According to Harvard Health Publishing, "adult acne, or post-adolescent acne, is acne that occurs after age 25. For the most part, the same factors that cause acne in adolescents are at play in adult acne. The four factors that directly contribute to acne are: excess oil production, pores becoming clogged by 'sticky' skin cells, bacteria, and inflammation".
What bothers me about most advice from health bodies is, they treat bad skin like a hygiene problem. That's probably where much of the shame of pimples comes from: you feel like you're not cleaning yourself properly. "Wash your face twice a day with a simple cleanser", they say. "Don't touch your face. Drink water. Avoid greasy foods."
I do all of those things already. I have an immaculate skincare routine based on tried-and-true products that have given me super clear skin for years. Yet here I am today with multiple embarrassing spots on my cheek.
In actuality, adult acne – for me at least, and I suspect many of you – is nothing to do with hygiene. Spots in my 30s are entirely stress-related.
When I go through a few stressful days (which is often this year), I come out of them with a little (or not so little) gift from my physiology: a nice red pimple – or three. So not only do I have spots because I'm stressed, but now I'm stressed because I have spots. What a wonderful catch-22, right? More like a cycle of despair. Tough time at work? Here's some acne for your hard efforts! Bad break-up? Bad breakout! Lockdown? Here are some zits, it's not like you're going anywhere!
From grey hair and wrinkles to IBS, we should all be wary of how internal stress can manifest externally, and be permanent. In order to reframe adult acne into something positive, here's what it really is, to me at least: a warning.
It's my body's way of telling me to slow the bloody hell down. "I've been too strong for too long!" it is saying to me. "Decompress now or face much harsher, chronic consequences of living life like this."
This holistic view on health is an important lesson for us all. We must listen to our bodies. They are intuitive and far more astute than sometimes our own consciousness. They know what we can handle, and what is too much. And they can give us small warning signs to keep ourselves in check, before matters get more serious.
Blemishes, as horrible as they are to endure, are temporary. They are gone in a few days; maybe a week for a really bad one. We also have to tell ourselves that spots are only noticeable when they're on YOUR face, not someone else's. What's a huge red pimple to you is a freckle to any observer. And if you do actually have a spot or two visible to the objective viewer? They honestly don't care. Nobody judges you, or thinks worse of you, because you have a little adult acne.
I've reached the age where I now know de-stressing doesn't happen on its own. A "push through it" mentality is destined for failure in the long run. One must actively decompress. What does this look like? For me, it's cancelling social plans, especially on weeknights when I'm already strung out. It's telling my manager I'm overloaded and asking for help. It's calling my mum – the person who knows me best – and having a metaphorical chicken soup moment over the phone with her. It's prioritising daily sleep and exercise over everything else, and taking time (hours, even a couple of days) to just sit. Sit on the couch alone in a hoodie and pyjama pants for a whole evening and just… be.
Adult acne sucks. We can all agree on that. Nobody will ever enjoy seeing a new spot on their face. But it's life for some of us. Yes, some are blessed with keeping their flawless skin throughout stressful periods, but I'm not one of them. If you are too, we better start addressing the cause and not the symptom.
