I hear it all the time, ” I can’t believe that I’m still getting acne and now I also have wrinkles!”
This is a common saying for those who still get clogged pores and and breakouts, yet are noticing fine lines and wrinkles. Acne can appear at any age. The underlying cause is usually triggered by stress which causes an increase of cortisol. Cortisol causes inflammation, makes your skin produce more oil and triggers acne.
Another cause can be food sensitivity and or candida. Dairy, gluten and soy are common foods that we can become sensitive to as we age because stress, alcohol, and poor diet can disturb the gut microbiome by causing the bacteria in the gut to suddenly become pathogenic in response to the stress hormones we produce. When there is an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria food stays longer in the intestines and begins to ferment and rot. This breads more harmful bacteria which can cause Candida or SIBO, which irritates the intestinal lining, causing the tight junctions in the intestines to open up leading to development of leaky gut. When you have leaky gut, undigested food particles and bacteria leak out into your blood stream. Your body then sends a signal that there is something foreign in the system and to mount an attack, then we become sensitive to the food we just ate. If we keep eating the foods that we now are sensitive to inflammation increases and which triggers your body to produce more cortisol, more pathogenic bacteria and the vicious cycle continues.
But can you see the common culprit here? STRESS. It’s so important to do activities that nourish and relax us so that our body can come into balance. There is sooooo much on this topic that I could go into, but basically do healthy activities to reduce stress. Laugh, spend time with friends, baths, massage, yoga, meditation, a hobby, slow down, and take extra work and pressure off your plate so that your can reduce excess cortisol, lower inflammation and bring your body into balance. When your body is in balance your skin will come into balance too:)
So what type of products should you use for skin that has both acne and wrinkles??
Heavy greasy anti-aging products are not the solution and drying acne products are not the solution either. The best strategy for managing all your skin’s needs is to use a gentle non drying cleanser am/pm like our Gentle Cleanser. Then use a gentle salicylic acid exfoliant 3-4 nights a week on breakouts like our Purifying Serum under a moisturizer to hydrate the skin . This serum works to clear out bacteria and prevent the formation of blemishes. Using a moisturizer is a must to keep the skin protected, hydrated and to deliver anti aging ingredients to the skin to help with fine lines and wrinkles. Our Balancing Lotion is perfect for this type of skin because it has Niacinnamide (Vitamin B3) which is very effective at improving skin hydration, lessening wrinkles, and reducing acne. Finally, to prevent aging, offer soothing antioxidants,and reduce acne scarring our Youthful Glow Serum is the perfect treatment for use in the day under a sunscreen to provide that healthy youthful glow that you are looking for.