10 Skincare Tips For Young Teens (From An Esthetician)

I can understand as a teenager, you don’t have all money to throw on seeing a skin specialist, thus so you are often left to scrape information from the internet or, trusting your friends to recommend a skincare product for you.

What you need to know here is that even though you and your friends are (probably) going through puberty together, chances are your skin is looking and feeling a bit different than theirs.

That also means that what may work for your friends might not be the best solution for your skin.

However, whatever skin concern you may have as a teenager, there are a few simple things you can do to keep your skin healthy and acne-free.

#1: Determine Your Skin Type

It is crucial to know your skin type before you start purchasing skincare products. The reason for this is that a skincare routine that is suitable for oily skin will not work effectively for dry skin.

Luckily for you, this is not as confusing as it might sound at first because there are three most common skin types during puberty:

– Dry skin

Dry skin is the flaky skin type that feels somewhat rough and itchy and it often looks dull. It has very small, almost invisible pores and even after waking up in the morning, the skin feels tight and uncomfortable.

Dry skin needs extra moisturization to stay smooth and hydrated.

If you have determined that you have dry skin, avoid washing it with soap and use a gentle cleanser instead. Also, make sure to moisturize at least twice a day with a rich and thick moisturizer.

– Combination skin

Combination skin usually means that certain areas of your face get a little more oily than other areas. For example, you may notice oiliness in areas such as the chin, nose, and forehead, which is also known as the T-zone, while your cheeks may be drier.

In this case, you still need to make sure that you are providing an adequate amount of moisture to the dry areas, while not making your T-zone too greasy.

You can still go with a gentle cleanser and use more of a lightweight moisturizer rather than a rich one. Also, make sure to apply an extra amount of moisturizer on the cheeks while using just a tiny bit on the oily parts.

– Oily skin

As the name suggests, oily skin looks shiny and is the easiest to determine. It is also often associated with large and open pores, blackheads, and acne.

During the teenage years, the hormone levels are always fluctuating, which might make things a little worse for oily-skinned teens. But, this doesn’t mean that you can’t keep it under control.

If you have oily and acne-prone skin, make sure to use a good cleanser that isn’t rich in super-moisturizing ingredients, but it’s also not harsh to over-dry your skin.

Additionally, exfoliation is your friend during this time as well as a lightweight moisturizer that will hydrate your skin without making it appear even more shiny and greasy.

#2: Wash Your Face

This is the first and most important step in your skincare routine.

You don’t want to take all the daily grime, dust, debris, and pollution that’s clinging onto your skin to bed with you and risk clogged pores and breakouts.

Therefore, be diligent with this step, especially in the evenings. On the other hand, f your skin doesn’t get super oily, you can get away with only washing your face with water in the mornings.

#3: Avoid Using Scrubs

Scrubs are popular products that are meant to remove the accumulated dead skin cells on the surface of the skin and reveal a smoother and brighter complexion.

However, the problem with these is that they often contain sharp shards of apricot or nut shells that can make micro-tearings in the skin and lead to early degradation of collagen as well premature fine lines and wrinkles.

On the other hand, they can also irritate the skin pretty badly and lead to the formation of dark spots, patches, and uneven skin tone.

#4: Don’t Apply Heavy Makeup

There is nothing wrong with applying a little bit of makeup to enhance and accentuate certain parts of your face.

However, applying overly heavy foundations, concealers, and powders may easily lead to clogged pores which will then bring on the dreaded acne breakouts.

If you are already applying heavy makeup, make sure to at least don’t take it to bed with you in the evening and thoroughly remove with a good cleanser.

#5: Don’t Pop Your Pimples

We’ve all had that one pimple that just begs to be popped and popping it is just so satisfying. But, it’s surely not doing your skin any favor.

Popping your inflamed pimples will potentially lead to bacteria spreading and thus new pimples in areas you’ve never had them.

Additionally, if you have the bad habit of popping your blackheads, please try to understand that if you do not do this process properly and extract everything that’s ready to come out, this clog may lead to a bigger and more inflamed pimple.

Try using an exfoliator to dissolve those pesky blackheads instead or perhaps seeing a professional cosmetician for professional treatment is an even better option.

#6: Invest In a Good Skincare Regimen

As a teenager, it is understandable that you can’t afford to purchase expensive skin care products because chances are you are financially dependant on someone else.

However, by investing in a good skincare regimen, I certainly don’t mean super-expensive and luxury products.

Brands like Bioderma, CeraVe, or some Korean skincare brands like COSRX, Purito, and iUnik offer a great variety of affordable but excellent skincare products that can be super-beneficial for your skin and won’t dry out your bank account.

#7: Exfoliate Your Skin

Exfoliation is something that happens regularly in a good skin care regimen.

As we already mentioned above with the scrub, exfoliation is a process of removing the buildup of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin in order to reveal a brighter and more radiant complexion, help treat acne, hyperpigmentation, redness, etc.

But besides scrubs, there is another form of exfoliation called chemical exfoliation.

This form of exfoliation is much gentler and uses natural acids to gently dissolve the bonds that hold dead skin cells together contrary to the scrub that requires you to manually scrub them away.

#8: Hydrate Your Skin

By hydrating your skin I don’t only mean drinking a good amount of water but also investing in a toner or a serum that contains hydrating ingredients such as hyaluronic acid to give your skin that extra boost of hydration, radiance, and plumpness.

Again, good serums don’t have to be expensive to be good and a great example of this is The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid serum that only costs $12 and is one of the best hyaluronic acid serums currently on the market.

#9: Use a Good Moisturizer

Lastly, you want to lock all that hydration and beneficial ingredients into the skin with a nice layer of moisturizing barrier that will lubricate your skin, make it softer, and protect the moisture from evaporating.

Depending on your skin type, you can choose a moisturizer that is a bit heavier and has a more occlusive consistency or a lighter one that usually comes in a gel form.

#10: Don’t Forget Sunscreen

Sunscreen is the most important and essential part of taking good care of your skin.

The earlier you start applying sunscreen, the longer your skin will resist signs of aging and damage.

UV rays, although therapeutic, can have a detrimental effect on the collagen inside the skin and these are the main contributing factors to the appearance of premature fine lines, wrinkles, brown spots, uneven skin tone, as well as the scariest and deadly – skin cancer.

Therefore, make sure to choose the right sunscreen for your skin type and be diligent with applying and protecting your skin daily.

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Taking good care of your skin isn’t a complicated or expensive thing to do.

Sure, there are luxurious skincare products that can cost hundreds of dollars, however, the truth is that you can definitely notice excellent results with cheaper skincare brands like some of the ones I mention in this article and also love myself even tho I am no longer a teenager.

I also hope you enjoyed reading and I hope you will start implementing good practices on your way towards healthy and gorgeous-looking skin.