Teenage Skincare - where to start?

Skincare for teenagers can be difficult because they may find that their skin is oily one moment, and dry the next. Addressing exactly what kind of skin your teen has is the best place to start. In this post I will explain some examples of skin types, and some of the best ingredients to use in order to address the issues.

I believe that investing in a good quality product and in a routine of sorts will always pay off in the long run.

Oily Skin

Oily skin is not always accompanied by breakouts, although the majority oily skins are. Traditionally oily skin will have an oily film aka sebum to it around noon when waking up early in the morning. In order to control the oil, you can look out for products that state the words "oil control", such as tea tree, umbrian clay, or mint. These products will not dry the skin out like products designed for acne-prone skin if the ingredients are combined with things like Vitamin E (tocopheryl) or sulphate free, but do need to be followed up with a light moisturizer.

Oily skin with breakouts should use something a little more heavy, such as cleansers with salicylic acid. These ingredients penetrate the breakouts and dry them out, but should also always be followed with a light moisturizer so dry patches do not appear. An example of a great Oily/Problematic Skin range would be the Clarity Range from Intraceuticals.

Pigmentation

Some teenagers may experience pigmentation issues due to acne scars or the over-production of melanin in the skin. Depending on what kind of pigmentation is being addressed, the ingredients can change. For melanin issues, peony, nonapeptide-1 and vitamin C are great ingredients to look for, and are available in good quality serums for correction. For discoloration from acne scars, which are generally pink or red in color, ingredients like chamomile, bisabolol and ginger root extract help to calm the redness, and for temporary relief, skincare that has a green base is best. For improving the scarring over time, referring to professional treatments like LED light, peels and skin needling will be of great benefit.

Combination Skin

Combination skin is usually characterized by an oily T zone (forehead and nose) and dry/normal cheeks. Different combinations can occur, but this is the most common. It can be hard to treat combination skin because many cleansers and moisturizers are meant to either treat the oiliness or the dryness, but many ingredients are available to help balance the pH of the skin. These ingredients include sulphate-free formulas, citrus extract, cloudberry etc. Usually when a regular cleansing and moisturizing routine is found, there will be a reduction in the oil produced. Oil is usually only produced when the body thinks that the skin is dry, so keeping it well hydrated will help balance out the production of the oil.

I hope I have been helpful to those with teens and pre-teen out there, I know it's always difficult knowing where to start as we don't always have the budget for trial and error of the hundreds of different brands out there.

Please share if you have your teen/tween on a skincare routine. Have you chosen to go the all natural route or what products and treatments are working for you?