Skin care for pre-teens/teens

[ComradeJing]

My SDD is 11 and just starting to get grotty skin, especially around the nose. She's asked me for advice and to get her some stuff for her face.

I use Liz Earle, which I love, and would happily pass on to her but I worry that it's too "old" for her.

I remember all of the clearasils and other "teen" and "acne" ones being really harsh and really stripped your skin which, IMO, ends up making it worse.

Any advice? Sadly can't just pop to boots as we're all overseas.

I think liz Earle do a moisturiser for just this skin. I used Clearasil et al as a teen and now have v dry skin.

My dd's forehead has been horrific with big pus filled acne that we now have an antibiotic lotion which has cleared it up.

Boots do a witch hazel and tea tree cleanser which has been good and aveeno is the moisturiser we're using. The GP recommends oil free moisturisers on anyone and said aveeno was a good choice.

I bought the simple range for my dd, and clean and clear blackhead remover - that is bloody brilliant!

Try to read a few skin care blogs do that you DON'T go in with really harsh foaming cleansers (it sounds as though you wouldn't anyway). beautymouth (I love her blog!) runs a 'clinic' on thurs where you can post skin care questions and I would have a read through to see if anyone has already asked about teen/pre teen skin.

My Dad and brother both had extreme acne and I was very very spotty (prob what would be considered acne for someone who didn't have a brother who required hospital visits for his!) so I've always vowed to take ds (now 11) to a dermatologist as soon as is necessary!!

Good luck - it would be great of you could update us if you DO find a solution!

I looked for a skin care range for my ds. He looks after his skin has done for a while he's 17. There doesn't seem to be anything suitable.

The thing is that most of the stuff marketed for acne or blackheads is completely over the top in madly drying ingredients...packed full of alcohol or too strong product. So you end up with really red sore sensitive skin, which still has spots and also flakey skin.

The Neutrogena Visibly clear spot free stress control ultra light moisturiser is the answer. It has a green band on the packaging (so you know which one)

Use it after a really mild cleanser like the Olay sensitive 2 in 1 washcloths and then splash with warm water pat dry
Apply the Neutrogena (it cleans out the pores as it is a product with BHA in it)
If the acne is really bad then use some benzoyl peroxide gel (probably 5% is the place to start, but you can go up to 10%) directly on the spot as it is a disinfectant. My brother still uses the Clinique anti blemishes solution spot treatment gel on any rare spots he now gets and would recommend

My brother and male cousins had bad acne and I'm unsure that their gp prescribed antibiotics actually worked although they took them for what felt like forever. eventually cousins went to a Dermatologist, as it wasn't getting better, and he said that theirs was hormonal and this was causing xs oil. The oil was clogging pores and causing blackheads pimples etc. needed to use gentle products, not creamy. Something with salycilic acid to clean pores and the Benz peroxide to make clean.
Worked really well and quickly

I found some very pure products online called ZESTEEN that I've started my teenagers on a few months ago and they're really loving them. (there's stuff for both boys and girls) There's a definate improvement in their skin with less outbreaks. They contain essential oils, and all kinds of natural things like tomato oil to control oily skins ... oh and they don't contain any sulphites or parabens to damage the skin. It's also a great price compared to other teen stuff that I've seen xxx

Lots of essential oils are actually bad for the skin...

Agree with perry just bought the neutrogena Visibly clear range (mild facial scrub and facial wash) for my very hormonal pre teen and it is clearing her face up lovely. Was advised to stay away from any of the facial wipes as they are high in alcohol and strip all of the natural skin oils away (according the lady in Boots!)

I'm having a 'mare with DD's (10) skin.
It's awful, spotty, greasy and blackheady.
I've bought her the facewashes/wipes from Boots, the skinclear type ranges, and got her those sticky blackhead clearing things this week.
She's aware of it, and hates it, and I'm stuck between acknowledging it's not great, and reassuring her it doesn't matter.

She's exactly me at that age.

Those pore strips don't work...oil overproduction carries on mixed with dead skin cells..blackheads will Be back in less than a week

Get the olay sensitive washcloths... Not wipes
They're brilliant...or Clinique mild facial wash (mild only)
Rinse off with a bit of hot water
Then this
it will moisturise a bit but realistically it'll sort out the blackheads
Couple of weeks will see a difference

Not too hard and cheap/easy
(some of the other Neutrogena and boots stuff is full of alcohol and will kill sore spotty skin)

OK, have made a shopping list for DD, but some advice please - if DD so much a as touches a spot it goes scabby - should we be going to the GP in the first instance, or making sure that she's using stuff as mild and un-drying as possible for a while longer?

It's complicated in that she may have a medical condition which can affect the structure of skin, which I won't know for definite for a few weeks yet, so I'm currently doing lots of reassuring that "no, no-one will notice honestly" while at the same time worrying that maybe she needs something more .

Right that stuff is v v v gentle
The washcloth will gently exfoliate her skin. It's kind of a very soft cloth mesh stuff that you add a bit of warm water to and it foams up
Then when clean (get her not to scrub ever ) throw some warm water over it
Pat dry
Put the Neutrogena stuff in a v thin layer over her face

Leave
The stuff in the neutogena is salicylic acid ( only a little) so her skin will be a little dry whilst it rights itself. She needs that to sort out the oil and BHs
Don't poke or prod or bung loads of moisturiser on..the washcloths and patting will take it away

lovely, thanks for that, will see how that helps.

Look at acne.org for a good regimen, products and tips. Don't put anything stronger than benzoyl peroxide 2.5% on her face. Higher conc than that is too harsh for facial skin.

After applying 2.5 bp apply non-comedogenic moisturiser gently on the face.

I really wouldn't recommend any washcloth or wipe at all on the face, and just pat it dry gently.

green people

This range is quite nice . I have started using some of the skin care and it seems good so far. Not harsh or overly drying. Stripping too much oil off can make things worse as skin tries to replenish it too quickly.???!!

If she has true acne though all the skin washes and creams iinthe world won't help much. Get her to GP if you think it isn't clearing. I suffered for many years (still do) and wish it had been sorted out properly. Acne is taken much more seriously nowadays.

i hate the phrase pre teen
sounds like some kind of weirdo website

Hey math I disagree in some areas. Especially with the website. There are lots of websites flogging products with the answer.
This is just my opinion and experience.

Non comodogenic isn't agreed by the cosmetics industry as a term with specifics. Ideally it would mean something that doesn't clog pores but it can be slapped on any product really as it isn't policed. suggesting a moisturiser that's non comodogenic isn't too helpful in these circumstances. Often oily skin is fine without moisturiser if given a chance.

The type of facecloths I recommend (mostly)alongside cliniques extra mild facial wash are both very very mild and rinsing with warm water is good enough to remove all their traces

The Neutrogena product then works as a BHA and light moisturiser in one. It will make most of the skin feel comfortable whilst dealing with blackheads etc. it has a really light formulation and won't clog pores

You're right in that the bp should/could start at 2.5% but wrong to suggest that higher levels are unsuitable for skin. Skin becomes used to bp and % move upward. Some/many people start on 5% and are fine.

IMO bp should only be used on actual spots as it's a disinfectant and can really sensitise other drier areas of the skin especially if it's combination.

For blackhead breakouts and oily teenage skin I'd start with the facecloths used gently, warm water and then the Neutrogena BHA product and see how things were in a few weeks

For acne, I'd suggest the same but add bp at 2.5 or 5% to disinfect. If that didn't work I'd go to a dermatologist

I'm not a dermatologist but have personal and familial experience. I wouldn't recommend anything that would be guff or make things worse as I know how much it can affect one.
I'd always start with least first.

Dd is 15 and uses Dermalogica
She has acne on her forehead, but have just been prescribed cream from the drs for that.
She has a facial every 6 weeks which makes a difference.

However....last night she had a huge meltdown (she has OCD) and scrubbed her face really hard with an exfoliater. She looks as if she's been in a nuclear explosion this morning . She's had to cancel all plans to go out today (and probably tomorrow) it's that bad.

A fair bit of Dermalogica is sensitising Some of it is a bit daft
The medicalised wash was hopeless.
What does she use? Honestly is it making her better?

Perrycombover, I first used the method from that website about 12 years ago for my own adult acne. Back then the site founder hadn't developed his own line of products. He recommended Neutrogena On The Spot and Cetaphil cleanser, plus moisturisers (Olay and Eucerin iirc), recommended certain razors and shaving creams for men, teen boys -- all otc products or you could order them or get someone to buy them for you in bulk if they were going to the US. A few years ago he developed his own products.

The method didn't change over the years, and he still recommends the other products as well as selling his own. The only element he has added over the years is the recommendation of using jojoba oil.

For me, plagued by moderate acne since age 12, the site was a godsend. My skin is 99% improved. I have never bought or used any of the site products. I found you can buy 2.5% bp from other manufacturers on the net too, and I switched to another cleanser (without sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate) because Cetaphil was pricey and hard to lay my hands on. I also use another moisturiser from the clean and clear range (none of the bad ingredients) that works for me.

DS had severe acne even on his face and his dermatologist said nothing higher than 2.5 on the face, ever. For back and shoulders he said 5 or 10% were ok, but he was to start with 5% and persist for three months before giving him the green light to go up to 10%.

I would recommend the Neutrogena oil free range too oil free moisturiser here , not only for teens. I use the moisturiser myself.

I've been trying to find advice for my 11 year old DD who has always had very sensitive, blemish-prone skin and is just beginning to get the odd pre-teen spot. I'm worried that she's likely to have the combination of highly sensitive yet spotty skin in her teens and I'm trying to research products and treatments in advance. Can anyone advise? There are lots of good tips here already, but for sensitive skin specifically?

You need to start mild and go stronger until you find something that works ime.

I require something quite a bit harsher than most people though. I am still cross about my mother squealling about me going for the clinique number 2 rather than the number 1, as she has dry skin 'and it is too harsh for her'.

I use clinique, and een if their products don't work for you the skin consulation is a good place to let you know where you need to look.