Lavonne G. Gifford, LE

Are you one of those women who are experiencing the onset of fine lines and the agony of adult acne?  This has become such a common complaint these days for the average aging woman.  You thought you were long past the teenage years, and all of the angst of breakouts and blemishes.  And maybe you never had it as a teen, but now for some reason, acne has decided to make itself at home inside your skin.

Breakouts can happen with all ages and all skin types, and the effect it has on the quality of our life is the same no matter what age you are.  It  has a strong negative effect on our emotional well-being, because the quality of our skin has a lot to do with how we perceive ourselves. 

Hormonal shifts in a woman’s body can have an adverse effect on how the skin looks and feels.  Premenstrual and perimenopausal fluctuations as well as pregnancy hormones can all cause or increase breakouts. 

Are you stressed?   Stress releases inflammatory chemicals in the body,  increases hormonal fluctuations, and creates a  response of over stimulation and exhaustion in the adrenal glands.  Our breakouts become more severe, appearing as deep red cysts under the skin that never really come to a head or can be drained.  These are very painful to deal with.

Some other things you might want to look at are your hairstyling products and makeup.  Are the things you’re using on your hair winding up on your face?  Is your makeup comedogenic (pore clogging)?  Do you frequently change your skincare products ~ challenging  your skin with new preservatives and active ingredients?  Are you constantly pressing your skin against a phone, or habitually resting a cheek on your hand?  Or like so many do, touching your face all the time…all of these things create inflammation in the skin.

Have you changed your eating habits lately?  Do you thrive on a high carbohydrate (ie: sugar, starches, fried foods) diet?  This will increase the development and severity of breakouts.

Sometimes even a change in your environment will trigger acne.  More or less humidity, weather, even the water you wash your face with.

How about going to bed at night without washing your face?  I’m guilty of this one…try keeping the moist facial wipes on your nightstand just in case you’re too tired to get up!  And speaking of sleeping, are you using fabric softener or heavily perfumed soaps on your sheets and pillow cases?  Your skin could be irritated by this also.

Do you have to deal with hair removal?  Are you tweezing, waxing, or shaving?  All of these methods can cause ingrown hairs, resulting in breakouts and even worse…scarring.  Laser hair removal is a great option for this, provided the hair has enough pigment, and is at least semi-coarse or better yet, very coarse.

It is not uncommon for a woman to develop acne for the first time in her thirties and forties.  Postmenopausal acne is common as well.  As you can see, for some, it can be a life long battle, especially if you struggled with it as a teen.

The bad news is:  acne products made for oily teenage skin may not work well for the hormonally challenged over thirty-five age group…

The good news is:  ingredients and technology have come a long way…

We’ll discuss products and procedures for the treatment of acne and wrinkles in part II of this blog.

Stay with me!

Have a great weekend,

Lavonne