How to Manage Acne Through Different Stages of Your Life

Acne can often be discussed as something that’s exclusive to teenagers, but what about those of us who struggle with flares of pimples or blackheads into our 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond? As much as we’d like to believe that acne magically disappears after puberty, many adults struggle with it throughout their lives. However, the same harsh products that might not damage younger skin probably aren’t your best option as you get older. So what are the best ways to take care of your skin and manage acne through the different stages of your life?

How acne changes throughout our lives

Unfortunately, acne doesn’t always go away with age. While it might change as we get older, the cause of it doesn’t. Oil (or sebum) and hormones are the root cause of acne, and while some people see these factors decrease after puberty, many don’t. However, the circumstances around these fluctuations change depending on how old we are.

For instance, hormonal changes and swings are very common in women in their 20s, leading to acne breakouts, even in people who have had clear skin their entire life. Another factor that changes as we age is that our skin becomes thinner and more sensitive. This leaves it vulnerable to more irritation and oil can clog your pores more easily. With work, starting a family, staying on top of things like finances, and everything else that comes with being an adult, stress is also an aggravating factor of acne in adults.

Controlling acne at different ages

Clearly, there are a lot of different things that can cause acne at every stage of life. However, making sure your skin is healthy isn’t just about the products you use. The key is to identify what the biggest factors are for you, and use gentle and natural treatments and rituals to rejuvenate and restore your skin’s glow.

Teens

In your teenage years, your skin is going to be the most resilient to harsh acne treatments that use lots of chemicals. However, this doesn’t mean that those are the best choice. Without knowing what each chemical does, there can be a number of harmful side effects such as sun sensitivity, extremely dry skin, burning, and more. Using natural ingredients that have been proven to help with acne and skin concerns for hundreds of years is your best bet. Whether you need an exfoliator, cleanser, or moisturizer, natural ingredients can not only cut through the oil, but also heal your skin without damaging it further.

20s

Once you’re past your teenage years, acne can still persist or flare up, even if you’ve never had acne issues before. A lot of this has to do with hormones peaking in women during their 20s and 30s, leading to mood swings, weight fluctuations, and increases in your skin’s oil production. Things like birth control pills and IUDs only exacerbate this, meaning that your 20s can end up having much larger hormonal swings (and effects) than even puberty. One of the most important things you can do is to use a toner, which removes excess sebum from your skin without damaging it. Our Balance Restoring Serum doubles as a toner and is great for combatting your skin’s higher oil production.

30s

Similar to your 20s, this period of time also sees high levels of hormonal shifts and can be amplified by things like pregnancy and menstruation. Another consideration should be what you eat, because a diet that’s high in sugar and dairy can lead to breakouts and more pimples. If you can’t bring yourself to change your diet and give up donuts or chocolate (we struggle with that too), using a gentle skincare treatment that draws out impurities rather than scrubbing them away along with layers of your skin is crucial. This is really when we see the skin become thinner and more fragile, so a healing mask to restore that barrier rather than damage should be your first choice.

40s

In a stage of life where our bodies go through enough without acne, this can be a difficult time for our skin. Beginning to feel the effects of menopause is common in your 40s, and is yet another hormonal change that can wreak havoc on sebum production. Not only that, but one of the effects of menopause is a decrease in estrogen levels, which previously helped to protect the skin against acne. Often, this manifests in cystic acne along your jawline or cheeks or just very oily skin. To counteract it, try decreasing sugar and dairy intake as well as using a cleansing oil (yes, even if you have oily skin) to thoroughly clean off makeup and bacteria after a long day.

50+

As we age, our cell turnover rate slows and can leave a layer of dead cells on the surface of our skin. This clogs pores and makes it more difficult to properly clear the healthy surface of the skin. On top of that, it acts as a barrier that stops important products like moisturizer from even reaching it. In case that wasn’t enough, pores also become larger and become easier to clog and form pimples. To treat this, exfoliation is key — but the skin becoming thinner and more sensitive as we age means that a fine balance needs to be found. A gentle exfoliator to slough away the dead skin cells is necessary, but avoid harsh scrubs with abrasive microbeads or other ingredients that could damage thinner and delicate skin. Keeping your skin hydrated after exfoliating is also incredibly important to maintaining its health and elasticity, and prevents it from drying out further, which creates more dead skin.

Keep your skin glowing through all stages of life

No matter what stage of life you’re in, the key to beautiful skin is natural, rejuvenating ingredients. All of our products are formulated with those ingredients in mind, drawing from millennia of ancient Ayurvedic traditions. Restore your skin’s glow with our gentle skincare rituals today.