Unfortunately, acne is not just for teenagers.  I thought life was great once I hit 17 and seemingly stopped having those frequent breakouts.  Years later I’ve come to realize that breakouts aren't always related to age.  Does being a hormonal teenager increase your chances of breaking out?  Absolutely.  But there’s no set age in life at which acne disappears for forever.  You may get past hormonal teenhood and swap it for stressful adulting, which can often yield similar results on our faces.  Similar to Sway, I don’t have all the answers, however, I can give you a few reasons why you might be breaking out and some tips to that will help you beat those breakouts.

Your Diet

The stuff you put into your body has just as great of an effect on your skin as the stuff you put on your body.  If you really think the junk food that you eat won’t show up on your face, you’re wrong!  If you’ve been breaking out a lot lately, take a look at your recent eating habits and you may find the reason why.  I find that when I eat a lot of chocolate my skin tells on me every time!  So make those changes in your diet as necessary, like adding more fruits and vegetables, and be patient.  According to the American Association for Dermatology, it can take up to 12 weeks the results of your clean eating to show up on your skin.

Stress

I’m sure you saw this one coming.  High-stress levels have been linked to acne in a million and one different studies.  So naturally, you may experience more breakouts during high stress times at work or at home.  It’s kind of impossible to avoid stress altogether (and a certain level of stress is actually healthy for us), but try not to expose yourself to chronic stress situations.  Practice some mindfulness and some self-care (check out this post for some de-stressing strategies).

Sleep

Sleep deprivation has been found to cause lots of different health problems to include acne.  Not getting enough sleep can lead to insulin resistance, which means that your body processes less sugar.  So because the sugar is getting processed more slowly, it might be causing breakouts in the meantime.  According to NIH, adults should be getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

Skincare Regimen

How you’re caring for your skin can also affect acne.  I’m pretty sure this is common knowledge, but I’ll break it down anyway.  Acne is caused by clogged pores, typically oil and dirt.  If you’re not washing away all of the oil and dirt, or if you’re using facial moisturizers or cleansers that don’t completely wash away and in turn clog your pores, you’re going to breakout.  I once tried a cleanser formulated specifically for acne prone skin and my face broke out more than ever because it was really hard for me to get the product out of my pores (see more about the proper skincare regimen here).  So be sure to pay attention to how your skin reacts to different products and make changes accordingly.

Beauty Routine/Makeup

Do you wear makeup?  Do you fail to clean your makeup brushes?  Do you buy makeup and use it for years?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have found your acne problem.  Makeup can clog your pores, especially makeup that is not made to fully wash out of your pores.  If you tend to have bad breakouts after wearing makeup, try non-comedogenic makeup products and see if it makes a difference.  Also be sure to wash your makeup brushes on a regular basis and throw your makeup away when it expires.  This is so important!  Bacteria loves old makeup, so you may be transferring that bacteria onto your skin when you apply the old makeup, thus creating the perfect breeding ground for a breakout.  Check out this chart I found on PopSugar to learn how often you should throw away different kinds of makeup.

That’s it and if you found this useful, chances are some of your friends will too.  Please subscribe and share this post!  Thanks for journeying with me.