Best Acne Treatment For Adults
You stare at the mirror and all you notice are pimples staring back. The reddish patches are appearing again, they feel warm to the touch and slightly tender as you run your fingers over the bumps. You sigh with deep anguish.
Don’t worry. You are not alone. I’ve been through all that!
Which begs the question, why is this happening and what is the best acne treatment for adults?
The pimples are back and you can’t quite explain why it keeps happening. You probably thought that you were way past the teasing in high school and it really hurts.
But as an adult you know there are solutions and you just need to find out the best acne treatment for adults and how you’re going to use those solutions to fix the problem stat. But before you dive into some fancy new advertised product, I’m here to provide some background information on why it happens. (It happened to me, so I totally get your pain.)
Coming to terms with pimples as an adult is tough but you don’t have to worry because it happens. Acne can happen at any life stage because even at 50, acne is a known symptom during menopause. If you have a history of having excess sebum aka facial oils, this can cause you pores to get blocked and the pimple community moving in. I know it sounds flippant, but really, the key thing is to deal with the excess oils and the prevention of inflammation from bacterial activity.
Beyond that, you want to look at ways to make your body less susceptible to breakouts.
Why do adults get acne
Hormonal changes due to puberty, pregnancy, menopause can be quite dramatic and lead to acne developing. For men, this can be due to testosterone imbalances that cause cystic acne typically found under the chin and even on the shoulders and the back. Quite simply put, it’s not your fault and you can stop beating yourself up over it.
If you find yourself struggling with deeply-set acne, or cystic acne, please read the article here which lists down some practical steps you can do to help get rid of it.
Stress is the root cause
If you are working in a stressful environment or facing relationship challenges, your body reacts negatively by producing cortisol in your adrenal glands. Cortisol is basically the stress hormone and its primary function is to deal with stress, however other biological changes take place as a result in dealing with the cortisol flood which somehow cause breakouts.
A dirty environment
With excess sebum being produced by your body, all it takes it a little dirt and grime to be lodged in the crevices of your pores and soon enough, the pimples and inflammation start. Sometimes it’s not even the dirt that gets to your skin, but your skin reacting to allergens that cause skin irritation which then exacerbate the skin discomfort. This further compounds the problem of pimples and the urge to seek the best acne treatment for adults!
Over-washing your skin
It’s one thing to keep your skin clean and fresh but another thing to wash too often. If you’re living in a dry climate, avoid washing your face more than twice a day. This helps keep a healthy amount of natural skin oils to lock in the moisture in your skin. If you strip too much of the oil too much, what happens is that your skin dries out and your body starts to overcompensate for the lack of oils and end up producing even more. It’s the creation of the perfect storm for acne to occur.
Too much sweet food
If you’re used to taking in a lot of sugar and drinking soda, the large amounts of sugar causes massive insulin spikes in your body and increases the oil-triggering reactions. There’s heaps of literature out there that talks about the dangers of sugar and acne isn’t one of the most deadly effects but is definitely one of the symptoms.
Best acne treatment for adults when they first appear
- Before a pimple becomes an acne problem, it’s best to nip it in the bud. Often made the villain is Benzoyl Peroxide, but it still remains one of the best zit-zappers that I know. Apply any spot treatment of Benzoyl Peroxide to a pimple and let it dry out a pimple so your skin doesn’t get worse by a full breakout.
- Retniol, a form of vitamin A, when applied, changes into retinoic acid, also known as Retin-A. It’s supposedly one of the most effective treatments for acne because it builds up collagen. However, in may case, when I used it, it made my skin more inflamed. I guess I have sensitive skin. So this might work for you!
- Facial washes that contain salicylic acid are excellent choices because they are highly effective in unclogging pores and provides a gentle exfoliating effect. They are found in your usual facial cleanser sections at the supermarket.
- You can remove dead skin cells to allow new cells to replace them by using glycolic acid treatments. Glycolic acid is also great at improving your skin’s texture and to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and stopping acne.
- There is light therapy which you used to need to have a clinic do the treatment for you. But there are smaller light units available for home use. Neturogena’s light therapy mask which is about $40 uses LED lights that are blue and red to deal with acne and to alleviate inflammation and killing bacteria.
Best Acne Treatment For Adults You Can Buy | Cleansers / Facial Wash
If you are like me and have sensitive skin, you would want to select a suitable cleanser that contains natural ingredients and is hypoallergenic to prevent irritating your skin. Feel free to check out the products below. I’ll list some recommended cleansers and spot treatments that I’ve tried and worked really well for me. My skin tends to be on the oily side so I will be recommending cleansers for oily skin types.
Exposed Skin Care Acne Facial Cleanser
It is packed with skin clearing ingredients including a special formulation of alpha & beta hydroxy acids and olive leaf extract. Penetrates your pores to kill acne causing bacteria and maintaining your skin’s natural lipid layer. This is the only thing that calmed my breakouts, which really helps if you find yourself constantly having to hunt for the next best facial wash. In my opinion, I think it works slightly better than the Proactiv facial cleanser.
Dermalogica Essential Cleansing Solution
Another excellent cleanser that worked well for my oily and sensitive skin, but I know this works great for all skin types because it is extremely gently in removing and lifting dirt and grime off the skin while keeping it moist. Leaves skin feeling very clean and refreshes it. Particularly great for my end-of-day facial cleansing routine. This didn’t irritate my skin and actually helped keep the acne in check. Find out more about Dermalogica Essential Cleansing Solution.
Budget Friendly:
Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Daily Face Wash
When I was out of town and didn’t bring enough of my usual go-to cleansers, I picked up this from Clearasil and was pretty amazed at the great cleansing effect that this did for my skin. Clearasil claims that after 12 hours from using the wash it would provide visibly clearer looking skin, I did notice a slight calming effect it had on my breakouts despite it being a pretty serious outbreak of acne when I was using it. This facial cleanser also contains acne medication so it penetrates deeply into skin during washing. Thumbs up from me because it didn’t cost much but did work great for me. Get Clearasil Rapid Action Face Wash here.
Best Acne Treatment For Adults You Can Buy | Spot Treatments & Creams
After you gently but thoroughly clean your skin, you may opt to moisturize your skin. In may case, I opted not to moisturize during my breakouts or as soon as I saw spots appear because I would notice that moisturizers, no matter how gentle they were, made my skin worse. If you’re like me, you may opt to jump straight to spot treatments.
Kate Somerville Eradikate Acne Treatment – With Sulfur
If you want to nuke a pimple or acne, this comes with the highest allowable sulfur content that deeply penetrates skin to kill bacteria. Fights blemishes and removes imperfections in skin tone. Also works with salicylic acid synergistically to deal with stubborn pimples. I dipped a Q-tip into the bottle and just applied it to the troubled areas of my face. It does cause a little drying because of the alcohol content but is extremely effective and I’ve seen the swelling and redness subside within hours of application of Kate Somerville Eradikate Acne Treatment. There is going to be a little color on the spots you are applying on so it might work really great as a pre-bedtime application.
Medik8 beta Blemish Gel
This blemish gel is quite miraculous because it has a potent mix of ingredients that deal with new inflammation, redness, dark blemishes extremely efficiently. Stocks are often limited because of its popularity. Get Medik8 Beta Gel here.
Murad Acne Control Rapid Relief Acne Spot Treatment
A fast-acting spot treatment that reduces blemish size and redness within 4 hours. This gel can also be layered under concealer without risk of peeling or flaking. Contains salicylic acid that deals effectively with redness and swelling. Great option if benzoyl peroxide isn’t working as well for you. Use Mura Acne Control to reduce your blemishes effectively.
Preventive action
There are other actionable things you can do to actively prevent outbreaks from occurring despite hormonal changes that happen.
- Modify your diet: Foods that high on the glycemic index are known to cause acne in many people who have had a pubescent history of acne. Increased sugar in the blood actually increases the skin and organ inflammation which increases the chances of acne breakouts.On the flipside, an increased intake of wild fish, buts and fresh fruits high in omega-e fatty acids do the complete opposite; they actively reduce inflammation response in your body, which is always a great thing.
- Meditation and relaxation: Being able to stay calm and collected is a huge boon to being acne-free. If you actively practice mindfulness, it helps lower the body’s response in cortisol production which means that you will have less negative chemical changes in your body. Take some time to pamper yourself, put your feet up. Do whatever works best for you for R&R.
- Keep your face away from your hands: Resist the urge to pick, squeeze, or touch your face with unwashed hands. In women, acne tends to be form deeper under the skin, which means that if an attempt to squeeze or pick at a pimple is made, it simple cause more tissue rupture and then creates more scar tissue. Avoid this at all cost.
- Visit a skin specialists: If you are getting swamped with acne and it appears to be getting worse — nothing you do seems to be working after a week, a visit to your local dermatologist is due. Getting professional help that can better diagnose and prescribe appropriate treatment is much better than trying to make uninformed decisions and making matters worse.
Want a proven system to deal with your acne and want to stop it for good?
Instead of dealing with the ad hoc treatments and stress of worrying about acne outbreaks or hunting down the best acne treatment for adults, what I would recommend a more holistic approach to skin care with a proven step-by-step system that has really made a difference to my skin. It’s been about 4 years since I used this system.
You can read more about my personal review of The Acne No More treatment plan eBook. I personally think that it is a God-send.
It has helped me in approaching skin care that is easily manageable and has removed the stress in worrying about my next breakout. It is proven to be effective for both men and women.
And for the small fee for a program that saves me heaps at the skin clinic, it’s a no-brainer decision. Read more about my personal experience with the program and find out for yourself that you can actually get rid of acne for good.
Stay beautiful!
