Causes and Treatments of Adult Acne

by Andy Cheng Director

The society is generally more forgiving when it comes to teenagers. People are more accepting when teenagers suffer from active acne. When adults suffer from acne, it can be both frustrating and embarrassing. This is especially so when you are in a customer-facing role. People expect you to at least look presentable and that means having clear, smooth skin without any active acne.

Worse still, what used to work very well for you don't seem to do anything anymore. In fact, some of these over-the-counter pimple creams may worsen your condition.

What is actually happening to your skin?

We find out from Dr. Siew Tuck Wah, Medical Director of Radium Medical Aesthetics on the causes of adult acne and what can be done to keep them at bay.

Causes of Adult Acne

There is a good chance that teenagers outgrow acne. However, there remains a small population of (unfortunate) people who still have battle with acne and outbreaks even in their 30s and 40s.

“It is possible for you to get acne as an adult for the first time.” says Dr. Siew Tuck Wah, Medical Director of Radium Medical Aesthetics. If you have adult acne, it is probably due to one or more of the following reasons:

MENOPAUSE You may think “Why would menopause cause acne?”. Truth is, during menopause, the level of estrogen (female hormones) decreases while the androgen level (male hormones) remains constant. This causes your body to experience an ‘increase’ in male hormones. This leads to acne outbreak and other male-related problems such as hair loss.

STRESS You may not notice but stress may give you an acne outbreak. This is because our bodies produce more male hormones in response to our stress. These male hormones are largely responsible for issues such as overactive oil glands, which can clog the pores and cause acne if you don't take extra care of your skin.

CHANGES IN HORMONE LEVELS Women experience changes in hormone levels at some points in their lives. Events such as monthly periods, pregnancy, menopause, and even taking taking birth control pills can cause changes in hormone levels, which explains the acne outbreaks.

SKINCARE PRODUCTS Using skincare products that contain the following ingredients may aggravate the acne condition on your face:

SD alcohol, denatured alcohol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol
Petroleum
Mineral oil
Sodium or ammonium lauryl sulfate

ADVERSE EFFECTS OF MEDICATIONS Certain medicines can sometimes trigger acne outbreak. Some medicines that are known to cause acne outbreaks are:

Certain anti-depressants and ant-epileptic drugs
Thyroid medications
Immunosuppressant drugs
Tuberculosis medications
Steroids

Always check with your doctor if the medicine you are taking may trigger acne as a side effect.

Treatments and Solutions for Adult Acne

REDUCE HIGH GI FOODS Foods that are high in glycemic index not only make you fat, they also cause sharp spikes in your sugar and insulin levels. Foods high in sugar can lead to inflammation and subsequently, acne outbreak. Replacing your white bread, white rice and sugar with whole grains and vegetables can significantly improve your health and your skin. Be amazed at how your skin clears up with the change in your diet.

REGULAR EXFOLIATION It may sound painful to remove the top layer of your skin when you have acne outbreak. Truth is, whether your acne is mild or severe, regular exfoliation helps to reduce breakouts by keeping your pores unclogged so that dead skin cells and sebum don’t accumulate in your pores. If you have sensitive skin, go to a clinic to have your exfoliation facial treatment done by the experts.

LED BLUE LIGHT LED blue light has been shown to treat acne effectively. However, it does not work on all types of acne. Patients with severe acne may only see minimal improvement with LED blue light therapy. However, studies have shown that patients with mild to moderate acne have reported improvements of up to 55%.

USE MOISTURIZER It may sound counterintuitive to moisturize your skin even though you have oily skin and acne breakout. The truth is, if you use skin-drying products, your body responds by producing more sebum. Excess sebum can clog your pores, trapping dead skin cells and bacteria that will almost certainly lead to acne breakout. Using a moisturizer will regulate the oil production on your face.

PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR ACNE AGNES Acne Treatment is a technique designed by Koreans to permanently eliminate your acne problems. AGNES targets the root problem of acne by destroying the sebaceous glands. The doctor uses an insulated micro-needle to deliver radiofrequency waves to destroy the sebaceous glands. The needles are insulated so that it protects the surface of the skin, preventing thermal injury to the sensitive skin. With the sebaceous glands destroyed, acne will not come back – permanently.