Why adult acne happens and how you can make it stop.

The best ways to treat acne without leaving the house.

THE DEAL WITH ADULT ACNE

It’s not just you: More than ever, adults are seeing the breakouts that plagued them throughout their teen years reappear later in life. A 2012 study published in the Journal of Women’s Health found that 45 percent of American women between the ages of 21 and 30 had acne, as well as just over a quarter of women between 31 and 40 and 12 percent between 41 and 50. The difference between the acne you have now and the acne you had when The O.C. was on the air comes down to the factors that trigger excess oil production in your pilosebaceous glands, which kicks off the pore-clogging sebum buffet for P. acnes bacteria. While teenage acne is usually the result of a rapid increase in hormones during puberty, adult acne can be caused by such things as pollution, stress and medications, in addition to, yes, fluctuations in hormones. “Hormones can be endogenous, like those produced in the ovaries or during pregnancy, or exogenous, like those related to the birth-control pill or hormone replacement therapy,” explains Dr. Lisa Kellett, a Toronto dermatologist who says she is seeing an increasing number of adult-acne patients. (When should you turn things over to a professional? If your acne isn’t responding to overthe-counter products, it’s time to consult a derm.)