Adult Facial Acne causes and symptoms

Long dismissed as a rite of passage into puberty, facial acne seems to be popping up everywhere. Acne strikes adults, too more than half of all adult women and about a quarter of adult men. Why does adult facial acne seem to be more prominent now than ever before? Are more adults are getting facial acne, or are more adults seeking treatment? While it could be one or the other it is more likely a combination of both. A number of recent studies seem to indicate that incidences of adult facial acne are on the rise; others suggest that adults (particularly women) are simply paying more attention to their skin than they used to, given the prominence of anti-aging skin care products and heavy marketing of these products.

Facial acne can be a lingering problem that keeps coming back to haunt a large population of adults and its effects can be lasting. In some cases, facial acne first appears during adolescence, and then simply does not go away. Other people experience the onset of facial acne suddenly after age 30. Either way, the condition can have lasting physical and psychological ramifications.

Adult facial acne is more likely to leave permanent physical scars; as the skin ages and loses collagen, it’s not quite as easy for it to bounce back after tissue damage. Psychological scarring is much more difficult to study. Many of us have assumed for years that older acne patients don’t allow themselves to be as deeply affected by their facial acne than do younger patients. Frequently the opposite is true. Since adults with facial acne find themselves without a visible peer group of others suffering from the same condition (as do adolescents), a great deal of shame can prevent many adults from actively seeking treatment. Adult sufferers of facial acne have often retreated silently and privately and have had a great deal of difficulty dealing with the imperfection resulting from facial acne.

That private suffering is becoming a thing of the past. Public perceptions are changing. As the world's awareness shifts to include adults in the group of acne-afflicted people, more adults are coming forward with their skin problems and seeking treatment by dermatologists and other physicians. Many had perceived facial acne as “something that’ll go away,” and then they learn that they are not exempt from its ravages. And, they don’t want to take it any more. Today's adult facial acne sufferer is far more proactive, seeking both prescription and over-the-counter treatment products on an unprecedented scale.

More and more cases of adult acne are being reported, and doctors and researchers will gather data on the why’s and how’s of adult facial acne, as well as age-specific causes and effects of this condition on older patients. Public awareness will increase, more people of any age will be more likely to seek treatment.

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