The skin is actually an organ, so its overall health is important in all stages in life. The aging skin is, as you get older, less vulnerable to acne, but how you treat your skin throughout your life (including how you deal with acne) will ultimately impact the health of your skin as you get older.

Youth

Most youth will not deal with skin conditions that require treatment, or even much maintenance. However, skin health starts even in childhood. Protecting a child’s face from UV ray damage (by wearing sunscreen- this is very important!) is the #1 aspect of keeping skin healthy from a young age. The healthier your skin, the better it will be at bouncing back from acne when it arrives.

Adolescence

Acne is most common in adolescence. We have a number of posts up offering advice and instructions on the many different aspects of skin maintenance. Here are the three main aspects of skin care throughout adolescence:

1. Keep it clean. Washing your face (but not over washing it) is a very important part of skin care maintenance. Get a wash with salicylic acid or some other recognized acne-fighting ingredient. A good moisturizer can also be very helpful in helping your skin stay well-balanced (dry skin may produce extra oil to compensate: not what you want!)

2. Protect it. While small amounts of sun exposure can help with acne (by lightly drying out the skin, or by evening the skin tone and making blemishes less visible), it can be counter-productive. Over-exposure makes it much

   harder for the skin to heal, so blemishes will be worse and will last longer. Plus sunburns increase the risk of skin cancer. Use an oil-free, face-specific SPF sunscreen.

3. Look ahead. As acne clears up with age, scars can still last a lifetime. Avoid popping pimples (this can lead to scarring), and look into products (especially moisturizers) that are designed with scar-reduction in mind.

Adulthood

As an adult, your skin is not in the same transitional state as adolescence, but there is still a lot going on. It’s common for adults to have occasional acne blemishes, yet adult skin also begins to wrinkle and lose its elasticity. It’s still important for adults to wash their faces every day, and follow the same approach to acne. You may also invest in some anti-aging facial products (some help more than others over time, so do your research).

And, as with all other ages, protection from the sun is very important! We all know that “leathery” look that too much sun can create, and it certainly doesn’t help fend off wrinkles. So invest in some sunscreen or good anti-aging products to keep that healthy skin well into old age.