Changing hormone levels, taking certain medicines, wearing greasy makeup and heredity are factors that can cause acne. Natalie Suarez, Physician Assistant at Sunset Dermatology, explains the difference between teen acne and adult acne: “When teenagers are getting acne, puberty is playing a big role in that, but when an adult presents with acne and they never had it as a teenager, the distribution of the acne will differ,” she points out.

In teenagers the acne will be along the T zone (forehead, nose and chin), and in an adult female, the acne will be concentrated on the lower half of their face, sometimes extending down into the neck.