01
Jun
2026
Acne has long been seen as a teenage condition. But ask almost any clinician working in aesthetics today and they’ll tell you a different story. Increasingly, patients in their twenties, thirties and even forties are seeking treatment for persistent or new-onset breakouts.
And for many, the emotional impact feels even heavier than it did in adolescence.
As part of Acne Awareness Month, we spoke with international experts treating acne every day. Their message was clear: adult acne is real, increasing and often misunderstood.
Does acne affect adults?
Yes. One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding acne is that it should disappear after puberty. According to dermatologist Dr Cathy Dierckxsens: “Many adults feel embarrassed because they believe acne should disappear after puberty, which is simply not true.”
Dr Pedro Santos sees the same issue in practice: “Treating it as a teenage problem is what keeps adult patients silent, ashamed and untreated for years longer than they should be.”
Adult acne often affects the lower face, and behaves differently from adolescent acne. Lesions tend to be deeper, more inflammatory and more persistent.
Dr Katharina Herberger also sees clear differences between adult and teenage presentations:
“Juvenile acne is mostly caused by hormonal changes and androgen effects. Adult acne is multicausal, caused by hormonal imbalances, skincare, stress and others, affects the chin and jawline more often and is chronic.”
Why are more adults developing acne?
Adult acne rarely has a single cause. Unlike teenage acne, which is often driven primarily by puberty and androgen activity, adult acne tends to involve multiple overlapping triggers. These triggers include a combination of hormones, stress, lifestyle factors, microbiome changes, and skin barrier disruption. Clinicians interviewed for Acne Awareness Month repeatedly described acne as a “multifactorial disease” rather than a single condition.
Hormonal changes
Hormones remain one of the strongest drivers of adult acne, particularly among women.
Unlike adolescent acne, adult breakouts often appear around the jawline, chin and lower face and may fluctuate alongside menstrual cycles, pregnancy, contraception changes or perimenopause.
This may help explain why many adults feel frustrated by repeated flare ups. Patients often assume acne should behave like a short-term skin issue when, biologically, it can act more like a chronic inflammatory condition.
Chronic stress
Increasing evidence suggests stress can influence skin through hormonal and inflammatory pathways. Elevated cortisol levels may increase sebum production, alter skin barrier function and amplify inflammatory responses.
Dr Pedro Santos believes stress has become increasingly important in modern acne patients: “The psychological weight itself becomes a trigger. The shame and frustration generated by adult acne feed the same stress and inflammatory pathways that worsen it.”
Many clinicians now report seeing greater levels of chronic stress, poor sleep patterns and lifestyle disruption compared with five years ago.
Social media skincare culture
While hormones and stress remain major drivers, there is another contributor: skin misinformation. According to Skinsights 2025, 42% of younger audiences learn about treatments and skincare through influencers, yet only 18% trust them.
That creates an environment where patients are exposed to huge volumes of skincare advice without confidence in who to believe.
Dr Pedro Santos sees the consequences daily: “The greatest aggression I see in clinic does not come from the disease itself. It comes from the skincare routine the patient has built trying to solve it alone.”
Dr Cathy Dierckxsens also reports seeing patients damaging their skin barriers through excessive exfoliation and complex routines promoted online – a concern Skinsights 2025 highlighted around the growing overuse of active ingredients and social media driven skincare habits, particularly among younger audiences.
Does lifestyle affect acne?
Lifestyle can influence acne severity, although clinicians stress it rarely acts alone. Sleep quality, stress management, exercise and diet all interact with inflammatory and hormonal pathways linked to acne development.
Dr Guy Erlich explains: “Lifestyle factors can play a meaningful role in the course of acne. Diet is one of the most frequently discussed components. In particular, dairy intake has been associated with increased acne activity in some patients.”
However, clinicians consistently emphasise that lifestyle should be viewed as one part of a broader management strategy. As Dr Pedro Santos puts it: “Lifestyle modulates, it does not cure.”
For many patients, lifestyle changes may help reduce inflammatory load and support treatment outcomes but are rarely a replacement for medical or device-based intervention.
The emotional impact of acne is not new
For decades, studies have linked acne to reduced self-esteem, social withdrawal and psychological distress. What clinicians are noticing, however, is a shift in patient behaviour: more patients are actively seeking treatment rather than waiting for acne to resolve on its own.
This aligns with wider changes identified in Skinsights 2025, where 44% of people reported focusing more on skin health than they were a year ago and 31% identified improving confidence as one of the main reasons they would pursue treatment.
Dr Guy Erlich frequently sees the emotional impact first-hand: “Many patients experience reduced self-confidence, social withdrawal and emotional distress.”
Dr Katharina Herberger adds, “They are very impaired in quality of life, suffer for many years, have tried a lot, spent much money and had many frustrating physician consultations.”
More and more, patients are recognising acne as a treatable condition rather than something they simply have to live with.
How are clinicians treating adult acne differently?
In the past, acne treatment focused on controlling active breakouts first and addressing scarring much later. Clinicians are now moving away from this staged approach. Today’s treatment plans often combine medical management with technologies that address inflammation, redness, pigmentation and skin quality simultaneously.
This reflects broader patient trends. Skinsights 2025 found growing interest in non-invasive treatments and natural-looking outcomes, particularly among younger audiences focused on prevention and long-term skin health.
This means clinicians are reaching for a wider toolkit. Energy-based technologies like Derma V and Hollywood Spectra are being used for reducing the inflammation and vascular components of active acne, while platforms such as LaseMD Ultra and Mosaic 3D are helping clinicians tackle residual pigmentation, superficial scarring.
Dr Pedro Santos believes this approach is where acne care is heading: “The future is the integrated plan, in which inflammation, pigment, vascular components and scarring are all treated within the same clinical act.”
Rather than simply clearing acne, the goal is improving overall skin health and reducing the long-term effects the condition can leave behind.
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