Acne doesn't necessarily end once you're out of your teens — it can affect adults in their twenties, thirties, forties and beyond. What does change is the way you treat breakouts.

You may have thought that once you graduated from college, you'd be done with acne. Maybe you've even turned 30 or are starting to see the first signs of wrinkles, but find that your acne lingers on.
Acne sometimes continues beyond the teen years, or it may begin anew later in your life. However it happens, adult acne can be embarrassing and frustrating — but it is treatable.
Teens and Acne Breakouts
Teen acne is often caused by fluctuating hormones during puberty. Changes in hormone levels cause too much sebum, or oil, to be produced by the glands in the skin, resulting in acne breakouts. Lotions and creams that help to dry up excess oil on the face and body are often successful in treating a teen's acne breakouts — but that's not always the case when it comes to adult acne. Topical acne treatments that may work well for teenagers sometimes irritate adult skin, resulting in acne getting worse rather than better.

Why Adults Have Acne Breakouts
Adult acne can have very different causes than teen acne. Though hormones can also trigger adult acne — pregnancy, menstruation, and even menopause can bring on acne breakouts in women — an adult's lifestyle is often responsible for acne outbreaks.

Some other common causes of adult acne include:
  • Medication side effects, including progestin-only birth control pills, corticosteroids, and anticonvulsant medications
  • Heavy, oil-based skin and hair products
  • Stopping oral contraceptives (birth control pills)
  • Having family members with acne
  • Health problems like polycystic ovary disease or problems with the adrenal glands
  • Too much stress
Studies have also found that stress is a major cause of adult acne, particularly in women — especially those who have a lot of stress at work. Stress causes the body to produce more hormones called androgens, which can lead to excess oil production in the skin and acne breakouts.
Types of Adult Acne
There are two main types of adult acne:
Late-onset acne. Most commonly affecting women, this type of adult acne suddenly appears after years of having clear skin. It sometimes occurs even in people who have never had a problem with acne. Pimples typically appear around the mouth, or on the chin, jaw, back, or chest.

Persistent acne. This type of acne, also most common in women, is acne that persists from the teen years well into the twenties and beyond. Deep, painful pimples that are inflamed often appear on the lower portion of the face around the mouth, jaw, and chin.
Adult Acne Treatment
Effective adult acne treatment and prevention options include:
  • Prescription retinoid creams, sometimes combined with an antimicrobial cream containing the ingredient clindamycin
  • Moisturizers and foundations that contain acne medication, such as salicylic acid. These are gentler on the skin and dry it out less than products for teenagers that contain the same primary ingredients.
  • Prescription gels, lotions, and creams that offer a combination of acne-fighters, such as an antimicrobial (erythromycin or clindamycin) and benzoyl peroxide
  • Corticosteroid injections into pimples
  • Over-the-counter topical creams that include a combination of sulfur and sodium sulfacetamide
  • Isotretinoin (Sotret, Claravis, Amnesteem), an oral medication for very severe, difficult-to-treat acne
  • Oral treatments to manage changes in hormone levels, including hormone replacement therapy, oral contraceptives, and spironolactone
  • Antibiotic pills
It's also very important for adults with acne to regularly cleanse the skin with a gentle cleanser, and avoid sunburns, picking or popping pimples, and rough scrubbing of the skin.
You shouldn't be embarrassed about it if you have adult acne — but you shouldn't ignore it either. Adult acne can be tough, but certainly not impossible, to treat. Work with a dermatologist to find the appropriate acne treatment, and give your skin time to clear up and heal.