Acne is the inflammation of our skin occurring mainly during puberty. But as we grow older our lifestyle choices affect our body causing for acne to persist or reoccur in adulthood. So, what are some of the reasons for adults to suffer from acne?
The causes of adult acne
Before we look at how to help ourselves with adult acne, we need to understand why it occurs. A common factor among these causes is that they usually lead to inflammation and clogged pores – these are key contributors to adult acne.
- Contact irritation: Constantly touching your face with unclean hands, environmental toxins, or pollutants
- Emotional Stress: Feelings of stress and anxiety can create more cortisol (a stress hormone) which can cause skin imbalance
- Physical Stress: Lack of sleep, dehydration, and poor lifestyle choices (e.g., smoking)
- Poor Diet: Eating oily and fried food only, having an unbalanced diet
So, what can we do about adult acne?
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Daily Skincare Routine
Having a daily skincare routine that you perform twice a day is very important in preventing and treating adult acne.
When cleansing your skin, you should consider the following:
- Wash your face maximum twice a day
- Use cool or warm water (hot water strips you of natural oils)
- Use a gentle cleanser
- Pat your skin dry instead of rubbing it with a towel (can agitate your skin)
Cleansing your skin routinely helps prevent impurities and irritants from entering or coming in contact with your skin for too long. Throughout the day our skin comes in contact with our (sometimes) unclean hands and harsh weather. This can clog your pores, aggravate the skin, and cause infection or inflammation, leading to adult acne. A key step to preventing adult acne is to have a planned our daily skincare routine. Beyond the basic steps of cleansing, treating, and moisturising, we also need to consider the products you put on your face in the next section!
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Make sure your skincare is for you!
When it comes to finding the right skincare, it does involve trial and error with different brands. However, to make it easier for yourself, always make sure you read the labels and know what you are putting on your face. There are certain products out there such as cleansers which can be harsh on the skin, stripping you of moisture and natural oils damaging your skin and prompts adult acne. To assist with adult acne try to use products that contain organic and natural ingredients such as fruit enzymes and more active ingredients including hyaluronic acid and vitamins A, C and E. These tend to assist with skin reparation, hydration and overall appearance.
If you are unsure of where to start preventing adult acne, try out our Elesya Skincare Adult Acne Bundle, it comes with:
- Pink Clay Mask: Detoxifies and unclogs pores, balance oil production and hydrates/nourishes the skin
- Fruit Enzyme Gel Cleanser: All-in-one gentle cleanser, that exfoliates the skin without stripping moisture (rich in vitamin C, with natural exfoliants).
- Blemish Remover Serum: Made from natural bacteria fighting agents such as Australian sourced tea tree and lemon myrtle. Great for acne sufferers and for those with the occasional blemish every now and then.
- Lastly, Quench Hydrating Moisturiser: which is rich in vitamins and contains hyaluronic acid which enhances skin appearance, hydration and revitalises skin tissue.
Our Adult Acne Bundle is a great option for those who are new to the skincare game or long sufferers of adult acne. For more tips on creating the best skincare routine, check out: 4 Steps you must include in your Skincare Routine for Glowing Skin, a step-by-step guide created by Elesya Skincare!
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Eating for health
It should be noted that there is no conclusive evidence that certain foods can cause acne, however, certain people can have a bad reaction to certain foods.
The general takeaway for changing your diet, is eating for health. By having a balanced diet and eating unhealthy foods in moderation, it can benefit our overall health and more specifically our skin. To improve our skin, it all starts at what we put into our bodies – meaning we should focus on eating more nutrient rich foods and consume lots of water. This will allow for our skin to stay healthy and hydrated – certain foods can alleviate inflammation and staying hydrated can reduce excess oil productions which can lead to adult acne.
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SLEEP!
Don’t we all love to sleep? Sleep gives our body a chance to rest and recover from the day we’ve had, including our skin!
A lack of sleep is one of the key causes for adult acne. By depriving ourselves of sleep it can lead to a disruption in our bodily functions and cause us stress (another cause of adult acne). Research has shown that a lack of sleep can cause an imbalance in bodily functions and chemicals that prevent acne.
Moreover, a lack of sleep can lead to other causes of acne such as cravings for high sodium and sugar foods, and caffeine. By sleeping less, our body craves for high calorie foods that are not healthy for our system and will ultimately impact the way our skin performs. To keep ourselves awake, we will always go for another coffee during the day. Coffee can dehydrate the skin causing for it to be less resilient and more prone to bacteria and adult acne causing agents. As we can see just by sleeping more, we are able to prevent several bad lifestyle choices that can cause for us adult acne.
Overall, when it comes to adult acne, we can see that it takes a combination of using the right products and making better lifestyle changes to prevent it. Adult acne is most definitely a curse that no one wishes to deal with after their teenage years, but it does happen and there are ways to cure and prevent it.
Try out our recommendations above and find out what works best for you! Elesya Skincare hopes you make the right decisions for that natural glowing skin, free of adult acne.