Adolescents are the largest group at risk of developing acne. This
is because acne usually begins during puberty, when the body
starts producing androgen. Androgen production is usually at its
peak when people are between the ages of twelve and seventeen.
Therefore, more oil is produced in the hair follicles of adolescents
than in any other age group. As a result, experts estimate that more
than 85 percent of all adolescents between the ages of twelve and
seventeen develop some form of acne. This translates to more than
20 million teenagers in the United States. Moreover, although both males and females produce androgen, adolescent males produce
ten times more androgen than females do because androgen is a
male sex hormone.
Consequently, it is not surprising that adolescent
boys are more likely to develop severe cases of acne vulgaris
as well as cystic acne; whereas teenage girls are more likely to develop
comedonal acne and mild cases of acne vulgaris.
Generally, oil production decreases after the age of seventeen. In
most cases, as androgen and sebum levels decrease, so does acne.
Thus, by the time most adolescents reach age eighteen, their acne
symptoms begin to subside and disappear. However, approximately
30 percent of all adolescents with acne continue to be plagued with
acne for the rest of their lives.
According to acne expert and dermatologist
Anthony C. Chu, “Acne can persist well into old age and
I have a number of patients in their sixties, seventies, and even
eighties who still have active acne. Acne is, therefore, not merely
a teenage occurrence; it can affect you at any time of your life
