Understand my skin
Most people equate acne with adolescence. It’s true that this minor skin disease is typical of puberty. And yet the scope of the phenomenon extends far beyond the adolescent population. Dermatology practices are full of adults desperate to one day find a cure for their acne. So what’s the real story?
The most common skin disease, acne is thought to affect 80% of adolescents and 25% of adults1 over the age of 25, a group in which the disease has been sharply increasing in the last few years. According to the French Dermatology Society (SFD), 15 million people are affected in France, including 3.3 million over the age of 152.
The Arcane3 Acne study undertaken in 2017 estimated that 1 in 3 French people between the ages of 12 and 40 is affected by acne. The prevalence rate for acne in women in their thirties was estimated at over 50% in 20084.
Even though the figures are sometimes inconsistent, dermatologists confirm that more and more people in their 30s and 40s have been consulting for acne problems. On the other hand, puberty is tending to occur earlier and earlier, especially in girls, leading to an earlier onset of acne blemishes. To qualify this finding, adolescents and adults with acne are seeing dermatologists and undergoing treatment much earlier than before. In today’s culture of physical appearance and social media, this is not surprising...
Acne is first and foremost a dermatosis typical of adolescence. It takes on a polymorphic aspect that combines various types of lesions. The condition generally begins between the ages of 12 and 14 and affects the oiliest areas of the skin such as the face with the T-zone and often the chest and back to varying degrees. Acne is caused by an imbalance in hormonal secretions during puberty.
According to the 2017 Arcane Acne study, the condition starts between the ages of 12 and 15 for 69% of teenagers. Adolescent acne generally begins when puberty is approaching and ends at around the age of 20 for men and 22 to 25 for women. The SFD estimates that adolescent acne lasts three to four years on average.
In all cases, adolescents are advised to seek treatment to limit the risk of acne persisting into adulthood.
Acne is first and foremost most of the time associated with adolescence. Yet in reality, it is affecting more and more adults. The 2017 Arcane Acne study estimated that 38% of young people (men and women combined) aged 20 to 24 have acne. This figure is 26% for women between the ages of 20 and 40. Various studies5 have shown that the age of women consulting a dermatologist for acne increased from 20.5 to 26.5 years between 1989 and 1999. Acne is more likely to affect adult women than men. In women, particularly after the age of 30, acne appears more on the lower face (jaw) and neck. There is often a hormonal component added to the traditional causes of acne.
There are some relatively rare cases of infants having acne. This is related to androgens transmitted by the mother. Red (papules) and white (closed comedones or microcysts) spots sometimes massively appear on the entire face. There is no need to panic, and no treatment is required: most of the time, infant acne spontaneously regresses within a few weeks.
