Guys vs. Adult Acne

Guys vs. Adult Acne

Most of us look back at our teenage years with a lot of fondness. Heavy Metal music, ear studs, spiked hair, carefree spirits, and a casual air about pretty much everything. Some of which we carry into adulthood like a baton we want to keep running with. Sans that one embarrassing baggage from our teenage years – acne.  Or worse – adult acne.

For all of you who thought acne in your teenage years was a result of your hormones acting up and had walked into adulthood with hopes that the bumps on your skin that you absolutely detest will go away, we feel you. And whether you want to burst those pimples on your skin, or not, we know that those pimples might be even more irritating than those innumerable zoom meetings that should’ve been emails.

So, while we may not have a solve for Zoom fatigue yet, are you ready to whizz past adult acne just how those teenage years whizzed past you? We’ll tell you how to treat adult acne.

But first…decoding Adult Acne.

Adult Acne – what is it?

Adult acne is men over the age of 25 getting frequent breakouts on their skin. This can happen due to excess sebum production, which is basically excess oil mixed with dirt and bacteria clogging up your pores, landing you up with acne.

What causes adult acne?

Adult acne can result from a lot of factors, which we’ve simplified for you below.

If you have oily skin and you’re using products formulated for dry skin, then my man you’re in for a bumpy ride. Always read the labels. And we mean always! To make sure your cleansers are sulphate-free, super gentle on the skin, and do not contain harmful chemicals or irritants. Adult acne can be a result of skin inflammation, the gentler your skincare products, the easier it is to get rid of acne.

The relation between stress and acne is often undermined. Stress can cause your skin to produce sebum in excess, often quite more than what your skin needs, resulting in clogged pores and acne on the skin.

This may come off as a surprise but trust us, obsessively washing your face does no good to anyone. Limit cleansing your face with a mild, sulphate-free cleanser twice a day. Over washing can dry your skin out, tricking your brain into overproducing sebum to make up for the dryness. Result? Yes, breakouts.

You are what you eat! Or at least your skin is. Junk food is never good for anyone, but if you already have a not-so-glorious past with acne and hormonal imbalance, you might want to pay attention to what’s on your plate. Ditch fried foods, lots of dairy, and cut down on sugar as much as you can. Your skin is going to thank you.

Treating adult acne

We won’t lie. You’re not gonna be able to make it overnight. But as a starting point, here are a few habits you can inculcate in your daily routine, post-which acne is gonna hate your skin as much as you hate it. Getting enough sleep, fixing your diet, and doing away with stress are a few, while the rest boils down to prepping your skin as an equipped battleground to fight acne.

Don’t lay your hands on what you see in that drugstore around the corner. Always, always read the pack to make sure the ingredients in the product are suited for your skin type.

Wash your face in the morning and at night to keep excess oil, dirt, pollution, and bacteria from clogging the pores and leading to breakouts.

Moisturize after washing your face. A lot of people tend to skip this step when there’s acne on their face, but the sad reality is, it only leads to more breakouts. How? Just how your skin produces more sebum to make up for the moisturizer deficit.

Kaolin and bentonite clays are great for sucking out that extra oil on your face. Couple it with some green tea and lemon peel extracts and the acne remnants (scars) are gone like a dream.

How to buy skincare products to treat adult acne?

Few golden rules to keep in mind while buying products to treat acne include:

• Go sulphate-free while picking your skincare products
• Make sure you buy products that match your skin type
• Green Tea is an acne-buster. Any product containing green tea is great to treat adult acne.
• Also, look for Lemon Peel Extracts in skincare products. They are great exfoliants and will suck that dirt and bacteria right out