People who have suffered from acne since their teens often assume that their acne as an adult is similar to their teenage acne. This is a common misconception. There are actually a number of important differences between Teen Acne & Adult Acne, including: Positioning Teen acne typically appears in the centre of the face, particularly the T-Zone (forehead, nose, upper lip & chin) due to the high production of sebum (skin oil). However, adult acne more often appears lower on the chin and jawline or around the mouth. This is important to bear in mind when honing your skin care regime, as the skin on the bottom of your face is typically more sensitive, therefore requiring the use of more sensitive products and a gentler approach. Skin Sensitivity Your skin at age 13 is vastly different from your skin at age 30. As teenagers, our skin is relatively thick and somewhat resilient. As we age, our skin thins out and becomes more sensitive to the products we use. Those over-the-counter acne products can be handy for the 13-year-old, but may be much too harsh for the 30-year-old or even more mature skin. Acne treatment systems like Skin B5 contain natural vitamins and a softer more effective approach to treating your adult acne. Hormones Your hormones are what trigger overactive sebaceous (oil) glands. This is often why teen girls, for example, first get pimples at approx. age 12 or 13 when they start their period. It is also why teenage boys’ faces may erupt in acne when they hit puberty. It's also why women post-menopause rarely suffer from acne; those hormones are no longer active. The stress that comes with modern life can also mess with our hormones. So how to fix this? Use your acne as a reason to finally find a way to calm your mind, take up yoga, meditation or exercise as a means to help reduce your stress levels. Dryer Skin As we age, our skin naturally produces less moisture than it did when we were younger. Even if you feel like your skin is still oily, it is likely to be drier overall than your younger skin was. Because of this we must be more conscious of over-drying our skin when treating blemishes, as this can actually cause more harm to your skin than good. Benzoyl Peroxide, for example, can severely over-dry your skin, which can be very dangerous, especially for more mature skin, potentially causing long term damage and increasing the risk of scarring. Also, as you age your pores may become larger and susceptible to blockages causing blackheads, so ensuring that surface dry skin cells are exfoliated away regularly and gently becomes even more important in your older years. It also becomes more important to hydrate from the inside out to support your skin, so keep up the water or even better, try coconut water. We hope these tips have helped you to distinguish between the symptoms and treatments for skin issues at all ages! Feel free to email us at info@skinb5.com or Facebook us for more helpful advice!