Its true I love to watch Glee  and relive my high school memories with better music– but  I’m way too old to deal with teenage style  breakouts.  Or am I?  I was trying out  a new  oil free cleanser and  sunscreen   that promised to reduce signs of aging.  Well,  the new combo  gave me pimples and I don’t  count  that as a youthful look.   

I had  taken this photo to show a baseline  photo before a laser treatment.  When I saw  teenage- style pimples next to my wrinkles, I buried the photo  in the  “never use” pile, too embaressed to use it. How could I  put up a photo with  zits when I’m doing  a beauty blog that shows what works and what doesn’t.  But I get so many questions about  acne over 40, I realized that this is a topic that deserves a closer look.

According to  Dr Lefkovits, while acne begins in adolesence, it often persists  for decades.  In fact, about 50% of women over 25   have to deal with  breakouts.  Over age 40, about 25% of  us  have to deal with grey  hair AND  acne.  How unfair is that!  But  while the zits might look the same, the triggers  for breakouts  change over the  years–  and  the tried and true remedies for teenage acne  are not effective for adults.  So not only do  we need to  make different lifestyle changes to prevent acne,  we need different remedies to make our skin  smooth and clear.   It makes sense.  I don’t  have to study for SAT’s  and worry about the mean girls at lunch–   why shouldn’t my skin  care be different.