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Skin concern

Adult & hormonal acne

Why am I breaking out in my thirties and forties?

Jawline breakouts, cyclical spots, and why the advice we all learnt at sixteen makes adult acne worse.

Adult acne behaves differently to teenage acne. It tends to sit lower on the face: jawline, chin, neck. It’s often deeper and slower, and it responds badly to the drying, stripping approach most of us learnt at sixteen.

It’s also very common, and almost nobody talks about it. So people arrive assuming they’re the only forty-year-old with spots.

A grey clay mask being laid along the cheek and jaw with a fan brush.

What causes adult & hormonal acne?

Hormonal fluctuation

Cyclical breakouts along the jaw are the classic pattern. Perimenopause, coming off hormonal contraception, and PCOS all commonly show up in the skin first.

Barrier damage from treating it

Foaming cleansers, alcohol toners and daily acids strip the barrier, which increases oil production and inflammation. The treatment becomes the cause.

Stress and sleep

Cortisol raises sebum production and slows healing. No lecture. It’s simply a reason your skin is worse in the months you already know were hard.

What I would do about it

We work out whether this is congestion, inflammation, or both, because they need different things. Extraction helps one and inflames the other.

Most plans start by taking products away rather than adding them, then rebuilding the barrier before any active work begins. The Purify Intention handles the clearing. The Soothe Intention handles the inflammation.

If it’s cystic, scarring, or clearly hormonal, you’ll want a GP or a dermatologist alongside me. I’ll say so at the first appointment, and we’ll plan around it.

Treatments for this concern

Which of these suits you is decided in the room, with your skin in front of me, rather than from this page.

What people have said

These were left by people who came to me with adult acne. Their words, and their names, not mine.

  1. Hannah Lovemore

    a year ago

    “I came to Hanaa with terrible hormonal acne and scarring. After monthly treatments, I now only get the occasional tiny breakout. I get complimented on my skin all the time - something I never dreamed of.”

  2. Harrison Cook

    a year ago

    “Hanaa is an absolutely wonderful therapist. She treats my skin with such care. I have suffered with breakout skin my whole life and Hanaa is the first to really care. Cannot recommend enough.”

Left on Google and quoted as written. The rating and the stars stay on the Google profile, where they were given.

What will a facial not fix?

I’m a skincare specialist, not a doctor. What I do can improve the condition of the skin and how it behaves. It isn’t a medical treatment for adult & hormonal acne. I’d rather be straight with you about that from the start.

Anything that bleeds, changes shape or colour, or won’t heal should be seen by a GP first. So should anything painful, spreading, or arriving alongside symptoms elsewhere in the body. Prescription medication and skin cancer screening sit outside what I do.

If I think you need referring, I’ll say so at the first appointment, and we’ll work out what’s worth doing here in the meantime.

Other concerns

The treatment bed turned down, crisp cotton and a folded blanket, in low evening light.

Where to start

Appointments are with me, in one room at 29 Haven Road. If you’re not sure which of the treatments above fits, book The Bespoke Intention. When you are unsure what your skin needs, leave it in expert hands.

Tell me about your skinI already know what I want (opens in a new tab)

Six questions, about two minutes. I read every one myself and reply, usually within a couple of days.

See the treatments I use for this

29 Haven Road · Canford Cliffs · Poole · BH13 7LE · 07525 438309