More and more, we are seeing female adult acne come through the dermatology practice. Some of these women are in the twenties, or even thirties and forties, and are now experiencing acne in adulthood. All of them want clearance (who wants to have acne AND signs of aging?), and most want to know cause. Why me and why now?

There are some theories as to cause. Sometimes stress can lead to skin findings, especially acne in the female adult on the lower face, jawline and neck. Sometimes there are issues in the gut microbiome or there is a food allergy leading to inflammation on the skin in the form of acne. And sometimes, it is related to hormonal imbalance.

In addition to traditional therapies used to treat adult acne including topical medicated prescriptions, oral spironolactone or Accutane, and laser/light procedures such as photodynamic therapy, patients may wish to investigate cause in order to normalize an imbalance. 

At the Dermatology Office, Dr. Ellen Turner is able to perform food allergy testing to determine if elimination of a particular food item will improve acne and other types of inflammation. Additionally, Dermatology Office offers comprehensive gut analysis to evaluate digestion, inflammation, infection the microbiome. Any of these issues can impair the gut’s health and balance, and when restored, inflammatory conditions can be improved or resolved. Finally, hormonal testing can be performed, and depending on the age of the patient, appropriate salivary testing using either a one-day, six-day or 28-day test can give a tremendous amount of information about estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, DHEA and melatonin.

If you are experiencing adult female acne, call 214-373-7546 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Ellen Turner to discover treatments, as well as cause.