Teenage Dirtbag! Skincare for young skin
In a spot of bother? Grab a cuppa, pull up a chair. If you’ve been lucky enough to not worry about your skin during childhood, hitting puberty can be a brutal end to that carefree time. But help is at hand.
We’re not here to sell you dreams but we can offer some insight into what’s happening to your skin and suggest a gentle skincare routine for teens to help.
Psst! The following products are proven non-irritating or very mild during use and have been assessed by our in-house toxicologist as safe for young skin.
It’s the party you may not want an invite to but nevertheless it turns up. Puberty. During our adolescent years, we undergo extensive physical, emotional and hormonal changes that take us from childhood to adulthood and getting to grips with all these goings-on can take some time.
Unfortunately, our skin does not get left out of the fun. When your previously well-behaved complexion suddenly starts playing up, it can be tempting to use punishing adult products on it to dry up the spots and excess oil that commonly arrive during teenage years. And yet, the rise of young people using strong, adult products on their delicate skin is concerning for several reasons – one being that they are more susceptible to irritation and damage from these highly active products than adults.
As Lush Co-Founder and Skincare Inventor Helen Ambrosen explains, “There are effects seen in early years that need attention and guidance, but they do not require the sort of strong products that are becoming increasingly used particularly by children.”
If you’re looking for an effective but gentle alternative to peels and acids for your teenage skin (or indeed your teenager’s skin), you’ve landed on the right page.
What’s going on?
Knowing what is happening to the skin (and why) in your teenage years enables you to treat it with kindness and ride out the changes with minimal long-term effects. Of course, puberty will be a different experience for each person, but there are some general changes we expect to occur at this stage of life.
One of the first things you may notice is pinhead-like dots on your t-zone for the first time. These openings contain the hair follicle and sebaceous gland (though influencers sometimes like to call them ‘pores’). Your sebaceous glands produce a protective waxy substance called sebum, which keeps the skin lubricated. Your sebaceous glands have always been around, but the hormones released during puberty make them bigger and better at producing sebum. The same hormones also increase the production of keratin: the protein that forms the bulk of your hair fibre. Either of these factors can make your follicles more prone to blocking, so the combination of both is unfortunate.
Spot-prone skin needs a very delicate touch. However tempting it is to squeeze or subdue a particularly bold breakout with strong products, this increases your risk of damaging the skin and can lead to scarring. And, as anyone with a scar will know, preventing scarring is generally easier than treating it.
Skincare routine for teens
Removing excess sebum and dead skin cells morning and evening helps to keep your complexion clean and balanced. The aim is to clean the skin without aggravating it. For this, we recommend Ultrabland: our very gentle blend of almond oil, rose water, honey and beeswax. Based on a nearly 2,000-year-old cold cream recipe, this delicate oil-based cleanser will give you all the benefits of a good cleanse without stripping the skin. Simply remove thoroughly with warm water and a fresh flannel or cotton wool. For gentle exfoliation, we suggest Angels On Bare Skin: a natural and delicately exfoliating paste that will leave the skin looking bright and clear.
Applying a clay-based face mask a few times a week can also give the skin a deeper cleanse and absorb trapped dirt. Formulated specifically to help ease hormonal spots, our fresh and self-preserving Catastrophe Cosmetic fresh face mask is made with calming calamine powder and Irish Moss gel to visibly reduce redness, plus over 10 percent blueberries for their vitamin C content.
Self-preserving Mask Of Magnaminty power mask is ideal for congested skin. Apply to oil-prone skin on the face and shoulders and let this bestselling blend of antibacterial peppermint and honey in a base of deep-cleansing kaolin and aduki beans lift away excess grime. For more substantial breakouts, the blend of clarifying garlic and tea tree plus fresh aloe gel in self-preserving Cosmetic Warrior will help to gently cleanse and reduce the appearance of spots. This one is also made with fresh papaya juice, which is rich in naturally exfoliating enzymes, and offers an alternative to physical exfoliants.
Sebum and moisture are separate things, and both are essential to a healthy skin barrier.
Putting moisture back into oily skin can feel stressful but it needn’t be. It can be as simple as using a non-stripping cleanser such as Ultrabland or lightly misting your skin with our clarifying Tea Tree Water toner water. Seal water into the skin with a tiny dab of one of our self-preserving moisturisers over the top – we recommend our gentlest formula Celestial for very sensitive souls, Skin Drink for skin that requires a bit more hydration, or Vanishing Cream if the very idea of moisturiser terrifies your t-zone.
Make sure your makeup doesn’t leave a trace
Foundation and concealer can help you to feel more confident, but it’s also capable of worsening the condition of the skin if not removed carefully. Helen explains, “Someone might wear makeup to cover up a spot, but the danger is that if they’re not taking their makeup off fully, the skin is still dirty and then makeup is going back on top of unclean skin to cover the spot it caused in the first place! If you’ve got a cleanser that’s too strong for you, you might also end up wearing makeup to cover up the problem that that’s caused.”
When you’re wearing makeup, it’s advisable to always take the time to remove it carefully but thoroughly. It will come as no surprise that we recommend Ultrabland for this task! If you use oils or leave-on pomades in your hair, these should also be gently removed from the skin and scalp regularly to avoid hairline breakouts (so-called ‘pomade acne’). Gently cleansing the face morning and night (and shampooing frequently) will remove build-up to keep your skin fresh and clear.
Makeup products and tools can also be impressive reservoirs of skin-upsetting bacteria if not cleaned frequently. So, handling products with clean hands, washing make-up tools with soap and water, and not sharing products with your friends, will benefit your skin no end.
For many teens, spots are an unfortunate rite of passage and can’t be totally avoided. Accepting that now and then one is going to rear its ugly head (especially when you least want it to) will help you ride out these changes to the skin and hopefully emerge out the other side without any lasting upset. Most complexions respond to kindness, understanding and a gentle, simple routine. Should you be dealing with acne or feel your skin needs taking firmly in hand, we recommend making sure that hand belongs to a dermatologist.
Early teen recommendations (age 13 plus)
For teenagers beginning to feel they require skincare; we recommend a simple minimal routine that may consist of products from the following:
To cleanse:
Ultrabland facial moisturiser and Angels On Bare Skin fresh cleanser - Add a fresh face a few times a week for a deeper cleanse: Catastrophe Cosmetic fresh face mask and Beauty Sleep, Mask Of Magnaminty and Cosmetic Warrior face and body masks.
To cleanse, tone and hydrate in one:
Tea Tree and Dream Steam toner tabs – For a very fresh and extra gentle experience, we recommend using our toner tabs to steam the skin, then cleansing with the water from the dissolved tab. Simply pop Tea Tree tab or Dream Steam into a bowl of warm water, cover your head with a towel and enjoy a little aromatherapy on top of a deep cleanse by breathing in the lovely fragrance which will also calm your spirits as well as your skin. When the water has cooled down enough to a tepid, cool temperature, you can splash it over the skin to hydrate and soothe.
Alternatively, try our Tea Tree toner water: Mist your face with this balancing blend of tea tree and grapefruit for a quick refresh or use a reusable cotton pad to remove leftover cleanser.
To soothe spots:
Grease Lightning spot treatment - Apply with a finger and let thyme, rosemary and tea tree infusion keep those blemishes at bay.
To moisturise:
To deodorise:
Soap and water and Aromaco solid deodorant
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