I had breakouts into my 40s. I went into menopause on the early side at 46 and as my hormones changed, I never break out at all anymore.

Anonymous wrote:Could it be rosacea? I would see a dermatologist.

Yes, ask your dermatologist about rosacea. There is a form that causes pimples rather than the typical red nose and cheeks. I was diagnosed years ago and finally have been seeing great results with Oracea.

I've had acne since I was TEN and suffered and suffered, becoming such a recluse, and I really feel like it affected my personality. When I was picking out wedding dresses when I was 30 the women at the stores all commented on my back acne and how basically gross it was. I had to choose a dress that covered my back and chest. It was awful! I did some retin-A treatments and it did help, but it wasn't until I saw a derm in Chevy Chase after having kids that she recommended Accutane and a permanent fix. It sounded scary at first because of the big issues with birth defects, but holy cow - my acne is gone after 6 months! I have baby soft skin now. And I had it everywhere - scalp, ears, inside my nose! And crazy oily skin. It was all covered by insurance too. I highly recommend Dr. Tamjidi at 5454 Wisconsin.

I'm in my late 40's and still break out with each period. I have wrinkles, gray hair and ACNE...and they say middle school is rough.

I'm 43 and break out regularly, with big ones that are tough to get rid of. Spectro acne care generally works for me though.

My mom is in her 60's and still gets breakouts so I'm not holding my breath waiting for it to go away.

I've had acne since age 11 or 12. I did a course of Accutane in my mid 20s which worked until I got pregnant a few years later. Then the acne came back again full force. Here is what finally worked for me. It's a combination of 3 things. 1) A good BCP- I take a generic version of Yaz. 2) Tretinoin. The first 3 months are pretty awful as your skin purges all of the crap that it trapped in it. After that, my skin has looked nearly flawless. 3) I took Doxyclycline for 5-6 months and now use Clindamycin topically. I think each of these 3 things has helped contribute to my clear skin. Occasionally I get a pimple but it goes away in a day or two after applying Tretinoin. Normally I would get a cyst that last 3 weeks from start to finish. The products I use on my face are not as important as the 2 things I wrote about before. I use Neutrogena Gentle Face Cleanser (or something like that) and in the winter, I use Dermalogica's Intensive Moisture Balance to combat the dry skin that comes with using Tretinoin.

Sigh. I'm almost 38 and have AA.

I will have to give proactive another try.