Where to Start and What to Avoid With Your Teen’s First Skincare Routine

Living with a teenager can be a struggle – and being a teenager can still be tougher. Among the many challenges thrown up by this period of life is the hormone-driven havoc it wreaks on a person’s skin, which can be highly damaging to a teenager’s fragile self-confidence.

To get through this period, therefore, a sensible skincare routine is essential. But what should such a routine look like?

Why Skincare Matters in the Teenage Years

During puberty, the body may be flooded with hormones. These can accelerate the production of sebum – the special oil that helps to keep skin cells healthy and supple. Problems tend to occur here when the sebum actually blocks pores. When the resulting plug becomes infected, inflammation, redness, and spots can be the result.

Dealing with this issue is often a matter of being simple and consistent. Ideally, breakouts should be prevented before they have a chance to really develop.

Start With the Basics: Cleanse, Moisturise, Protect

A good skincare routine comprises three basic steps. The first is to clear the skin of any debris. The second is to provide the skin with the moisture it needs to remain pliant and healthy. The third is to protect the skin against environmental hazards, like ultraviolet light.

It’s important to avoid overly harsh products. You might feel that the problem has become extremely severe and damaging overnight – but reaching for drastic solutions can cause more harm than good. Look for gentle cleansers, lightweight, non-comedogenic moisturisers, and products with SPF properties built into them. You can often find products formulated especially with skincare for teens in mind.

Ingredients to Look For (and Those to Avoid)

A number of ingredients have acquired special popularity in the world of skincare in recent years. These include hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. The former is a humectant, which means it helps to hydrate the skin and improve texture, while the latter is a version of the vitamin B3 found in eggs and fish, essential for the production of a special skin-enhancing protein called keratin.

Some substances, like retinol are more severe, and should be approached with extreme caution. The same goes for any product with a high acid concentration. If you think that severe measures are necessary, then take them only under the direction of a dermatologist.

How Often Should Teens Use Skincare Products?

It’s important to bear in mind that less is often more when it comes to skincare. Twice a day should be the absolute maximum. For many teens, once is sufficient. What’s important is that the routine is consistent and that you don’t try to make up for lost time when a day is missed.

Don’t Panic Over Every Spot

It’s easy for teenagers to stress when a spot appears. They might even be tempted to burst them, which can cause scarring and other problems. A teenager might instead be encouraged to remain calm and retain a sense of perspective.

Involve Them in the Process

If a parent buys a teenager a product and instructs them to use it, then there’s a risk that the teenager won’t buy into the approach. To avoid this, parents should discuss the options and provide teenagers with the freedom to choose the right approach.

Social Media vs. Reality: Managing Expectations

Body dysmorphia is common among teenagers who make heavy use of social media. If you’re being exposed to a deluge of images of people with immaculate skin, then it’s only natural to question whether yours is unusually bad. Teenagers should therefore be encouraged to maintain a sense of perspective. Heavy smartphone use correlates with a number of mental health problems, and thus it should be discouraged.

Being a teenager is not always easy, and acne or even a single spot can easily knock their confidence, so it is important to not only try to help but remind them that there is more than perfect skin, although they won’t always listen!