It’s never too early (or late) to start taking care of your skin! So here’s my TOP 3 TIPS for tackling pre-teen and teen skin.
Okay, there are so many more that 3 tips and in reality, it depends on what your teen is dealing with, from early signs of Acne or maybe eczema and everything in between so let’s assume they just have the regular few breakouts with a bit of extra oil flow as this is standard stuff. One of my tips is to not over complicate the routine as, let’s face it, teenagers will simply give up and not bother if it seems like an ‘effort’, so focus on these 3 points and when they have these ‘down’ we can UP the game a bit.
- CLEANSE WELL
cleanse carefully and be consistent with what you do. Choose a PH balanced, soap-free wash-off cleanser (if their skin is combination, oily or acne prone) or a light, water soluble milk cleanser if you can see dry, flakes on the skin, or the skin feels more sensitive. A wash-off cleanser may have more success with a teen as it can be left next to the shower so more likely to be used. Make sure they cleanse under the jawline, in the eyebrows (I often find a few blackheads in the eyebrows of teenage girls, which is probably caused by makeup which has not been removed.)
At the other end of the scale, another problem can be over-cleansing, as teenage oily, spot prone skins can often feel “The need to clean” which may make their skin feel good for a few hours as there will be less oil flow, however, the PH of the skin will have been temporarily lowered resulting in an impaired skin barrier. If this continues, long term, this kind of ‘educates the sebaceous glands to create more oil. Always remove makeup before bed.
2. LESS IS MORE,
keep it simple and do not be tempted to keep visiting a department store and get ‘sucked’ into buying yet another full set of Teenage skincare. Often, Teenage skins don’t need a ‘formal’ moisturiser…yes, you heard me right!…they do, however, need moisture, but OVER PRODUCT-ING (I know that’s not a real word! It is now) and layering the skin with too much ‘stuff’ is like putting a quilted jacket on in hot weather!! Skins just do not like it. Find a good water-based ‘booster’ or serum with Hyaluronic acid which will hydrate the skin, suppress oil secretion and make their skin feel comfortable without feeling too physically rich. P.S, you don’t need to apply directly on the T-zone twice a day, so the pattern of application is key.Apply to the neck first, then lips and upper lips, sides of face and cheeks and finally, ‘kiss’ the T-zone..meaning, just a light touch.
3) BLOCK IT! If cleansing is your underwear, then sunscreen/sunblock is your coat. Preserve your Teens skin with a good broad spectrum, antioxidant-rich SPF.
