Adult Acne - An Introduction

Having acne can be just as trying for adults as it is for teens. Job hunting, social events, and dating can be negatively impacted by a few pimples. Even mild acne that might seem insignificant to an outsider can force some people to miss out on opportunities and relationships that otherwise they might have explored. Whether you have rather mild or severe acne, effective treatments are available, and your condition can improve.

 

When acne begins in the teenage years, the increase in your androgens — male hormones that are present in both men and women — play a major role in its development. These hormones stimulate the sebaceous glands, enlarging them, and they respond by producing excessive oil that helps to promote the lesions of acne.

 

Although the entire story isn't well understood, the vast majority of women who have adult-onset acne don't have elevated androgen levels; rather, they appear to have an increased response to normal levels of androgen, and to a much lesser degree, to their female hormone, progesterone, that also has androgenic effects. The other major female hormone, estrogen, has an opposite (estrogenic) effect and tends to curb acne.

 

In addition to a woman's own hormones, adult-onset acne may be related to, and heightened by, the ingestion of external hormones and drugs that have androgenic effects such as those contained in certain oral contraceptive medications, food products, and performance enhancing drugs.