Teenage daughter wants a retina prescription to prevent Future aging?

[Patentrain]

My Daughter who is 16 wants a subscription to one of these retin a services from Christmas. She has lovely skin and only gets the odd spot but she wants to keep her skin as good as possible for as long as possible. I think she is being influenced by youtubers Who are probably in their late 20s but most of their content is pitched at teens.

Also her Aunt, my older sister has used prescription strength retin a since her teens (initially for mild acne) and in her mid 40s has absolutely no lines, pigmentation or sag. She is 2 years older than me and looks about 2 decades younger!

I don’t know what to do. On one Hand it seems harmless enough but It seems very young for such high grade stuff and also she’d have to be very diligent about sunscreen. I just don’t know if she’d wear sunscreen everyday without me nagging!

Would it be unreasonable to refuse her request?

@Patentrain is she on TikTok by any chance? There are looooooads of skincare 'experts' on there sharing their daily skin routines, and most of them have some sort of retinol cream (and hyaluronic acid and all sorts of other things which often aren't applied properly).

As with lots of things on TikTok - and social media in general - it's a slippery slope because a video can go viral and get thousands of likes but it doesn't mean the advice in it is accurate. Lots of impressionable teenage girls buying the recommended products...

There are also proven issues with continually using high factor sunscreen, notably vitamin d deficiency because, barring high summer, we don't get much sun exposure in the northern hemisphere!
Try

What cream does your sister use..I have very bad acne?

I think 16 is way too young. I would recommend retinol products you can get on the high street.

Your dd would be horrified with me, wash my face with soap everyday and moisturise with coconut oil and yet I grt complimented on how good my skin is....

@Spaghettibetty345 see your dr, acne’s very treatable.

Where can you get retin a and is it the same as retinol?

@Stripesnomore

I wish my kids were like your DD. I keep telling them to start on tret. I wish I had done so as a teenager.

Is this really the message you want to give your children?

@Patentrain It sounds like your sister has a lot of dopamine & was able to maintain it. I knew a beauty therapist who thought me over the top for wearing sunblock daily but she looks a good 10 years older than me now. She’s 1 year older than me.

If you use retin a you can't get your eyebrows waxed and a lot of places won't thread them either just incase. I stopped using retin a in the end because of that. I look better with non-wonky DIY eyebrows and old skin! That might put her off if she gets her eyebrows done.

ifind it disturbing and tragic in equal measure that a 16 year old is thinking of anti aging products

Why do you find it disturbing? 16 is the perfect age to be interested in skincare, prevention is better than cure.

Prevention is better than cure?

Not if you end up with skin cancer.

My mother started retin A in her teens. She is now in her mid 40s and looks considerably younger than her peers, and her skin is far better than her sister's, who is 8 years younger. I also started it quite early, in my early 20s. I am now in my 30s, so we're still young and beautiful, so the difference between users and non-users probably won't show for another few years.

Nonetheless, I'm all for it so I'd say, let your daughter have it. Or perhaps an OTC retinol to start with.

Best way to look after your skin is to feed it from within:

Lots of fat soluble vitamins - D3, K2, A (retinol form) from full fat dairy, eggs and pastured meat. K2 especially helps to keep your skin (and arteries) supple - and your bones/teeth strong. Chuck small amounts of lamb/calf liver in a chilli con carne for the vitamin A.
Lots of water soluble vitamins from brightly coloured vegetables.
Lots of DHA from oily fish.
Lots of water.
Eat avocados.
Moderate lunchtime sunshine in summer (half erythema dose - half the time it would take you to start turning pink in those particular conditions) for vitamin D. Vitamin D sufficiency helps prevent the more deadly form of skin cancer, so totally avoiding the sun is counter-productive. Lunchtime is when the ratio of vit D producing UVB to more harmful UVA is optimal. Other times, sunblock or cover up.
Minimal sugar, processed carbs and seed oils.
Minimal alcohol.
Obviously no smoking/party drugs.
Wearing low amounts of make up - just a smidge of mascara/eyeshadow/lip gloss etc.
Washing face with cool/cold water and tepid showers.
A good 8 hours sleep, avoiding stimulating blue light and action plot lines in books/movies or aggravating discussions on SM before bedtime.
Find ways to destress eg yoga, meditation, country dog walks etc.

All the things that are simple, but not easy, that you just want a quick fix for when you're a teenager. Remember being so distressed and desperate for an instant fix for my "acne" which looking back, wasn't anything more than a couple of spots at a time, but I got so fixated on them to the point of crushing depression/anxiety. I'm 46 now and barely have a wrinkle on my face... I got my age estimated at early 20's when I was 40 and still occasionally get ID'ed at the supermarket. I've also noticed that the huge open & blocked pores on my nose and cheeks have 98% smoothed over since I upped the nutrient dense foods and minimised the junk snack foods. Don't use any products on my face bar cold water.

She is 16! Tell her to get some more hobbies, there’s more to life than how you look.

This is really depressing.

I would say absolutely no. When she goes out to work and can pay for it herself, then her decision. She sounds very superficial and would benefit from a large dose of reality.

She's 16, she can go down to Boots and get some of their tea tree & witch hazel moisturiser or maybe some Freederm if she's feeling extravagant.

Prevention is better than cure?

Not if you end up with skin cancer

what on earth are you on about?

Rtft

What about finding a reputable local beauty salon and making her an appointment for an assessment of some kind. Perhaps if she hears from a professional (rather than her mum/peers) that her skin is in fabulous condition she might be more inclined to believe it? The salon I go to for my nails does regular sessions where they do in depth facial analysis, though obviously they’re trying to flog their products too! At the moment Environ is their big thing!

You could tee up the therapist and ask them to give your daughter advice on maintain good skin and perhaps agree to buy a few recommended products (that will be a darn sight cheaper than a lifelong prescription).

@12:08FourTeaFallOut. I have rtft

Because it seems that the reason why these products actually work is because it tinkers with cell production. It has the effect of not just changing the appearance of the cells but the qualities of them too. So the skin becomes photosensitive and prone to rapid changes like hyperpigmentation, which is why users have to wear factor 50 diligently, all year round.

It could be completely benign, tinkering with cell production that can cause thinning of the skin and make them vulnerable to change and increased sun damage, I suppose. But it strikes me as a risky business.

But who would encourage their 16 year old dd on this course, for decade after decade, so they can crow about their lack of crow's feet when they're 50?

She can wait until her 30s

Let her wait until she can afford to pay for it

I thought it was a prescribed drug? My brother had it for severe acne and it was at least 2-3 years of other medications before his dr would prescribe. Couldn't drink alcohol or go in the sun for the year he was on it, but it's not a long term solution, it's to fix severe acne!

NO WAY

Please don’t because she will need to put SPF 50 each morning without fail or it will damaged her skin.
Dear God this is so sad who TF is marketing Retionoids to children.