Adult Acne & Hormones
For numerous women, it happens like clockwork every month: cramping, bloating, mood swings, and acne breakouts. Experts know that hormones influence acne, but research on the subject has long been relatively limited, until recently. Research conducted recently by dermatologist Alan Shalita, MD, confirmed that almost half of all females experience acne flare-ups during the week preceding their menstration.
This specific form of acne, hormonal acne, may neglect to respond to traditional therapies, such as topical Retinoids and systemic or topical antibiotics. Several clues can help your doctor identify hormonally influenced acne:
– Adult-onset acne, or breakouts that appear for the first time in adults
– Acne flare-ups preceding the menstrual cycle
– A history of irregular menstrual cycles
– Increased facial oiliness
– Hirsutism (excessive growth of hair, or hair in unusual places)
– Elevated levels of certain androgens in the blood stream
While hormonally influenced acne generally begins around age 20-25, it can strike teens and older women as well, and is most persistent in women over the age of 30. These patients generally experience lesions on the lower face, especially the chin and the jaw line. Even though some may have breakouts on the chest and back, most have blemishes exclusively on the face. Hormonally influenced acne is usually moderate and limited to inflammatory papules and small inflammatory nodules and occasional comedones. But how does it start? Will some of the best acne products prevent it?
Adult Hormonal Acne
Puberty is where it all starts. Commencing sometime before adolescence (around the age of nine or ten) the adrenal glands begin to produce dihydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), an androgen. Other androgens, the “male” hormones at work in a woman’s body, such as testosterone and dehydrotestosterone (DHT), join in at the onset of puberty. All of these hormones stimulate the sebaceous glands to secrete more of the skin’s natural oil, or sebum. For this reason oily skin and acne are so common among teens.
Naturally, since boys have more “male” hormones, teen acne tends to be worse in men .
The treatment of acne in teenagers can be difficult, because their hormones are in a consistent state of flux. They could initially respond effectively to first-line treatments, such as topical Retinoids and Benzoyl peroxide, perhaps accompanied by an oral antibiotic. As their bodies develop, however, they might undergo severe hormonal shifts, and stop responding to the existing medications. Courses of acne treatment may need to be adjusted more frequently with teenagers to support these hormonal adjustments.
Adult hormonal acne can be a horrible cycle. Many women pass into adulthood without “outgrowing” their acne. Others may not develop it until their 20s or 30s, experiencing continual breakouts the week before their period. Why? During the course of a standard menstrual cycle (if a woman is not taking any kind of hormonal contraceptive pill), estrogen levels peak at mid-cycle, then decline as she nears her period. After ovulation, the ovaries commence to produce progesterone, another hormone that stimulates the sebaceous glands.
And with the added oil comes acne. Hormones are responsible for acne in a percentage of pregnant women, as well; the sebaceous glands enter into high gear while in the third trimester, creating oily skin and frequent acne outbreaks. Certain women also experience acne breakouts immediately after menopause, when estrogen levels commence to taper off and testosterone results in being the prominent hormone.
What you can do? According to Dr. Shalita, the “wait and see” attitude is particularly ineffective for hormonal breakouts: “Acne breakouts that gets worse during a woman’s monthly cycle isn’t something which women will grow out of as they get older. Seeing your dermatologist to determine the best treatment plan for acne flare-ups is advised for the most productive result.”
The best adult acne treatment is not necessarily going to be a prescription or medicated product. Thousands of men and women are finding that natural acne products work just as well and sometimes much better. Natural acne support systems are safer for the body and health.