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Although it may seem seem shocking, experiencing acne in your adult years is not whole impossible.  While there are differences in extremity and symptoms, fully understanding  what is the difference between teen and adult acne can be somewhat confusing if you are not aware of the causes or types of acne prevalent in society today.

Where teen acne is mainly resulting from hormonal changes taking place in the body as well as different diets, changing or unhealthy, adult acne is considered more of a skin disorder.  Although your daily diet does in fact affect your skin and it plays a huge part in whether or not you suffer from skin break-outs, it is not the only reason why people suffer from acne as teens or adults. 

There are far too many myths and lies that surround acne and the causes of it as such, but when it comes down to the bottom line, knowing what is the difference between teen and adult acne can mean the chance of suffering from it if you do not make changes in your life.  The most popular myth of the number one cause of acne is that people wrongly believe dirt and dirty skin is the cause of acne.  While this does effect some of your skin condition, it is not however, the main reason behind suffering from acne, nor is it the only reason people suffer from it.  In fact, washing your face too often or too hard can cause a rash break out on your skin, or damage the capillaries that carry blood to your face, leaving you with damaged skin and a chance of suffering from acne Rosacea. 

Teen acne is capable of following you on through those awkward years on into your adult years, making them difficult as well.  Again, when asking what is the difference between teen and adult acne, you cannot say it is dirty skin.  Even though the ages are vastly different, the same causes still hold true in the latter years of living, the same as in the earlier years.  Changes in your body as you get older, and your dietary needs change along with your intake, these points factor into the larger scheme of things and better enable you to understand what is the difference between teen and adult acne.

As with any medical procedure or decision, it is best to consult your family care practitioner or a board certified dermatologist for help and information on what is the difference between teen and adult acne and how you are best able to treat it.

In the simplest terms, scars form at the site of an injury to tissue. They are the visible reminders of injury and tissue repair. In the case of acne, the injury is caused by the body’s inflammatory response to sebum (oil), bacteria and dead cells in the plugged sebaceous follicle. Two types of true scars exist, as discussed later: (1) depressed areas such as ice-pick scars, and (2) raised thickened tissue such as keloids.

When tissue suffers an injury, the body rushes its repair kit to the injury site. Among the elements of the repair kit are white blood cells and an array of inflammatory molecules that have the task of repairing tissue and fighting infection. However, when their job is done they may leave a somewhat messy repair site in the form of fibrous scar tissue, or destroyed tissue.

White blood cells and inflammation may remain at the site of an active acne lesion for days or even weeks. In people who are susceptible to scarring, the result may be an acne scar. The whys and how’s of scarring is still not well understood, however. There is considerable variation in scarring between one person and another, leaving us to believe that some people are more prone to scarring than others. Scarring frequently results from severe inflammatory acne that occurs deep in the skin. But, scarring also may arise from more superficial inflamed lesions.

The life history of scars also is not well understood. Some people bear their acne scars for a lifetime with little change in the scars, but in other people the skin undergoes some degree of remodeling and acne scars diminish in size.

People also have varied feelings about acne scars. Scars of more or less the same size that may be psychologically distressing to one person may be accepted by another person as “not too bad.” The person who is distressed and embarrassed by scars is more likely to seek treatment to lessen or remove the scars altogether..

Prevention of Acne Scars

As discussed in the previous section on Causes of Acne Scars, the occurrence of scarring is different in different people. It is difficult to predict who will scar, how extensive or deep scars will be, and how long scars will be present. It is also difficult to predict how successfully scars can be prevented by effective acne treatment.

Nevertheless, the only sure method of preventing or limiting the extent of scars is to treat acne early in its course, and as long as necessary. The more that inflammation can be prevented or lessened, the more likely it is that scars can be prevented.  Any person with acne who has a known tendency to scar should be under the care of a dermatologist.