The Skin Nerd: It's completely normal to get acne in your 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond

Let's get nerdie about spots during Acne Awareness Month

Pustules, papules and comedos are just some of the spots you can get.

DO you have acne? If so, you’re far from alone — 9.4% of the global population suffer from acne. It is an incredibly common skin condition that can affect hoomans of all ages, genders and ethnicities. Trust me.

Despite misconceptions, suffering from acne can extend long past your teenage years. It’s true that acne is most prevalent in adolescent males, but it’s completely normal to get spots in your 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond.

According to a survey published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (2008), women are more likely than men to have acne after their teenage years.

The sad reality is that acne can hugely affect how a person feels in their own skin, but I hope solace can be found in how normal and common acne is. In fact, it’s been proven that 85% of hoomans in developed countries have had acne at some point in their lives — myself included.

This Acne Awareness Month, I want to shine a light on some of the spots and pimples that grace our face. So, let’s start with the basics.

A comedo — the nerdie term for a spot — is a clogged hair follicle, otherwise called a pore. Every hair follicle has a sebaceous gland that produces sebum, an oily substance. Spots occur when sebum combines with dead skin cells, which have been sloughed from the epidermis (the outermost layer of skin) to create a plug in the hair follicle. A blockage in the hair follicle can manifest as whiteheads, blackheads, pustules, papules, nodules and cysts. These are all types of comedones that can be present in those that suffer from acne.

Whiteheads (aka closed comedones) have a layer of skin over the opening of the hair follicle, whereas blackheads (aka open comedones) don’t. Interestingly, blackheads are dark brown or black because the melanin in sebum oxidises when exposed to air. I can’t stress enough that it’s not “dirt” clogging pores if you have a few teeny blackheads — so please ditch the pore strips! Whiteheads and blackheads are both non-inflammatory forms of acne, which means there’s no redness or swelling.

Papules and pustules are spot siblings that are inflamed and tender. You can tell them apart because papules look like your textbook red pimple, and pustules have a white or yellow centre that’s filled with pus.

Nodules and cysts are large, hard lumps that feel really sore and form deep within the hair follicle. Cysts are also filled with pus. Squeezing any type of spot is a skin sin, but squeezing nodules and cysts should definitely be avoided at all costs — popping these spots risks permanent scarring.

Papules, pustules, cysts and nodules are types of inflammatory acne lesions, which mean an inflammatory response was triggered in the skin to create them.

I would advise you to see a GP if these spots sound familiar and you think you might have acne — the skin is an organ and should be treated as such. Notably, the right skincare can be a powerful ally when used alongside any treatments or medication your doctor prescribes to treat acne.

I would recommend a salicylic acid cleanser like Skingredients Sally Cleanse (€27, theskinnerd.com) to slough dead skin cells and a vitamin A serum such as Environ Skin EssentiA Vita-Antioxidant AVST (theskinnerd.com) to speed up cell renewal and regulate sebum production. They won’t work miracles, but they can help to prevent further breakouts without irritating the skin.

SPF is a daily essential whatever your skin type.

NERDIE PICK

Broad-spectrum SPF should be the cornerstone to every hooman’s morning skincare regime and the Heliocare 360 Fluid Cream is a firm favourite for many reasons. For starters, it provides the highest level of protection with SPF 50 and shields skin from harmful UVB and UVA rays. But it also protects skin from visible light, infrared and pesky free radicals caused by sun exposure. The formula contains Heliocare’s antioxidant Fernblock® technology which neutralises free radicals to prevent any damage to the skin. Apply ½ teaspoon of Heliocare SPF to the face, neck, chest and ears before sun exposure and top up with the same amount every three hours.

Heliocare 360 Fluid Cream (€27.99, theskinnerd.com)