When we hear the term acne, the image that comes to mind is the spotty-faced, gangly teenager. We picture the awkward adolescent going through physical changes as he moves from childhood to adulthood.

Although the majority of people that suffer from acne are teenagers a significant number of adults suffer from acne as well. This condition is termed, Adult Acne.

In reality, acne can become a problem at any age. Adult acne is when acne occurs in people twenty years of age and above. It can be brought on by any number of things however one of the most common causes is as a reaction to stress medication.

Many people mistakenly say that stress causes acne because people with high-stress levels can often break out in spots. However, the reaction is usually to the medication that they are placed on rather than to the stress itself.

Doctors are not sure exactly what about the medication causes acne to break out but usually prescribe additional medication to cure the acne.

Adult women are often known to suffer from an attack of acne when they stop using oral contraceptives. Stopping the use of The Pill causes hormonal changes in the body. Hormones and the condition of the skin seem to be very closely related.

The clogged pores that cause acne to appear are affected by what is happening in the body hormonally. Under normal conditions, the ovaries produce both estrogen and testosterone.

Testosterone is a male hormone. Although it is normal that it is present in the female body, estrogen should always be in higher concentrations than testosterone. When it is not, problems arise.Research shows that hormones strongly affect the way that the skin looks and behaves. To put it simply, the balance between androgen and estrogen is fine.

When one of these hormones is out of balance in a woman’s body, the effects are seen in the skin. This is the reason that many women see acne appear and re-appear with their menstrual cycle. Hormone therapy is one solution to hormone-induced acne.

It works on reducing androgens and preventing them from stimulating the sebaceous gland into producing the large amounts of oil that feed the acne bacteria below the surface of the skin. This treatment can be very effective.

There are many effective treatments for acne. The more you know about them, the better. As you can see, acne is not always related to proper washing and hygiene, nor is it related to a bad diet.

Researchers have found that hormones affect the skin and the development of acne. This is a medical condition and therefore should be treated by a trained doctor or dermatologist.

There are many over the counter drugs and treatments, only attempt to use these after consulting a medical professional.For more information visit: Adult Acne Treatment

The painful thing about this skin disorder is the long duration it usually stays on the skin, being at least five years for a large number of adolescents. For so many unfortunate teenage acne sufferers, their acne problem could seem to remain on their skins forever, sometimes as long as eight years translating into what dermatologists later call adult acne because such individuals are no longer teenagers.

As a number of young adults like myself have discovered, acne is not restricted to adolescents only. Although this skin disorder is more common in teenagers than in adults, the intensity could sometimes be very severe in adults. Many adults that are acne free tend to feel that adult acne is due to poor hygiene.

That notion is plain wrong as there is no type of this skin disorder that is caused by poor hygiene, it could worsen the condition but it is not the main cause. Hormonal and chemical imbalances in your body are the major causes of the acne condition that you currently experience. Such imbalances in your body cause your sebaceous glands to secrete more oil (sebum) than usual, which in most situations results in pimples breakouts.

A simple understanding of how acne pimples form on the skin would correct the notion that acne is caused by poor hygiene.. Every hair pore has a gland attached to it. This gland is called the sebaceous gland and it produces a sticky and greasy substance (sebum also know as oil). This oily substance (sebum) is very helpful in maintaining the skin’s moisture. This is your body’s way of preventing your skin from drying out. But it becomes a problem when the sebaceous glands produces too much sebum.

This over production in sebum is as result of hormonal and chemical imbalances in your body. When the sebaceous glands produces an excess amount of sebum, the hair pores get blocked with both sebum and some dead skin cells. The clogged pores results in increased bacteria activity that produces an inflammation on the skin, which results in blackheads, whiteheads and in severe cases nodules and cysts.

Going by some medical encyclopedia that I checked recently, a special kind of bacterium know as Propionibacterium lives on the human skin. This bacterium is harmless only when the amount of sebum (oil) produced by the sebaceous gland is of the normal quantity. The moment the sebaceous gland produces too much sebum this bacterium secretes enzymes and chemicals that results in an inflammation on the skin. This inflammation results in pimples, cyst, and nodules, which you see on your skin. Such pimples, cyst, and nodules if left untreated would definitely results in permanent and deep scars that would remind you of your adult acne every time you look in the mirror.Hormones and Adult Acne

There are quite a number of factors that affect the hormonal changes in your body, some of which are: the condition of the environment (pollution), ultraviolet rays, water and food intake. In modern times, farmers’ use various ways of ensuring a bountiful harvest, some of which include the use of growth steroids (in cattle), pesticides and genetically produced foods. All these