ACNE OVER THIRTY?
It appears acne is no longer a teenage problem. Increasingly more women over thirty complain of this unsightly skin condition. And unfortunately, acne at this age seems to be more of a nuisance then when one was a teenager, especially since it affects face, neck, chest, back and even shoulders.
There are many causes of adult acne but the main one seems to be hormonal imbalance, which may require a medical attention. Problems with hormones usually affect women working in air conditioned rooms with little or no humidity and with halogen lighting, in high levels of stress and ones that spend long hours in front of a computer monitor. Drinking lots of coffee and eating spicy food only aggravates the condition thus your best bet is to have your hormone levels checked and then consult an endocrinologist or a dermatologist.
Choosing the right cosmetics is also a very important step in combating adult acne. Here are a few tips to improving your skin:
Get the right moisturizer
One of the basic mistakes is using the wrong moisturizer, which often leads to drying out your skin. This, in turn, causes more sebum production to combat the dryness, which leads to clogged pores and pimples and so the vicious circle continues. Your daily cream should therefore have moisturizing as well as antibacterial properties, which will curb the sebum production, soothe irritation and matt the shiny skin. Such moisturizers can be found in lines designed for oily and acne-prone complexions ad contain fruit acids, retinol, benzoil peroxide or salicylic acid, which are known for their exfoliating properties.
Use home remedies
Use purifying masks containing white or green clay, mud from the Dead Sea, yeast or volcanic soil, which deep clean your skin from the impurities as well as help with healing the pimples. You may also use peel-off masks, which unclog and shrink the pores. To exfoliate your skin use gentle scrubs, e.g. enzyme scrub and forget about the ones containing coarse grains. Use the masks and scrubs twice a week and follow with a good moisturizer.
Things to avoid
1) picking pimples and blackheads- this leads to inflammation of the skin, which only aggravates the acne.
2) tanning in the sun or a tanning parlor. The UV rays temporarily block the sebum production by drying up the skin. The dry skin needs more sebum to replenish the lost moisture thus creating more oil and causing acne.
3) using alcohol or toner containing alcohol to clan your face. This leads to dryness and irritation, which only makes the condition worse.