How to Tackle Your Adult Acne

Acne treatments that worked in your teenage years might not have the same effect in adulthood. They might even make it worse. Here’s how adult acne is different — and what you can do to get rid of it for good.

Adult acne isn’t teenage acne that never went away. If you're dealing with breakouts in your twenties, thirties, or beyond, your skin behaves differently than it did during adolescence, and effective treatment requires understanding these differences.

At Vivida Dermatology in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada, and St. George, Utah, we see adults who have been fighting acne for years using approaches that worked when they were teenagers. Adult skin needs different strategies to achieve clarity. Here are some key differences and what you can do to target adult acne.

Your jawline breakouts happen for different reasons than forehead acne

Teenage acne shows up across the forehead, nose, and upper cheeks where oil production runs highest. Adult acne tends to concentrate along your jawline, chin, and neck because it follows hormonal fluctuations rather than oil overproduction.

This explains why many drugstore products designed for teenage acne often make adult breakouts worse. Products that strip oil from naturally oily teenage skin can trigger your mature skin to produce even more oil while damaging your skin barrier.

Monthly hormone swings drive most adult breakouts

Around 25% of women and 12% of men continue experiencing acne well into their forties. For women, breakouts often follow monthly cycles, getting worse during the week before their period when progesterone levels spike.

This hormonal component means that face wash and spot treatments alone usually aren’t enough. We often recommend hormonal evaluation and more targeted treatment options, like spironolactone, for women whose acne flares predictably with their cycles.

Your skin can’t handle the harsh treatments you used as a teenager

Adult skin produces less oil than teenage skin and takes longer to bounce back from irritation. The aggressive cleansing and drying treatments that were effective during high school can now damage your skin barrier, leading to increased sensitivity and more frequent breakouts.

We typically start with adults who have lower concentrations of active ingredients, such as retinoids and salicylic acid, and build up tolerance slowly. This prevents the irritation cycle that can exacerbate adult acne.

Work stress and poor sleep make everything worse

Adult life brings different pressures than teenage years, and chronic stress directly affects hormone levels that influence acne. Elevated cortisol levels from work deadlines, financial worries, or family responsibilities can trigger breakouts, even when your skincare routine remains the same.

Poor sleep makes this worse by disrupting normal hormone production and skin repair. Adults who get consistent sleep often notice improvements in their acne, alongside other health benefits.

You’re probably using too many acne products at once

Many adults develop complicated skincare routines using multiple acne-fighting ingredients at the same time. This usually backfires. Combining these ingredients can cause excessive irritation:

Benzoyl peroxide with retinoids
Salicylic acid with glycolic acid in the same routine
Multiple spot treatments layered together
Too many acne-focused and anti-aging topicals

We help patients simplify their routines, using different active ingredients on alternating days or at different times.

Professional treatment options work better for stubborn adult acne

When over-the-counter approaches aren’t cutting it anymore, we have several options that work particularly well for adult acne:

Hormonal treatments like spironolactone
Prescription retinoids at appropriate strengths
Chemical peels designed for sensitive adult skin
Laser therapy for deeper cystic lesions
Cortisone injections for painful nodules

Adult acne responds well to treatment when we address what makes it different from teenage breakouts.

Our team at Vivida Dermatology understands the frustration of dealing with breakouts that affect your professional and personal confidence. Call us in Las Vegas or Henderson, Nevada, or St. George, Utah, to schedule your consultation or book online today.