Idiot's guide to skincare for 10 year old?

[Aubasaurus]

10yo DD usually just washes her face with water but she's started getting a couple of spots so I think she needs something more. However there are SO MANY PRODUCTS and I'm having trouble sorting out what she actually needs from what's been invented purely to sell more stuff. I never managed to get my head round all this myself (I'm autistic and beauty/skincare seems like a foreign language I will never manage to learn) but I guess I've just been lucky with my skin.

DD's not really into pampering (yet) so I need to keep it simple, and I can't afford to spend £££. I would be hugely grateful for some advice from other parents of pre-teens.

Dd (10) just uses Simple face wash in the shower/ bath.

She has the odd spot high up on her forehead but it seems most of the girls in her class do at the moment so I'm not sure if anything else would help.

Worked miracles for me in my teenage years

(In my twenties now)

https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/face/cleansers-toners/tea-tree-skin-clearing-foaming-cleanser/p/1026958?dskid=92700058434595943&utmmplacement=All%20Face%20Care&gclid=CjwKCAjwxOCRBhA8EiwA0X8hi6CbT7GVtdAFjkNpMMFJp48wUKexGPUvBBRsh4TfO87uzNrTKrjhoCcYUQAvDD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

My 11yo uses neutrogena face wash for spots which seems good for her. She gets a few spots but not many really and this seems to help.

If her skin is sensitive I’d recommend dermatologica products. More expensive but very gentle and I wish I’d had it as a teen! I used clearasil once which literally striped the skin off my face…

That should say Dermalogica!

Soap and water would be fine, water isn’t enough though. And she might want to use a flannel to exfoliate her skin too.
Miscellar water and cotton pads are a good start too. So are the face washes.

Thank you both! prettypinkroses, is the cleanser an every day thing?

As someone who really has struggled with acne I would be vary wary of anything very harsh to begin with. If the skin is oily anyway, and you dry it out, it prompts a further overproduction of oil. When i was a teenager I always bought the harshest things I could find and i think it just made it worse. Avoid anything with alcohol or sodium laureth sulfate in it.

I always use very gentle, milky sorts of cleansers and wash my face with a clean flannel.

DD has been using the Sam Farmer face wash and moisturiser since she was 10. It seems to be very gentle and on-drying, and keeps her skin reasonably spot free most of the time.

*non-drying

If she's starting to get spots, then she needs to cleanse with something containing a BHA (beta hydroxy acid) often listed as salicylic acid on the ingredients list. BHAs are perfect for hormonal grime as they work by (non technical explanation) digging down into the pores and sucking out the gunk.
Effaclar Duo by La Roche Posay is, in my opinion and experience with DD, the absolute best. You can get a facial wash and a gel moisturizer (common fallacy that blemish prone/oily skin doesn't need moisture- it often produces more oil precisely because it's also dry/dehydrated)

Other ranges with similar ingredients are Nip & Fab teen fix (green packaging)

Cerave is also highly thought of by dermatologists. There's one in a green packaging which contains salicylic.

Dermalogica for blemish prone skin is good- IF your skin can tolerate the essential oil in it, which, unless they've changed the formula, is ginger. DD did try the range but clearly reacted to the ginger oil.

If she wears make up then micellar is OK as a make up remover but not as a cleanser it leaves an oily film behind which then needs to be cleansed off.

Thanks everyone! LadyMacduff that sounds sensible. Better to start off with something gentle. Is there anything you would recommend?

Could anyone explain to me the difference (if there is one) between a face wash and a cleanser?

Another vote for cera ve with salycitic acid

This is the ideal moment NOT to introduce environment and soul destroying pointless beauty products and stick with soap and water. Set her up for a lifetime for better skin and climate friendly choices.

Thanks for a different point of view WaterBottle123. Are there any particular soaps you would recommend? I have to admit I've always hated soap because it made my skin feel tight, but that might just have been the ones I have used in the past.

I'd try Superdrug Vit E hot cloth cleanser. Very cheap, creamy and you wipe off with the muslin. Suitable for sensitive skin. Just use a little at first till her skin gets used to it. My daughter is the same age. www.superdrug.com/Skin/Face-Skin-Care/Face-Wipes/Superdrug-Vitamin-E-Hot-Cloth-Cleanser-200ml/p/282702

My DD is 10 next month and she uses a Dove beauty bar.
Will continue with that unless she gets any problems. Will start to introduce a moisturiser soon.

Soap is far too harsh for facial skin! Dove might be okay but honestly something designed for the facial skin is going to be a better choice.

I really like the Simple products - they have a few different washes. You'll probably also want to pick up a lightweight moisturiser.

We’re using the Dove beauty bar for both of us which seems to be working well so far

DD (11) uses cerave face wash and then uses cerave face moisturiser. She targets individual spots with boots tea tree spot stick. She's doing okay so far with her skin, but I was fairly lucky with my skin when I was young so it could be genetic.

My dd (9) uses clean and clear deep action cream wash every morning . It's worked wonders for her skin which has started breaking out. At the moment she doesn't use anything else with it. It's around £3.50 in the supermarkets and lasts a few weeks

I second body shop - a bit pricier than other mainstream brands but definitely worth it. Either the tea tree or the seaweed range if the spots aren’t that severe. The face wash is great and I still wouldn’t do without it, although I’ve branched out to different face creams now. I find the face wash prevents spots appearing in the first place which is easier than trying to get rid of them once they are already there. I started using it when I was about 17 and it cleared my skin up really quickly, older spots disappeared gradually and then barely any new ones appeared. I was quite paranoid about my spots since turning 11 or 12 and wished I’d used it sooner.

My dd is the same age. I’m working on the basis that she is very much like me, we both have the same skin which is really sensitive, both of us react badly to products. I’ve started to introduce face wash, just using a basic nivea one. Nivea was something I used when younger, that and Oil of Ulay (Olay) as it was in my day. I never had any reactions and was lucky to have fairly clear skin as a teenager, most of my spots were generally self inflicted, lots of 80/90s hairspray which caused issues around my forehead. So I’m hoping she will be ok with these too. If not I will look at other products.

I’ve always planned on using Clearisil pads and zit cream when the time comes. As a teenager I wasn’t allowed to use clearisil because it didn’t work for my DB who had bad acne so my M wouldn’t buy it me. I had a breakout in my late 20s and used my friends pads and cream, they worked wonders. I used them for years to deal with adult spots. So they will be the first thing I will try for her when the time comes.