choosy about what you put on your face.
That's all I've got for you on adult acne...if you've tried everything here and are still having trouble, you might be a candidate for a prescription medication to help you out. Definitely see your dermatologist-I'm not an expert, I just act like one! ;)
Love you all! 1 Peter 3:3-4
Mel
