be
aut
y edit
or
sCosmo’s
sw
ear by..
.I work in beauty, I have for
years, and I don’t have clear
skin. This, despite having
access to the country’s best
derms and the most cutting-
edge treatments. And the
f a c t t h a t I ’m n o l o n g e r 16.
Like, I’m a grown-up, an
adulting-for-real grown-up...
with pimples.
Which goes to show that
acne is like that one frenemy
who just keeps popping
back into your life: You hate
her but can’t seem to lose
h e r, s o y o u h a v e t o ke e p f i n d -
ing new ways to deal.
Because here’s the (hard,
sorry!) truth: Acne is almost
always chronic, and it’s get-
ting worse for adults—it’s not
something you cure but
something you control.
So buckle up, because I
(and, okay, some people
with actual pimple-fighting
medical degrees) am going
to show you how.
First, it helps to know that
there are two main kinds—
teenage and adult-onset,
explains Shari Marchbein,
MD, a derm in NYC. The
former typically shows up in
the T-zone (forehead, nose,
chin), while the grown type
tends to invade the jawline,
mouth area, cheeks, and
neck. They both stem from
four causes: bacteria in your
skin, inflammation caused
by said bacteria, enlarged
oil glands, and hormones.
Especially hormones.
Imbalanced ones force your
sebaceous glands (the things
that spit out waxy, pore-
c l o g gin g s e b u m) in t o a c t io n.
And this may be a key to whyHi
ORAL MEDS
“Birth control pills
regulate acne-
causing hormones,”
says Dr. March-
bein. They regulate
estrogen and pro-
gesterone, halt ovu-
lation (which can =
zit fests), and calm
testosterone (it can
send oil glands into
overdrive). Spirono-
lactone is another
drug derms swear
by—it’s a high-
blood-pressure pill
that’s used off-label
to keep hormones in
check. “If a patient’s
acne *still* hasn’t
cleared, I suggest
isotretinoin (formally
Accutane)—an oral
retinoid that’s very
strong,” she adds.STEROID
INJECTIONS
Got cysts (aka deep,
invisible pimples)
or a giant red blem-
ish that needs to go
rn? Ask your doctor
for a spot treatment.
She’ll inject a mild
steroid right into the
area to quickly nix it.—C
hlo
eM
etzger,
seniorbeauty
editor—L
aur
enB
alsam
o,seniorbea
uty
editor—A
ma
Kwart
eng,beautyassistant—
M
e(
Ca
rly
Car
dellinoV
accaro,bea
utydirec
tor)“Instead of using
wipes, which can
spread bacteria to
other areas of your
face, I use a gentle
cleansing oil to dis-
solve my makeup.”“As soon as I see a
pimple coming, I run
to the freezer and
stick an ice cube on
it. The cold instantly
takes down redness
and swelling.”“At the first sign of a
cystic zit, I use topi-
cal cortisone—the
ultimate nondrying
spot treatment—to kill
inflammation before
seeing my derm.”“I never touch my
pimples. Seriously.
Because (1) squeez-
ing doesn’t erase
cysts anyway and
(2) popping them
leaves scars!”“I bought a bunch of
silk pillowcases on
Amazon and change
them every third
night to keep from
sleeping on a dirty
pillowcase.”3 WAYS
A DERM CAN
CLEAR UP
YOUR SKIN
TOPICAL CREAMS
Prescription anti-
biotic gels like
clindamycin and
anti-inflammatories
like benzoyl perox-
ide and Aczone can
calm red, inflamed
pimples, while reti-
noids like Retin-A,
Tazorac, and Differin
promote skin-clearing
cell turnover and help
with scarring. Note
tho: Depending on
your insurance, these
drugs could be cheap
or kinda pricey.breakouts have become a
Big Problem for 20- and
30somethings lately, says Dr.
M a rc h b e in. “O n e t h e o r y we
have right now is that you
have an increase of hor-
mones in your skin”—from
things like hormone-treated
foods and hormonal IUDs—
“that causes your oil glands
to overproduce.”
Making adult-onset zit-
uations worse and worse is a
bunch of other stuff you
encounter every day:
STRESS Being frazzled
means the stress hormone
cortisol is coursing through
your body, triggering the
inflammation that leads to
flare-ups. This is what your
annoyingly “wellthy” friends
are talking about when they
say deep breathing is how
they got glowy skin.
POLLUTION Gross debris
in the air can basically sit on
your face, clogging pores
and causing zits. Block it by
using anti-pollution skin-care
ingredients like vitamin C.
PRODUCT OVERUSE “People
want to try every new beauty
trend, but few consider
what’s right for their skin,”
says Dr. Marchbein. Her Rx:
Stay strong against IG beauty
bombardment and pare back
your regimen.
DIET Eating a high-
glycemic diet (sugary junk
and simple carbs like french
fries [sorry, again!]), as well
as certain dairy products,
could make you break out.
“The latter contain a protein
that spikes certain hormone
receptors, creating acne,”
explains Dr. Marchbein. Also,
try to buy hormone-free meats
because, yup, those hormones
are impacting your own.—R
uby
Budd
emeyer,beautyeditor,
ART^ PARTNER^LICENSING.122
Cosmopolitan November 2019