Acne Treatments May Contribute to Rosacea

A recent poll from the American Academy of Dermatology summarized that about one-third of adults think acne is a problem that gets left behind in your teenage years. But many adults in their 20s, 30s, and even into their 40s are unfortunately finding that not to be the case.

Acne, once a common right of passage for teens can also plaque adults, particularly women in their 20s, 30s and 40s. In fact, women of those age groups can develop acne even if they never had acne as a teen. Hormonal changes, greasy or oily cosmetics or hair products, certain drugs such as corticosteroids or high levels of humidity and sweating could contribute to adult acne.

The poll indicated that many people still think eating chocolate or greasy foods causes acne. But according to most skin care specialists; in this case you aren't what you eat.

While the American Academy of Dermatology says stress isn't a factor either, Dr. David Goldberg says hormonal stress and changes can definitely be a cause.

"If we talk about stress as being a cause of acne, women often get a pimple or two right around the time of their period. That is a stress in and of itself," says Dr. Goldberg. "Well, life has become more stressful for everybody, and that's why we're seeing more severe acne, even in adults, where 30 years ago we just didn't see this at all."

Acne treatments work by reducing oil production, speeding up cell turnover, fighting bacterial infection or doing all three. But using too much or too harsh a treatment can actually opposite effect. If you strip too much oil away from the skin, the skin produces more oil to compensate and protect itself. The skin essentially goes into a survival mode. Scrubbing your skin too hard or cleansing with harsh soaps or chemicals can cause irritation, which may worsen the acne breakout.

Often we think that if a little of a treatment helped than a lot will be even better. When it comes to the treatment of your skin, this is not the case. Too much of an acne treatment can damage the skin leading to an onset of other skin conditions among them rosacea. Many of the products commonly used in the treatment of acne are too harsh and drying which results in the body producing more oil to compensate for the oils stripped from the skin by the harsher products. Applying a pure moisturizing oil such as jojoba oil to the skin "tricks" the skin into thinking there is sufficient oil on the skin so the body adjusts oil production to that area of the skin to prevent it from being too dry. When the skin is too dry, the skin pores shrink with resulting 'clogged pores' or pimples.