Adult Acne: What’s Triggering Your Breakouts?
Acne in adulthood can ruin confidence and has a major impact on self-worth. After all, it is like a mirror of our own health. With constant mask-wearing and hormones on overdrive, the cherry on top of this unprecedented, difficult year is actually more like a cyst, or a whitehead, or a blackhead. As many patients have discovered first-hand, periods of stress can lead to an increase in a stress hormone called cortisol, which in turn causes breakouts.
Why Do I Still Experience Acne As An Adult?
There are multiple reasons for it:
A) Clogged pores
Your pores can become clogged due to a buildup of dead skin cells, or dirt and oil becoming stuck beneath the surface. For instance, due to the occlusive effect of the face mask, substances such as oil, bacteria and dead skin cells can build up more and block your pores causing “maskne”.
B) Hormonal
Although it’s typically associated with hormone fluctuations during puberty, hormonal acne can affect adults of any age. The biggest culprit to hormonal acne is an androgen. Increased production of androgens triggers an increase in sebum production. Too much sebum produced will clog the hair follicles causing acne breakouts.
C) Stress
We know that stress can play a huge role in skin issues, which resulted in having pimples. When we experience stress, cortisol can work overtime, causing issues with those processes, including messing with the skin. Hence, it may contribute to acne by creating a favourable environment for bacteria driven inflammatory pimples problems.
D) Pollution
It’s a well-known fact that pollution can cause acne too – from an unhealthy environment to UV radiation to just dust and grime. Having excess dirt and grime on your face can increase the possibility of clogged pores that leads to developing acne on the skin.
E) Your Diet
Your diet can play a huge role too. Fried food, chocolates, excessive caffeine, dairy consumption, refined foods and sugar are the biggest factors that can cause breakouts on the skin.
F) Friction
Repeated abrasion as a result of clothing or other materials rubbing against the skin will irritate the skin and eventually lead to inflammation and the development of acne. This form of acne is often associated with athletes, particularly those who wear tight sports equipment. However, breakouts due to this reason are getting common nowadays due to prolonged wearing of face mask, also known as “maskne”.
Adult Acne Treatment and Prevention Tips
There is much research in treating adult acne and we’ve come a long way from the old-school method in treating acne problems. At Astute Clinic, our goal is to manage acne problems by using appreciative medical aesthetic treatments and prescriptive skincare products. Through an in-depth consultation on the problems, our Doctors will personalise the treatments accordingly and work towards achieving optimum skin health.
As an aesthetic clinic, Astute Clinic offers various medical facials and laser treatments that target specific skin conditions such as acne. Our Medical Director, Dr. Jason Yip is an experienced aesthetic doctor with a special focus on treating acne and scar problems using combinations of laser treatments and prescriptive skincare products. Wonder what are the treatments available in Astute Clinic for acne and scar issues? Click here to find out!
The journey to achieve flawless skin starts with an online consultation with our doctors. It’s a free 1-on-1 virtual session with our friendly doctors who will tailor treatments that suit you according to your concerns and aspirations. Just fill up our questionnaire here and our dedicated team will contact you to arrange a session with our doctors.
Let us be your primary godmother in your goals to have your acne problems solved!
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