For many years medical science had no idea what caused adult acne. That's probably because the medical community hadn't noticed that there was such thing as adult acne. It may be difficult to comprehend, but until 1980s there was no such disease - even if about 25% adults are its victims to some degree. As with its teen version, it is difficult to determine the cause of adult acne.

Teen and adult acne

Teen acne has been researched for many years and certainly some information gained during this research can be used to understand the cause of adult acne. It is probable that whatever causes teen acne will also have something to do with the adult version of this disease.

Stress, dehydration, genetic issues or a simple hormonal imbalance?

The problem is that there are many conflicting theories concerning the causes of adult and teen acne. Almost everything has been blamed: stress, dehydration, having (or not having) sex, improper diet and genetic issues. In the case of teenagers, most of those "causes" seem to have no connection to acne. However in the case of adults, things aren't that clear.

The immediate cause of adult acne is well-known: hormonal imbalances.

With teenage acne causes are more easily understood. Things are much more complicated with adult acne. Reducing stress, as well as introducing a well balanced diet has little effect on teenagers, but those tactics often work well for grown-ups.

How to heal yourself

The progress of adult acne depends on the immediate cause of the hormonal imbalance. Because it's hard to determine what is the exact cause of adult acne, it is advised to do everything at once - change your diet, reduce stress and (in the case of women) - start using hormonal pills or Vitamin A.

In many cases the recommended pills are known to reduce the number of skin blemishes. This fact strengthens the theory that the cause of adult acne lies in hormonal problems. More importantly it often reduces the effects of acne, no matter what the reason.

Vitamin A helps to achieve the same effect. However only a synthetic analogue of the vitamin, called retinoic acid, has any effect on acne, "real" Vitamin A is useless.

The problem is that retinoic acid can be obtained only by prescription and hormonal pills are often avoided because of religious or philosophical reasons.

Mark Walters fought acne as a young person and has carried on the battle ever since. He shares his knowledge with others at http://www.AcneRescue.com