Adult Acne or Rosacea? How to Tell the Difference 

When you enter adulthood, you’re happy to wave goodbye to some things, such as teenage acne. So, when redness and bumps start to appear on your skin in your 20s, 30s, 40s, or beyond, you wonder whether acne is coming back for another round or whether you’re dealing with something new, such as rosacea.

In the early stages of each of these common skin conditions — rosacea affects 5% of the general population and adult acne affects one-third of women in their 30s and one-quarter of women in their 40s — they can look awfully similar.

Since April is Rosacea Awareness Month in the United States, the team of skilled skin health specialists at Orange Coast Dermatology wants to share important distinctions between the two conditions and how we can help with either.

Rosacea, in brief

We want to start by providing a brief description of each skin condition. Rosacea is a complex and chronic skin condition that’s characterized by:

• Flushing easily
• Facial redness, especially on the cheeks and nose
• Visible blood vessels
• Bumps and pus-filled lesions called pustules (pimples)

Rosacea tends to develop in people between their 30s and 50s, and it affects women with light skin more than most.

Rosacea is chronic, and it can come and go, often with certain triggers, such as heat and stress. Over time, rosacea can affect your eyes and lead to thickening in your skin.

Adult acne, in brief

When we refer to adult acne, it’s the same thing as teenage acne — your pores (hair follicles) become clogged with debris, skin cells, and bacteria, which leads to inflammation, blackheads, and pimples.

Adult acne tends to affect women more than men, thanks to hormones.

The differences between adult acne and rosacea

As you can see, there are some commonalities between adult acne and rosacea, such as the fact that women are more vulnerable and each can lead to its own version of pimples and redness.

To distinguish between the two, look out for these differences:

Location

Adult acne can develop anywhere on your face, chest, and back. Conversely, rosacea tends to stay confined to your central face, including your nose, cheeks, forehead, and chin.

Facial redness

With rosacea, the blood vessels near the surface of your skin dilate, and you might notice intense redness and broken blood vessels. Not to mention, over time, this redness can become persistent and take up permanent residence on your face.

With adult acne, the redness is typically localized during the outbreak, and your skin won't look the same overall.

Triggers

When you have rosacea, it’s usually triggered by something, such as spicy foods, stress, or hot weather. And the response can be fairly quick — in just minutes, the redness flushes over your face.

Though adult acne can also be triggered, the appearance of red bumps is more gradual.

A difference in pimples and blackheads

Although rosacea and adult acne can both lead to red bumps on your skin, there are some differences. First, rosacea doesn’t include blackheads.

Second, adult acne often features comedones, which are clogged pores that appear as whiteheads, blackheads, or raised pimples. Rosacea typically doesn't feature these comedones. 

We understand that differentiating between acne pimples and rosacea pustules can be tricky.

If you're dealing with redness and bumps in your face, we can quickly determine the underlying cause and get you on the road to clearer skin.

For expert diagnosis and treatment for both rosacea and adult acne, we invite you to contact one of our offices in Rancho Santa Margarita, Orange, or Mission Viejo, California, today to schedule an appointment.