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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think teenage skin isn’t a thing anymore?!

95 replies

ShitOnItt · 16/12/2018 10:58

I was out for the day yesterday Christmas shopping in a big city, so obviously lots of teenagers around and I couldn’t believe how much completely clear and flawless skin I saw! I don’t think I saw anyone with the oily spot prone skin I (and lots of my friends) had as a teen.

Has teenage skin been cured??

OP posts:
SymphonyofShadows · 16/12/2018 10:59

No, did you look at the boys?

ShitOnItt · 16/12/2018 11:00

Not as much admittedly!

OP posts:
Boredspice · 16/12/2018 11:01

No, make up has improved though! I’m astounded by how many teenagers can afford the expensive foundation now. I think cheap stuff has improved too though from when I was at school.

AlexaShutUp · 16/12/2018 11:02

My dd is a teenager and she has beautiful clear skin, but she does really try to take care of it and doesn't clog it up with lots of make-up etc. Some of her friends are very self-conscious about their skin, so I guess it's still a thing, but tbh, they all look fine to me!Grin

Vitalogy · 16/12/2018 11:02

More likely staying indoors these day. I know I did back in the day.

ghostyslovesheets · 16/12/2018 11:04

no it hasn't - they just got better at make up

Vitalogy · 16/12/2018 11:07

My dd is a teenager and she has beautiful clear skin, but she does really try to take care of it Doesn't make a blind bit of difference if you have acne prone skin. I wish people would stop perpetuating this myth. Makes others feel sh*tty. or was that the point

ShitOnItt · 16/12/2018 11:09

Yes it seems so, I was also noticing a lot of immaculate eyemakeup, lips etc. Looked straight out of Instagram. When I think back to how I looked as a teenager the differences are drastic!

OP posts:
Cooella · 16/12/2018 11:10

^yes!

U2HasTheEdge · 16/12/2018 11:10

Well, my teens have teen skin. I know plenty of teens with spots. Make-up is better which can do wonders at covering it and snap chat filters makes everyone's skin look perfect online.

I take care of my skin but have still found myself on roaccutane at the age of 37.

SerenDippitty · 16/12/2018 11:11

I agree OP they are so much more polished than when I was a teen. Mind you they look much more samey too.

Cooella · 16/12/2018 11:12

I meant I agree with vitalogy.sometimes it's just hormones. Some boys get it terribly and they arent clogging their skin up with make up. Modern make up & YouTube helps the girls hide it better.

KeepServingTheDrinks · 16/12/2018 11:13

I see a lot of teenagers because I have a 17 yr old. Their skin varies a lot, some get a few, some are covered. But they all have a lovely glow about them. It's youth (wasted on the young!)

U2HasTheEdge · 16/12/2018 11:14

I remember trying to cover my acne up as a teen and it never worked. Cheap make-up was shit and I ended up looking like I had blobs of orange shit on my cystic spots. Not a good look. I also have very dry skin so foundation also just caked up. Couldn't afford primers and good moisturisers but you can get so much good cheap make-up now.

Mind you, I still haven't mastered the art of covering up my acne effectively. I need a teen to show me how it is done.

Paddy1234 · 16/12/2018 11:15

As s mother of a teenager, I can confirm that they have skipped the couple of years of dodgy make up disasters and progressed onto full make up gurus by the age of 15.

SayNoToCarrots · 16/12/2018 11:15

I still have teenage skin and I haven't been a teenager for over a decade.

nokidshere · 16/12/2018 11:15

I have two teenagers both prone to periods of spotty skin, the younger one quite frequently. As do most of their friends. The amount of time and money they all spend on looking after it bears no relation to how many spots they have sadly.

PookieDo · 16/12/2018 11:16

It’s the make up. Also feel crap about my own skin and hate that women get judged on having ‘amazing skin’ as if it is something you work hard towards. Sometimes you don’t get a choice. DD1 and I didn’t

Amaaboutthis · 16/12/2018 11:16

I think it’s the availability of treatment. Virtually all the teens I know have been on lymocycline plus prescription benzoyl peroxide based creams which make the world of difference

ManicLoki · 16/12/2018 11:19

15yo dd is currently being treated for her acne, she's being seen by a dermatologist. You'd never know if you walked past her in the street though as she spends all her spare cash on makeup. Up close you can still see the lumps and bumps but you wouldn't notice with just a fleeting glance from a distance.

Teenage skin is definitely still a thing. They've just got better at hiding it.

Enko · 16/12/2018 11:19

Not at all in my opinion I have a 15 a 17 and a 19 year old and I see lots of teenagers with spots..

DD2 age 19 suffers badly and we have finally found something that works for her but she still gets outbreaks. She is good with her makeup though so you cant always see it.

ChairinSage · 16/12/2018 11:20

I've got 3 teenagers. All 3 of them have far better skin than I did at their ages. The girls I know are very skilled with make-up to disguise any spots thanks to YouTube videos. I don't know how much is luck and how much is down to the use of contraceptive implants.

By contrast, DH is in his 40s and still suffers with acne, psoriasis and some really nasty boils.

katseyes7 · 16/12/2018 11:21

l had cystic acne as a teenager. lt took two years of tetracycline and high frequency therapy to get rid of it. Admittedly, that was forty odd years ago, and treatments have moved on massively since then.
Although not helped by my mother announcing "Well you don't take after me. l've never had a spot in my life."

Chewbecca · 16/12/2018 11:23

Both DH and I had bad skin when we were teens, DS15 has followed suit. He is on medication from the Drs which helps a bit but hasn't cleared it.

CupsAndPentacles · 16/12/2018 11:25

I know what you mean op.
Very few teens have v spotty skin.

My xh told me he had terrible spots as a teen. Bit scared for my 12 year old!