Skincare tips for tweens and teens
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Tween/Teen skin
Oh the tween/teen years. When your body is changing, hormones are raging and you sometimes see it on your skin. Boo. Follow these steps to start on the road of skincare.
#1-Cleanse- your mom is right. You need to cleanse your skin morning and night. A nice gel cleanser without any exfoliating beads is best. Cleansing will help get off: oil, dirt, pollution, sweat and make-up. It also sets the stage for helping your other skincare products to penetrate better. If you wear make-up, it needs to be a double cleanse at night to remove all the make-up.
#2-Treat- if you are breaking out (having spots) this step is vital. If you aren’t breaking out, this step will help prevent breakouts. This isn’t a step that you necessarily have to do every day. For instance, treating every other day or every third day is great as well. Adjust accordingly for active breakouts. Typically those breakouts have been in the making for two weeks, so prevention is key. Let’s talk acids (I’ll give you a quick lesson), these help break up the glue that is holding those dead skin cells on the surface of your skin, which happens most when we are teenagers and as we get older. Acids get into the pores and help clear up the gunk that is in there. There’s a wide array of acids, but salicylic acid and lactic acid are best for this age. Salicylic acid toners are very common, and there are many lactic acid serums. This will be your second step with application across your face, neck, chest and upper back (if prone to breakout or sweat a lot). Wait a moment or two for serum or toner to sink in before moving on to the next step.
#3-Oil-free moisturizer-It might be crazy to think that oily skin needs to be moisturized, but it's moisture and not oil we want to add in. This is especially important any time we start to exfoliate with acids (see above). There is a fine line between proper exfoliation and exfoliating too much. If one over-exfoliates, their skin thinks, “oh no, there isn’t enough oil on the surface” and starts producing more oil.
#4-SPF- Did you know most of the sun damage happens to our skin in the first 20 years of our lives? SPF is key to helping prevent future damage (I know, it’s hard to think too far into the future). Working for a dermatologist and watching noses, ears and any body part you can think of being cut out to remove skin cancer was enough to make me wear my SPF. EVERYDAY.
Add-ins-LED light for breakouts, antioxidant to protect.
A word about topical prescription strength acne medications. Please, please, please do not start using topical tretinoin, differin, benzoyl, or retin a medications every night. If you have these products, use them in the treat step of your routine and start by using them every third night. If you use them every night, it won’t take long to have a raw, red, sore face.
These four simple steps are an easy way to start using skincare products. In need of a little more skincare product help, click the button below and we can get you a customized skincare routine!
Questions for me about tween, teen or acne? Drop me an e-mail below!