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

[ShitOnItt]

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??

There's a lot more spot tackling face wash and wipes nowadays, but unfortunately no it's not cured. My teenage SIL gets quite a lot of breakouts. She doesn't wear makeup

Lol if bad acne is down to lazy, scummy teenage girls putting on cheap makeup and not spending enough time pampering themselves how do you explain teenage boys with really bad acne?!

Also more and more girls go on the pill for acne now lots of girls in my nieces Year (Yr 9) are on it for their skin, plus they throw Duac gel, acnecide wash and hibiscrub and antibiotics at acne now whereas years ago going to the Dr's for spots would have been seen as ridiculous

Yes my dds aged 18 and 15 see a dermatologist regularly as they struggle with breakouts and have various medications to keep their skin under control.

I've been really lucky in that I'm 33 and have never had a spot! Teenagers are much better with make up than I or my friends were though; where's the blue eyeshadow? Where's the thick black liner all round the eyes? The body glitter?

I'm 24 and still get teen skin every now and then 🤷‍♀️

Guess it also depends where you live. Round here the girls seem to wear less makeup and have their hair natural, but then I might just be seeing them coming out of school and they're pretty strict on make up and hair etc...

My teen sister has clear skin but blackheads on her nose. Drives her nuts because the rest of her skin is fine

DS14 and all his mates are spotty.

I think today's parents are aware how dodgy skin can affect self-steem as a teen and are a lot more willing to support their teens now with whatever medication/skincare/makeup to help manage it.

*self-esteem even!

They are more likely to get creams or medication now though. My son was asked at a routine medical (USA) what he was taking for his ‘acne’. He had 2 spots.

My DDs have very bad acne despite visits to the GP. However, with make-up they look very different unless you really look closely.
My DS,20, has had about 3 spots in his whole teenage-hood.

My DD is just 10, but has just started her periods, so going through puberty and her skin is just starting to break out, bless her little cotton socks. Yesterday we went and bought her some products to hopefully help it. I think it does vary though as I never really had bad skin.

I had acne as a teen and it was HELL! I got sick of the comments about diet and water etc. I tried everything. It is hormonal and nothing to do with diet. I vowed that If my dc suffered I would not hesitate to take them to a dermatologist and pay for treatment if they wanted it as I know how awful it can be. I still have poor skin but not as bad as it was and as I am older now it doesn’t bother me the same way. Products and make up are definitely better now.

I got sick of the comments about diet and water etc.

And people still parrot these. 'I cut out dairy'.

It's hormonal a great deal of the time, which is why it's so common in adult women at the perimenopause.

Totally agree OP. Things like salicylic acid are now more available for mild acne. Likewise GPs seem to treat more aggressively.
Due to dodgy milk production in the US stopping dairy over there does make a difference - but not in Europe.
It is very good that cheap make up can now make a big difference.

you don't see many teenagers with greasy hair either these days. Is that cheaper hot water, bigger water tanks, more combination boilers?

You haven't met my DS1 then . He's 13 and it's a full on battle to get him to have a shower and wash his hair!

Plenty of teenage skin in my household. Mostly DS1 - I'm sure it's related to the above issue as his spots are most on his forehead where his greasy hair lies, when he showered lots on holiday it cleared right up, also when he has his hair cut shorter it clears up. But I still haven't fully outgrown teenage skin and I'm 42!

My 16yo niece has bad skin too, but you wouldn't see from a distance due to all the makeup.

Teenagers are much better with make up than I or my friends were though; where's the blue eyeshadow?

Maybe not a plethora of blue eyeshadow, but I see a lot of horrendous eyebrows that look like someone has got a really thick child's crayon or a lump of charcoal and scraped it across their faces, often on top of a shovel full of foundation

Yes I’ve noticed this too. It also seems to be the case that it’s not the teenage girls that have acne now; it’s women in their twenties and thirties. Whereas when I was growing up in the late 90s/early 2000s, acne was very much a teenage thing and you never saw adult women with spots.

In some women their hormonal acne may have been controlled whilst on the pill during their late teens and 20s - and will return with a vengeance when they come off the pill (often to TTC)

That was the case with me, and the consultant dermatologist I see has said she sees a LOT of women in this situation. She said she sees a lot of women in their late 20s / early-mid 30s who come off the pill a few months before their wedding, in anticipation of starting TTC after they get married - and their previously-clear skin is now covered in breakouts. She said that often her patients have spent so many years on the pill that they have no idea they have underlying hormonal issues like PCOS - as the symptoms only present themselves once they come off hormonal contraception

Both my DCs are on long/terms antibiotics for their spots, but they’re mostly on their backs tbh. One is being referred to dermatology so def not. A lot of their friends have spots too.

My dd has pretty good skin, but she is on lymecycline