Guest Blogger: Nancy Lester & Adult Acne

Combination Dry and Adult Acne Prone Skin

Hi, my name's Nancy and I've written this guest blog for Taylor's site as I thought I had something interesting to contribute. I'm a freelancewriter and researcher by trade andspecialise in beauty and healthcare work

For many teenagers across the globe, acne is the bane of their social and emotional wellbeing. Whether it’s dealing with school day breakouts or that huge, unmistakable pimple that manifests itself just before an important date or outing; acne is in some ways a necessary evil we must overcome to travel the path to adulthood.

However, for some the curse of acne can continue well into adulthood, and it’s at this point we ask ourselves “Why am I one of the unlucky ones?”

As acne is caused by a hormonal influx during teenage years, it is much the same in relation to adult acne. There are many hormonally related health concerns that can result in acne in your adult years, and statistics show that over 25% of men and over 50% of women suffer from acne past their adolescence. 

If acne seems unfair and inconvenient in your youth, these feelings can increase doubly if you’re an adult acne sufferer. Acne-prone skin is a double-edged sword, especially on the face during adulthood. Most acne related products are produced using harsh chemicals that are included to help dry out the acne breakouts. Although this may work in the short term, and moreover, on teenage skin, as we get older it is vital that we retain the natural moisture of our skin.

Dry Skin Confusion

The chemicals in teen acne products can dry out adult skin if used over a long period of time, which will ultimately be to the detriment of your complexion. Dry skin on the face is the main factor that will eventually lead to wrinkles, fine lines and ironically, can cause further skin distress in the form of conditions such as acne-like Rosacea.

Another downside of suffering dry skin on the face is that you will find make-up sits uncomfortably upon the skin, and often if you’re of pale complexion, you will find your natural coloring becomes reddened. This sort of complexion is even harder to cover, and the dry skin may make the foundation you’re using appear darker on the face than expected.

This is why concentrating on products that both help to keep skin supple and alleviate your acne are of the utmost importance. Dry, acne prone skin is indeed very sensitive, and perhaps if you’ve tried every remedy on the market specifically for acne it’s time to look to more natural and alternative answer to remedy your skin problems.

After years of searching in vain for an antidote to the conversely dry yet acne prone complexion I suffer, I have found two wonderful products that have had a positive effect on my facial skin, and I would like to share them with you.

Alternative “Anthroposophic” Products

Weleda is a beauty product manufacturer, that bases all of its products and production techniques on “Anthroposophic” principles. Those whom take part in Anthroposophy apparently “aim to attain the precision and clarity attained by the natural sciences in their investigations of the physical world.”

Although this sounds a little hippy-ish, what it ultimately means for we the consumer, is that they create beauty products that contain mostly natural ingredients, sought-out for their historical and clinically proven effects on the human body.

I’ve found their products to have a beneficial impact on my adult acne skin, greatly improving my incredibly dry and pimple-prone complexion.

Gentle Cleaning Milk

Firstly, I always found removing make-up and cleansing my face would generally occur in extremely uncomfortable and dry skin. Having tried literally 100s of different cleansing products, aimed at everything from clinically dry skin, to acne-breakouts, it was only once I started using Weleda’s “Gentle Cleaning Milk” did I see any sort of change in my complexion.

Weleda’s products all come in curvy, beautiful, deep-blue glass bottles, which can make your dressing table look somewhat like an ancient Apothecary lab! Weleda’s Gentle Cleaning Milk is a creamy semi-thick consistency, and smells absolutely lovely, and not in the slightest chemical-like. It contains quite surprisingly, a number of different oils – which as you may be thinking, doesn’t sound like the best idea on acne skin.

However, if you’re like me and suffer a super-dry yet acne-prone complexion, you will find that these oils actually help to cure sensitive skin without providing too much grease.

Secondly, as with my great search for a cleanser that didn’t strip my skin of its vital natural moisture, I endured such a search for a moisturizer that actually felt like it was helping to keep my skin supple in the long term. I had tried everything from cold creams to expensive premium beauty remedies, yet none of the products ever gave me a feeling of moisturized skin, even if I left them on over-night.

Almond Oil

However, Weleda’s “Almond Soothing Facial Oil” for sensitive skin really has made a huge difference to my complexion. I suffered terrible Rosacea and dry acne on my cheeks, which presented itself as red, bumpy blotches on either side, and made me look terribly ill when I wasn’t wearing make-up.

This Almond oil is as natural as you can get, as it contains only Sweet Almond Oil and Plum Oil, and has the subtlest fragrance imaginable.

Having used both the Gentle Cleansing Milk and Almond Oil for around 3 months, my complexion no longer suffers from dry, bumpy patches that would, much to my annoyance, evade foundation. Instead the redness has disappeared, and I am left with a clearer, calmer complexion. Also of note is that my facial acne has not increased, despite the use of an oil upon my skin.

Having spent years trying to figure-out how to cope with my dually greasy/dry complexion, and focusing my attention on acne related products, I realized that what my skin really needed was pure moisture and care; products that would nurture my overall complexion, and I truly believe I have finally found a skin-care routine that I will take with me in to the future.

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Katie Irving writes full time for a living and specialises in beauty and health topics. After several years spent on her feet working in retail, she now revels in the glory of sitting back on her leather sectional sofa and typing away on her laptop. 

Hey guys, just a quick message from Taylor!  I hope you all enjoyed this guest blog post!  I sure did, it was nice to have an insight on a topic I have no experience with especially one so well written.  Since this isn't my post, I'll include 2 prizes in the next post.  Forgive me for my quick break!  Thank y'all and especially Nancy for this amazing post! XOXO