Call me naive but I always assumed that one of the best parts of getting older—at least from a beauty perspective—was the inevitable demise of breakouts. After the unpredictable zits that popped up throughout the teen years and the hormonal shifts that plagued the early 20s, arriving to the 35+ age demographic was supposed to mean that acne was firmly in the rear view mirror. In place of whiteheads, there would be fine lines, and concerns about clogged pores would give way to laxity anxiety (essentially a never ending struggle on the skincare front). My, how wrong I was.
As a 36-year-old woman, I have seen more pesky closed comedones and angry pimples in the past few years than my late 20s and early 30s combined. Among the frantic texts I've fired off to my dermatologist: Is this normal? How do I get rid of these? Why is my skin so temperamental?? And according to my fellow mid-to-late 30-somethings, I'm not the only one seeing a rise in adult acne.
