Need advice on teenage skin

['chelle]

Hi skin geeks.

I'm a nail geek and am hoping some of you skin geeks can give me some advice. My daughter is 12 and is getting what I would call teenage skin, greasy and spotty. I've told her that she needs to wash thoroughly morning and night, and make sure she rinses well, and I've invested in an anti bacterial facial wash. I dont want to get one of those exfoliating ones as I thought it might be a bit too harsh for her young skin.

If anything her skin is getting worse rather than better and I know a lot of that is down to her hormones at the moment, but I was wondering if any of you skin geeks can give me any tips on a good skincare routine for her, and any products you would recommend for her.

Thanks everyone :green:

 

[jrobinson]

i had very spotty skin in my teens and still do, i used everything under the sun but only a few months ago i found MD FORMULATIONS< its quite expensive but so worth it for that perfect skin and confidence that goes with it. its sold on the net, but the best thing to do is find your nearest salon and go in for a consultation with her. HTH

 

[gillian w]

I would stay right away from anti bac over the counter washes etc.My view is that they are too harsh,strip the skin and make it want to produce more oil.
My own daughter uses clarins for oily and combination skin cleanser and toner,eve taylor purifying moisture lotion and neat tea tree on the spots she may get. Providing she uses it morning and night and gets her make up off properly her skin is always very good. Thats all she has ever used so i cant comment or recommend anything else.

 

[Lynne Baker]

It probably sounds mad but I bought my neighbour's daughter (14) some Shu Uemura facial oil wash and it cleared her skin up a treat. I agree with Gill; don't use something that will strip the oils from her skin as it will merely serve to send a signal to the sebaceous glands that "oi, oi, there's no sebum up there, chaps, let's send some more!"
When I was 16 I went to work for a wealthy pub landlady who treated me as the daughter she never had and she bought me the full set of Clinique (yeah, I know!) product. What it taught me was that you're never too young to start a regular skin care regime. Now I'm in my 40's people are always astonished that I look much younger that my years. I know that some of that is down to genes but I do like to think that having taken care of my skin will have played its part.

 

[essentia]

Hi I agree with the above posts - forget the harsh OTC products and facial scrubs. Use gentle formulated cleansers/washes, light oil free moisturisers and tea tree oil is fab for applying onto spots. I have had oily skin over 30 years and it is best to treat it gently. Also try and get a professional beauty therapist to show her how to carry out a simple facial routine and how to look after her skin.

 

[Zo Zo]

I agree with what both Gillian and Calla have said, especially about not using stripping otc anti-bac wash, and oil being good for oily skin, and encouraging a good skincare routine.

The routine needs to be consistent too, there's no point neglecting it for a few days then thinking, 'oh, I'm really spotty today, now where are those products...' The routine needs to be there even on a good skin day.

I would rather use a soap free wash than an anti-bacterial one, personally, and I think it's important to keep the hydration levels up. Also encourage the drinking of plenty of water.

And no picking! Picking is so bad, it spreads bacteria and makes the skin look unsightly. Left alone, spots will heal quicker and leave less scarring.

 

[Lynne Baker]

It might also be an idea to get her into the mindset that cheap makeup will not help with the skin problem. All my chums were big into a certain high street chemist's range aimed at teenagers but I eschewed it for a higher end brand, preferring to have quality over quantity. One of my friends ended up in hospital having plastered a glittery eyeshadow liberally over her eyelids only to have a monstrous allergic reaction to it. It transpired that its main component was fish scales!

 

[Face Geek]

Hi Michelle
I agree with everything that's been said but just wanted to add my 2 cents. There are loads of products to reduce problems and give you great skin. We all know that, but we tend to forget about our 2 litres of water(or even 1.5 depending on body size). My skincare routine hardly ever changes, but sometimes my face does! I always find that if I neglect to get my 2 litres of water it shows on my face almost instantly. However if I can feel a spots coming on and I hit the water asap, make SURE I have my 2 litres and it helps within a day.
Maybe she's already drinking lots of water, which is great, but it might be worth reminding her how important it is to your skin. Everybody's mentioned cleaning on the outside, but just tell her to think of water as a bit of a clean up from the inside

 

[Good Skin Day]

Keep it as simple as possible, as I've said in another thread recently, the more you fiddle with the skin the worse it will get and the more you'll have to fiddle with it in the future.

Get her a creamy cleanser, non-perfumed and not designed for oily skin (as has been mentioned, it will strip it of its essential moisture barrier) which she should massage into her skin twice a day (to begin with, then maybe try and get her down to once) and remove firmly with either a face cloth or muslin cloth, as this will give her a gentle daily manual exfoliation. Simple Cleanser or Aqueous Cream will do the job. Splash with lots of cool water after cleansing.

She definitely needs to moisturise. She could either use a small amount of Aqueous cream, a non-perfumed light formulation from a brand like Simple, one of the lighter Lush moisturisers or Weleda's Iris moisturiser. Just make sure it's not full of perfume and fillers like so many skincare ranges are these days and ensure she applies the moisturiser to damp skin.

As has been said - stop with the anti-bac face wash, this will be making her skin worse.

If you want to spend a little more, you could try Eve Lom. I think with your daughter's skin, you would only need to purchase the cleanser, which leaves the skin's moisture barrier intact and nourishes.

 

[lissa]

my 12 yr old is also greasy and spotty so once a wk we have a cleanse steam and mild home made face pack on the t-zone she still gets spots but likes the fuss !! nothing will work really as it is a hormone thing they are all over the show at this age untill they seattle down there.s not much we can do !!

 

[nikidee]

Get her a creamy cleanser, non-perfumed and not designed for oily skin (as has been mentioned, it will strip it of its essential moisture barrier) which she should massage into her skin twice a day (to begin with, then maybe try and get her down to once) and remove firmly with either a face cloth or muslin cloth, as this will give her a gentle daily manual exfoliation. Simple Cleanser or Aqueous Cream will do the job. Splash with lots of cool water after cleansing.


i honestly think you should advise your daughter to go somewhere like boots maybe brands such as no7 and buy a cleanser, toner and moisturiser for oily/combination skin.

the cleanser will be a gel consistency not cream consistency and the toner will contain no alcohol as this will dry out the skin and cause the skin to produce more oil.

your daughter must cleanse tone and moisturise morning and night - the moisturiser should be light (no7 brand is perfect)

morning
cleanse tone and moisturise

evening

double cleanse (apply cleanser to skin and remove with damp cotton wool )
1 x to remove make up and then again to remove deeper dirt from the pores.

tone

moisturise

use exfoliator once/twice a week but ensure that the exfoliating beads in the exfoliator are not coarse as this can scratch the skin and cause damage
after exfoliating STEAM and then extract any black heads (gently)

then tone and moisturise as this will close pores and maintain moisture balance of skin

hope this helps

Nix

 

['chelle]

Thanks for all your advice on this one ladies, I'll invest in some new products for her and do away with the anti-bac wash. I know it wont disappear, its a teenage thing, but its getting worse so I want to stem it if I can.

One question though, she has a clump of unsightly blackheads on her chin. Should I get her an exfoliating wash to use just on this bit to unblock the pores, or are they best dealt with in the way you have all described above?

Thankyou for your help :green:

 

[Lynne Baker]

Steam, and then gently extract them

 

[Ragdoll >^..^<]

Hi Michelle
I agree with everything that's been said but just wanted to add my 2 cents. There are loads of products to reduce problems and give you great skin. We all know that, but we tend to forget about our 2 litres of water(or even 1.5 depending on body size). My skincare routine hardly ever changes, but sometimes my face does! I always find that if I neglect to get my 2 litres of water it shows on my face almost instantly. However if I can feel a spots coming on and I hit the water asap, make SURE I have my 2 litres and it helps within a day.
Maybe she's already drinking lots of water, which is great, but it might be worth reminding her how important it is to your skin. Everybody's mentioned cleaning on the outside, but just tell her to think of water as a bit of a clean up from the inside

Im no skin geek but this is just what i was just about to say. I stuggle with my skin, always have. I do try to keep to a good routine ever since a young age but at 35 i still get the odd spot or two :irked: Just this week i've started to drink as much water as i can, a large glass before and after each client reminds me and i have to say my skin is definately improving !

A good skin care routine using good products (not anti bac stuff) and plenty of water, thats about all she can do really, oh and dont pick

 

[lotus blossom]

can i just also add,
my daughter had terrible skin for ages and it got soo bad, as she was getting so depressed over it ,she was 13
i took her to the doctors, and they prescribed tablets for her, i forget what they were called, but it cleared up within 6 weeks

so, i cant see your daughters skin, but just as an afterthought if the above helpful suggestions dont work, that sometimes a pescription from the gp can be the answer

hth x

 

[Lavander Rose]

hi there

I have 2 boys one is 14 will be 15 in may the other is 12 and they both have teenage spots.

As a Qaulified Aromatherapist my sons just cleanse with warm water, NEVER use soap as this dries the skin to much even thuogh the skin is producing to much sebum which causes the spots.

They cleanse in warm water towl pat dry and they use one drop of chamimile essensial oil mixed with carrer oil, carefully spread over the face till it has soaked in it is a anti- imflamatory oil and is used alot for skin problems such as exzema, phsoraisis and problematic skin..

you could try and find a facial wash that contains ROMAN CHAMIMILE.

or try EVE TAYLOR Purifying Cleanser Toner and Moisturizer as I will be using this in my new salon soon and i USE the product on myself its great.

hope this helps as I never get anything of the shelf in shops its just a gimmick for you to buy and it does,nt work either.

I used Roman Chamimile mixed with carrier oil on my sons Exzema when he was a baby and he has never had it back since,,, just be carefull if you do use it though it is safe for children, but not for pregnant women.

 

[Digit3]

Best bet would be to take her to an Esthetician so that her skin can be examined in person, there are so many variables and it depends on what type of acne she is having... although i can tell you that the most common mistake that I see with teenagers is that they tend to strip their skin by over washing it with salicylic acid products, hot water and doing it too often. Then their skin is overcompensating to replace the moisture and produces even MORE oil. If you can't get into an esthetician then see if a gentle cleanser with an AHA used twice a day and then a toner/equalizer (not a harsh astringent) and make sure that she is using a moisturizer preferably a Gel moisturizer that gives more hydration than oil.

 

[Lavander Rose]

Hi there

I am a qualified Aromatherapist along with doing beauty therapy.

I have 2 sons 14 and 12 and both are going through the teenage stage ( At the same time too ) hormones flyin everywhere lol

I would suggest if you wanted to go for the natural approach and stay away from cheap and nasty products of the shelf here is what I would suggest.

I mix 1 drop of Roman Chamimile Essensial Oil mixed with Carrier OIl.
They cleanse there face pat dry DONT rub. then I just apply the Mixture gently over the skin ONCE a week.

Roman Chamimile is an Anti-Imflamatory Oil very good for calming and soothing for problem skins such as teenage spots, Achne, ezema. phsarisis and sensitive skins.

Alternativly you could try and find a facial wash with Chamimile in OR

I would suggest EVE TAYLOR Facial Range.
Go for The Purifying Range or Soothing range, the Purifying range is an anti bacterial cream which is designed for Sensitive Skin and has Chamamile and Lanvander And the Soothing Range is for that extra protection also has Chamimile and lavander along with Vitemin E for extra protection.
OR you could ring Eve Taylor up and have a chat with them they are really nice to talk to will give u all the advise you need and delivery is 2/3 working days.

order line. 0845 1305868

I am going to be using this range in my salon soon, I use it myself so definetly can recommend it

Hope this helps and hope you get sorted soon